Smoothlanding

1. January class slipped into February, no firm date set yet. They are trying to hire 50-70 pilots with class size 6 per class. Yes a class every month. Just launched first scheduled flight today so that was the focus.

2. They are actively looking for 777’s, they are targeting this year. Yes more -300’s, I believe 3-5 more this year. These will be newer aircraft with ACARS, CDPLC, etc...

3. Current fleet is old style, but avionics upgrades coming for some. The current fleet is good for flying the America’s. Some aircraft will be upgraded and newer -300’s acquired.

4. Yes quite a few, over 400 resumes I heard. No one has been hired yet. First few classes will be Direct Entry Captains.

end.

Smoothlanding

It’s $10/hour for each.

Braniff DC8

Again, nothing against Smooth or Eastern BUT, not having union protection going to places EA flies, would not be a good thing.
Right now South America and China are a bit Anti-American. It would not take much to get detained. And in the USA, the FAA is anti-pilot again. They love their enforcement actions and those Delta guys that just dumped fuel on those kids are gonna have sum splainin’ to do.

Eastern Airlines is an LLC so read below. Again, having a union is for protection in case something bad happens. It’s in your dues. Flying old model airplanes to odd places is taking a risk. Those payscales are meaningless if you’ll have to defend yourself. It’s sort of a trick if you ask me. This is just all food for thought. I tried to find the story about the guy who lost his license because he did not identify the FO as being drunk, nineteen nineties at Jetstream Airlines.

“It can also matter when it comes to determining whether an individual is able to receive worker's compensation or whether the LLC can be held liable for any damages caused by an individual. An LLC will receive limited liability for any damages caused by an employee, but the limited liability protections will not extend to the company's employees. This means that members cannot be held personally liable for any damages cause by an employee, but the LLC itself can be held liable. If an employee action leads to company liabilities, the liability protections remain valid for members, not for employees”.

The first flight was 1:16 minutes late which is not terrible but not a good start. This was a constant issue with Dynamic. Remember them?

By the way, first year FO is 5$ difference between home and based. 113 vs 108.

Boats and Hos

Didn’t think about that NO I did not. Smooth, you seem pretty pragmatic, what’s your thoughts? Why was the Jan class delayed if you don’t mind my asking?

The Dominican

Isn't Omni an LLC? They do fly to all corners, Do you know of any case where their pilots have been mistreated in China or Latin America because they are americans?
I've been flying to China for the past 13 years, no one has ever even been impolite.
Don't get me wrong, Eastern 3.0 is definitely a gamble, they have their work cut out for them to try to compete in the market today but I don't think you will find anyone throwing rocks at you in Shanghai because you are an american.

Braniff DC8

Omni has a union. If you get into an accident or incident you’ll have no protection. That’s what my point is. You can be arrested and charged in parts of the world for a crime in an airplane.

And read this;
https://thepointsguy.com/news/easter...ugural-flight/
Not a good start and it sounds like Dynamic all over again.

The Dominican

Oh yeah! Forgive me, I forgot how mentioning the Teamsters brings a shiver down the spine of the authorities in China! LOL

Braniff DC8

Entirely Dominican! Having some protection is better than none at all. It’s not about fear it’s about having representation abroad if you’re ever faced with an issue. There have been a number of times it’s happened to people and if you’ve never been in that position it’s not good. You seem to not get this point. I’ll leave it that.

TiredSoul

Unless the sky has come fallen down I’ll never work for an “airline” without a union ever again.
Seniority, Scheduling, vacation days, overtime trips, crew issues, safety reporting, “voluntary” extensions, upgrades for the “team-players” only and maintenance reporting are all up to the crooks in the office without a union.
So if you’re a Blue Falcon to begin with you’d probably prefer no union.

The Dominican

The first time I walked the line for the good of the profession, inflatable rat and all was the late 80's, line standards rep and the likes, Is not that I don't get what you're saying, I've been around this paid hobby of ours and unions have their place and function of course.

I just think that the 400 or so resumes they have recieved don't really need a lesson on what's best for them. We have all left our pound of flesh over the decades.