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life @ Gemini Air Cargo?

Old 05-23-2005, 05:18 PM
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Default life @ Gemini Air Cargo?

Is it a decent place to hang your hat? What are typical trips like? how hard is it to get hired as a new first officer?

Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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Old 10-04-2005, 05:32 AM
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Originally Posted by Sir James
Is it a decent place to hang your hat? What are typical trips like? how hard is it to get hired as a new first officer?

Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Are you still looking for info?????
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Old 10-04-2005, 06:34 AM
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Originally Posted by fogrunner
Are you still looking for info?????
Yes! Thanks.
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Old 10-09-2005, 03:23 PM
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Originally Posted by Sir James
Is it a decent place to hang your hat? What are typical trips like? how hard is it to get hired as a new first officer?

Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Here is a compilation of emails/questions I have been asked about Gemini.


hey, sorry to bother you, but i was hoping you could share some info regarding Gemini. I currently fly as an RJ Captain and im looking to get into the cargo side of things. I'm single with no attachments and i'm ready to fly the world. Gemini sounds like a place i would enjoy and wanted to ask you a few questions to help me out.

I understand that you are scheduled for 19 days on, are you actually on 19 day trip are are you sitting in a hotel in mia waiting for a call?

No more 19 day lines. We are down to 18. Sept 05 we will be at 17 and by Sept 06 we will be at 16.

MIA is basically going away. We only have one a/c down there. I wouldn't be surprised to see MIA go away completely.

Yes you are usually gone for the entire time.

Does the company put you up and pay during training?

Yes this is one of the few things we have better than FedEX. You get about $50 a day ($1500 a month) during training. The company also takes care of the travel to and from school and the hotel.

How does one go about getting their monthly schedule?

Bid cycle. I worked at Skywest and CHQ same type of bidding. Next month I spend my whole time in Europe and Africa.

How do you like the DC-10?

LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!! There are some new hires going to the 11..

Do you enjoy the people you fly with?

For the most part they are great..

How do you get an "in" at Gemini?

That is a good question. If you really want to work here, bug them politely. Just keep on keeping on.

Keep in mind Atlas, Polar and a few other ACMI carriers are hireing......

What do you see in the future at Gemini and do you plan on staying a long time?

If I could answer that question with any degree of certainty I wouldn't be a pilot. Maybe a stock broker etc.

Yes I plan on staying. There are not many places where you are a widebody F/O in your 20s or 30s. I flew with a Captain the other day who was 39. If things keep on going the way they are going we will see 2-3yr upgrades. This means we will have captains in there mid 30s.
I think this is a great place. In my first month in the a/c I stepped on 5 continents. Heck I will be in Brussels for a total of 10 days next month. I'm planning on a day trip to Paris. It beats hanging out in CLE.

I have more but i don't want to bug you too much. thanks in advance for you time and any info you can provide to me.

Don't worry you are not bothering me. Just let me know if you have more questions.

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I've been fortunate enough to get a call for an interview. I've read through everything I can find on this site, however, wanted to see what the latest is regarding the interview process. I.e., whether it's still a no sim/no tech type interview. If so, do you recall any specific types of questions they asked you during the face-to-face? Or, is it really just a "meet and greet" to make sure you’re a tolerable individual?

I am far removed from the hireing scene. There has been talk of sim evals but i do not think they are doing them. If you do get one, the 10 is extremely pitch sensitive.

They want to make sure that you are a good fit. They don't want someone who will be unhappy in six months. I love it here. I fly a big airplane all over the world and have been to some bizarre places. Fly with great people and have learned and continue to learn a great deal. This is not for everyone. I know an RJ capt who came here who is not very happy. This is not like flying to Cleveland 3 times a day. We fly in some very challenging environments.

I know you've put out a lot of good info on Gemini over the past year. I don't mean to make you rehash all that; but, just wanted to make sure I found out as much as possible before the interview.

The only thing I have heard that is different is, they have been giving guys some type of reading comprehension test. They also have been giving people the manual for the DC10 and asking them to look up info.


And lastly, if hired into the MD-11F, are they still typing all new hires during initial? Anything else you care to share is appreciated. Again, thanks for reading.

Yes. Training in Long Beach, which will shift to Finland soon. The DC10 is done in MEM.

What's it like at Gemini?

The training was good. IOE went well. Flying the line is fun. The people you fly with are great for the most part. The Flight Operations management are wonderful. The people up at Dulles who work in the office are polite, courteous and helpful. This is truly a company with professionals.

Schedule?

the contract (yes we have a binding ALPA contract) mandates 11 days off a month, having said that, since January the minimum days off in the bid packages have been 12. In March I will have 16 days off. My last rotation finished on the 23rd Feb and I return to work on the 17th Mar. Not too shabby.


domiciles?

Technically my domicile is ATL. My travel city is TYS. In short we are home based. You have to live within 3 hours of a suitable airport.


pay?

Industry standard. www.airlinepilotpay.com $45 an hour first yr. + per diem. take $45 x 65hr guarantee = $35100 + per diem.
I am averaging $700 a month in per diem. They feed us well. Hot food. We have ovens on the a/c. Second yr pay is a good jump.

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I hope this helps. this type of flying is not for everyone. there is a lot of backside of the clock flying. Long legs, from push back to block-in has been as long as 12 hours. Me personally, I love it. I always wanted to fly big airplanes all over the world, and that is what I do here.
I don't like the first yr pay, however, I knew what it was when I came here. Do a search on Flightinfo because there are opposing viewpoints to mine. The last thing I want or the management folks want, is someone coming here and being unhappy and quiting after 6 months.
It is the people for me. You work with knowledgeable professionals who are down to earth.


hope this helps...

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Re: gemini
Here are some of my answers to other guys. Hope it helps..

So here is another question for you? So once you go into your second year pay, do you stay the same or are you going up to second year pay? You go to second year pay.

I don't think you will see us getting any MD-11s this year.
They are filling an MD-11 new-hire class as I write this. I think hiring will slow down considerably for the foreseeable future.
If you hunt around on the website you should be able to get the info you need to send your stuff in.
If Gemini can execute well in 2005, 2006 looks very promising for additional equipment, contracts and new-hires.
We have hired about 50 folks since September. For attrition, you may see the odd class through out the year, or they may build a pool of candidates to choose from.
Hope this helps.
I enjoy working here.



Gemini is trying to get 3 MD-11s. We are turning away more business than we actually do. We need a/c and pilots.
Something to keep in mind. When we get the additional Md-11s they will probably have to hire off the street for f/o's.

This has changed slightly. Since UPS and FedEx have gobbled up quite a few MD11s, there are no conversion slots until 2nd Qtr 06. So you wont see any MD11s until next year at the earliest.



The DC-10 is predominately Miami based. Having said that, in November and December I did Asia, Africa, Europe, N. America, and S. America. If you live in the S. Florida area, it is great. The majority of trips are out and backs. Minimum of 11 days off a month. If you don't live near Miami expect being gone for 18 days.
The January bid had no lines of less than 12 days off.

This has changed significantly. Starting in April we will have more DC-10s based other than MIA. More military flying. We also we picked up a contract with Fedex.




Plan on being in Dulles for 4 weeks. The sim is a little over 2 weeks. 12 sim periods. The last 2 periods being a check ride and loft. Six weeks total..

Hope this helps.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++++
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Old 10-10-2005, 06:26 AM
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Great info! Thanks a lot. What about a training contract? Is there one, and if so, how many years?
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Old 10-10-2005, 11:46 AM
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There is no training contract....
 
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