TeamSasquatch

What is the QOL culture like at Empire? After reading a job posting online, for a home based ATR Captain, I felt like it was written as conditions for parole. All about what you are not allowed to do with your schedule and base. For a company that always has DEC spots, I would think they would be really trying to get people to apply? Are they dead set in their ways? Or, is it a pilots market?

From the website:


Home base pilots will designate one airport from which all travel to and from duty assignments shall commence and terminate. This home base airport on record will be subject to Company approval and shall have daily service to multiple hubs on a minimum of two major network carriers or their regional partners (i.e. Alaska/Horizon, American/American Eagle, Delta/Delta Connection, Southwest, and United/United Express).
The Company will provide employee parking only at the pilot’s approved home base airport on record.
A home base pilot may elect to travel to or from an airport other than his or her airport of record provided such routing is more cost effective than that from the pilot’s airport of record. Parking will not be provided for trips commencing or ending at an alternate airport.
The schedule rotation will be two weeks of duty followed by one week off. A home base pilot shall not manipulate schedules to fly more than two weeks in a row to bank multiple weeks off for a later date.
Weeks off are limited to sixteen per calendar year with no weeks off in the December “Peak” period.
A week is defined as a consecutive seven day calendar period.
The company may change a week off due to unusual factors such as training issues (i.e. availability of simulators and instructors).
Home base pilots will earn applicable compensation adders but will not accrue RX days.
A pilot who elects a home base roamer position in an Empire domicile will not receive applicable compensation adders when flying runs to or from that domicile (i.e. a Wichita home based roamer pilot will not receive the TDY adder when flying ICT-AFW-ICT).
Home base pilots at a location outside of an existing Empire base will receive a regional pay incentive comparable to the baseline location of Spokane.
Pilots may voluntarily forfeit a week off for additional duty and associated compensation, and a forfeited week off shall not be retained or banked for a later date.
For a new hire pilot entering the home base program, PTO/Sick time will accrue at a rate of 40 hours per year with a maximum accrual cap of 120 hours in the pilot’s bank. At six months after date of hire the Pilot will have accrued and have access to 20 hours of PTO.
The pilot’s residence will serve as the basis for state income tax purposes.
Current roamer pilots will be maintained under the Rx system until adequate staffing levels allow us to switch roamers to home base.
The company reserves the right to manage and change the ratio of home based to domiciled pilots in the system.

Av8tr1

You are very much there at the convenience of the hallowed halls of Haden. I was a roamer based out of GEG. I spent nearly all of Oct, Nov, Dec and a good part of Jan in PHX, where I had to share a rental car with three other people. I spent Thanksgiving, Xmas and New Years in a hotel while watching company wide emails get sent around about the company holiday parties that only those in Haden could attend. With a single email sent to the pilot group saying thanks. Nothing specifically thanking me for spending 4 months on the road away from home other than a slightly better paycheck and I really mean slightly. (Thank god New job nearly doubles my pay and I only work 2 weeks a month.) What I was told originally was 2 weeks roaming, 1 week of reserve and one week off. What I got was 4 months nearly straight on the road over the holidays. Tread very carefully with empire, you will not be appreciated by management and what you are told walking in will very likely not be what you get on the line. Pilot issues on the line are an afterthought for corporate and you can never get anyone to answer the phone. You will have issues with email, pay, taxes, reimbursement, schedule, etc. and it will take weeks if not (in my case months) to get it resolved. You will be treated like crap by FedEx management, as if they are doing you a favor giving you a job and letting you fly their airplanes. God help you if they don’t think you are moving quick enough or you ever want to exert PIC authority while packages need to be delivered....and yes as alluded to, the guy who runs HR is a fracking MORON!!!!

Having said that, the job itself is a lot of fun. I did actually enjoy it. There are some really great guys there. Some of the highest time Caravan pilots who know literally everything about those airplanes. Hanging out in the crew room with the other pilots was a blast. Even hanging out with Baja boy on the crew bus making fun of each other’s political leaning was a good time. I really miss PDX and the crew and tampers there but The drama from the company isn’t worth it.

V12Merlin

There’s an attitude change coming and it’s going to hurt.

I love it!

Superx

I'll bite.

V12Merlin

Look at it this way. They’re not filling pilot vacancies, seasoned pilots are leaving for greener pastures, and the company attitude is to lie to whatever unsuspecting new hire that trips through the door, and if you don’t like it-leave?

That’s almost funny given the current and forecast hiring of pilots.

Another funny fact comes to mind. These old turbo-props don’t fly themselves very well.

Jus sayin

Akutan Bandit

Had a class date for ATR street captain last summer. While presenting themselves as very open to negotiation on some details, once it came to brass tacks they wouldn’t budge on anything. I cancelled the whole thing after wasting at least a month trying to iron out the job details. Had it not been for a couple of local guys who warned me what to watch for I might have plunged in and been burned even worse.

JLTD

OK been a couple of years for this thread...checking into the current conditions at Empire.

Thanks in advance for any info.....have there been any improvements? Things worsening? Current climate? Same mgmt team or is it still flipping every few months?

I've noticed they have several openings for ATR Captains, for which I'm qualified and considering applying for. Wondering if anyone has information about the ATR schedules for the following cities:

KMSO (Missoula, MT)
KBZN (Boseman, MT)
KICT (Wichita, KA)
KMAF (Midland, TX)

(Yes, I'm looking on Flightaware but also coming here for more detail)

TIA

JLTD

maxconthrust

For those in the know.

At which training location is the type rating?
Are they only flying the -500 or is the -600 series in the pipeline?
How many hours in month do you fly?

Much appreciated.

Jpfly

Training is done at Flight Safety in Houston, TX. We currently have 1-600 series ATR currently based in ANC.

We fly around 30 hours a month. That’s why we’re paid salary. Starting captain pay is $110K