Airline Pilot Central Forums

I have been at Omni for a couple years and while I do like it here, I am looking for other opportunities out there. I didn't come here for a career though and that has been my thought the whole time. If I get stuck here longer than I want, it is by far better than being stuck at a regional. I have done that already. It will be an adventure and you will learn (quickly) some things that you never imagined before. I have a family, so the long stretches out can be very bothersome, but this summer up til now I have been lucky with my bids and have not been out more than 14 in a row. I was home 28 straight in July-August and went on a vacation without taking vacation time. That is a positive thing and most scheduled jobs you will not be able to do that. One thing that has been a real pain has been my luck with commercial travel. I live on the west coast and most of our flying originates and ends on the east coast. I have had more delays, cancelled flights, mechanicals than I would ever imagined. However, since it is on the company's time, it has never been my problem. The only thing is, the company can be pretty slow at getting you somewhere when things go south. The travel dept will ask you to try to get things squared away with the affected airline, but they are a travel dept and need to work too. You have to pressure them at times to get things done.

Our teamsters contract is a piece of junk, and we will be stuck with it for a while. We did get a pay raise and for FO's it was a decent jump. For Captains with about 6 years or more it was ok too. We are still however very much underpaid for the kind or equipment we fly, and the kind of flying we do.

Upgrades are now seniority based and Omni will not attract the retired Legacy pilots like before since most were hired as street captains. Most of them have been downgraded and surprisingly most are still here. Gone are the days of 1 year upgrades unless we have a mass exodus. Most of us that were hired pre contract were told to expect a quick upgrade and I came close and then this gem of a contract passed and Omni parked planes. I think the last two upgrades recently were senior FO's hired in the 2007-2008 range. Don't expect to see the left seat for a long time.

While there have been some things that have ticked me off here, there have been some real good times. I have only flown with one Captain who I wanted to punch in the face, and he is kind of known to be a D-bag, but other than that there are some real good people here with all sorts of backgrounds and the flying can be pretty fun at times. Like the other Omni guys here have said, just think before jumping the gun. It is a fun job, but it is not for everyone.

One last thing, if you do come here, be on your A game. The company has warned us about anyone we recommend, that they better be prepared for this kind of flying. Don't be in the bar every night after class. Save that for the weekends. Study groups are a huge deal here and being the outcast will have bad results. It happened in my class. They are not going to be very easy on newhires (as if they ever were) anymore especially since they are not attracting the former legacy guys with thousands of hours in the 76 or 77. Just come prepared and study and you will be fine.... Good luck to anyone who decides to take the plunge at the "Big O"......