Compass Update
 

Got some news for those of you following Compass and it's progress...

Latest word on the street is that they have signed a pilot contract. I'll try to get some of the details in the next day or two and post some of the highlights here. The contract is between Compass and the pilots as represented by ALPA.

They are progressing well with the FAA certification. They are currently completing tabletop exercises with the FAA, and expect to finish those in the next day or so. The next step is the mini-evac drill which will hopefully be complete by the end of the week. Proving runs would start shortly after that, with the end goal of final ops spec approval with time to spare before the August 21st date of scheduled 175 revenue operations.

I've also been told that they now have a crew room at MSP for the pilots, and are finalizing the tasks necessary for implementation of CASS jumpseats. Should be done with that by the end of next week, allowing Compass pilots access to other airline cockpits and vice versa.

How do you know all this? Buddies from Independence running the show over at Compass?

Lets just say good intel, somewhere along those lines. I keep in touch with a number of folks at CMP, including managers, non-flying folks, and several pilots on the seniority list. Some of them are former managers/coworkers from IDE, others are simply folks that I have met or developed working relationships via the internet.

Gotta love networking. Not always what you know but who you know.

Yup, yup! If you don't know, but know somebody that does, that's often most of the battle!

The key for me is going to be to keep in touch with many of the people that I have graduated with up here.

Here's my advice... get a rolodex, an organizer, MS outlook or a blackberry. Make a point of calling friends and coworkers at least once every 3 months or so and getting "reacquainted"!

I still talk to many of the people that I taught with and most of the people that I worked with at IDE. It's served me well over the years- if for no other reason than often having somebody to call and drink a few beers with on overnights! (My boss often asks/jokes "So who are we meeting tonight for dinner" when we're on the road...)

Good plan. Many of my friends that I have gone to school with and taught with up here at UND are all leaving for the regionals. XJT, Mesaba, Pinnacle, AWAC, and so on. UND is hurting bad for instructors. In June we were down to 85 instructors and two weeks ago they had an "emergency" hiring session. Hired 30 instructors, 15 started immediately and the other 15 start in August. This is in addition to the normal hiring session that will take place in about a week. Crazy times in the industry compared to when I first moved up here 3 years ago. Anyway I think thats enough of my thread hijack ;).

what you failed to mention about your crew room is that NWA took Pinnacles crew room, cut it in half and gave half to compass.

Actually, it's not "my" crew room, since I don't work for Compass... Sorry to hear about your loss though.