highfarfast

Was the Envoy still paying bonuses? I thought they went away with the raises last summer.

pitchattitude

There WERE still some initial sign on bonuses when the ‘Voy was hiring. The big thing that went away (was essentially rolled into hourly rates) was the retention bonuses.

If anyone thinks any regional is going to have a signing bonus or anything else for quite sometime, you are delusional.

No one is hiring INDUSTRY WIDE except maybe Atlas. Just between Compass and TSA is close to 1000 recently furloughed and experienced pilots needing jobs. When hiring DOES begin, every pilot that met minimums will be lined up waiting to take that job. The regionals that survive will have no problem hiring. No incentives necessary.

Welcome to the boom and bust of the airline world. Best to work on your plan B early in your career.

ClappedOut145

They restructured the new hire bonuses and the union filed a grievance that they add to with every new hire class. The bonus is now partially being paid after the pilots are on the property and therefore is, un-negotiated compensation. The f/o retention bonus program was canceled with 30 days notice almost as soon as the raises were voted in.

Chato

I think they were paying 10k or something at end of IOE but nothing like the 22.5k they were handing out first day of class back then. That was nice

MEGAFUPM

1. If your only reason for going to a regional is for a bonus you may as well not be an airline pilot.

2. If this is still your plan, don't plan on a bonus happening at any regional for the next 2-3 years minimum.

ClappedOut145

Well, we went from a pilot shortage to a surplus. There are zero reasons for any regional to have to pay a bonus anymore to get people in the door. The days of hitting 1500 hours and going right to a regional are on hold. Hopefully you were able to lock in a fixed rate on that loan for ATP because the payments are pretty brutal when you are only instructing.

Nemack85

Yhea , the 89k student loan is looking pretty brutal, I’m not sure the comment about me and the regional with the bonuses and not being an airlines pilot understand what I mean

lots of ppl like me, decided to go to atp ( I’m a flight attendant for AA and all the pilots have been telling me for quiet a while to get into atp) even though school Was super expensive, it was the fastest way to get those certs , the school really make sure to advertise the partnership with the regionals on purpose because they know they charge lots of money so they try to convince new ppl to Get those huge loans , The way they sell it is to became a cfi, get paid 15/17 $ and hour instructing while you get the cadet money from the regionals which will help you paying your student loan , well Im sure lots of you knows this I don’t have to explain it

its just kinda bother me that comment, who are you to say I should or shouldn’t be an airline pilot

ClappedOut145

I hope your reading comprehension improves before you hit INDOC otherwise you’re going to have a tough go at it.

You said in your previous post that you went to ATP for the regional bonuses, and that if the bonuses are cut then you see a drastic drop in pilots in the near future. Your words. Correct?

So again, two months ago there was a pilot shortage. Airlines were fighting one another to fill their classes. Today. That shortage is over. Just with TSA and Compass there are almost 1,000 pilots on the street. And if this business doesn’t rebound in the third quarter, there are going to be a lot more WELL QUALIFIED pilots on the street this fall. So no. Regionals don’t have to offer a bonus anymore. In fact, they can be more selective than they have ever been, and could probably scale their cadet programs back for cost savings.

I think that it’s great that you’re a f/a switching to becoming a pilot. We actually have quite a few of them here and most of them are pretty awesome. Nobody told you not to become a pilot. We just said that if chasing a bonus is your reason for doing so, then you’re doing it for the wrong reason.

Cadet programs and bonuses are line items on budgets that are easily adjusted. Many of us here went to ATP, and when that $89,000 student loan comes due, it’s going hang around your neck for a long time especially if you’re instructing for $25/hr before taxes. My ATP bill was only $35,000 and the payment was tough to do on an instructor salary along with student loans.

The point is that you shouldn’t expect a bonus anymore to come to a regional. The market has plenty of people who are on the street, type rated, and ready to start. Best of luck as you plug away at ATP and remember, it’s up to you to do the learning there, they’re just going to give you the tools to pass a checkride, you have to figure out how to actually do it.

pitchattitude

There are a lot of other ways besides mills like ATP to get your ratings and for less money.

As far as the connection to regionals, many of the other flight schools have (had?) partnerships with regionals. But even then that was not really a necessity to get hired.

The point being made is if you plan to be an airline pilot, get used to this. Look at history. I don’t think there has ever been even a ten year period where things have been stable in probably the last fifty years. Timing is everything and it is purely role of the dice. You just hit things at the wrong time.

I have always likened having a good career at a major airline to the kid that grows up wanting to be a pro ball player. How many play JV, HS and finally get on a college team? How many of those go pro? How many of those get a good contract with good pay and not get injured and sidelined. There is a lot of opportunity cost and physical cost there and for most it just doesn’t payoff.

If you haven’t gone all in with the debt, you should consider a way to put off those expenses and stick with what ever else (in your case sounds like being a FA) for a while and ride out the storm. You need to have a plan b and expect to sit on that debt for a while otherwise.

rld1k

I hope you were drunk when you typed this