Ok no names.

Sure. We can start with reserve rules. There are none. Expect airport standby for 8 hours a day 19 days a month. Short call is in the contract but there is no incentive for them to use it. Trip trades are all done through a Facebook group because the infrastructure of their scheduling, dispatch, and flow boards was built in Windows 3.1. No EFBs so you are lugging around 40lbs of charts (Literally the last airline in the US I can think of that still does this). I have a bad taste in my mouth just because I was a DHC8 direct entry CA and was downgraded after 6 months because my seniority couldn't hold E145 CA. 2 weeks after I left to save face they announced they would "pay protect" all downgrades. As far as the CPP it is there but it is hard to build 1000PIC from the right seat of a jet. All this downgrade shenanigans after being told to my face by the CP and the CEO that there is no way they would downgrade anybody. Now they are hard up for CAs again hmmmm. Then the culture there is real strange. They say it is a family but I would split it up into 3 groups. The #C54Lyfe crowd that is like you dont know how bad it used to be and really put no effort into improving the place. The new people that are just happy to be flying jets and are just waiting for their call from Delta,(yeah right) also not going to improve the place. After all is said and done it is run like they still have 20 B1900s.

 

So the only thing they have going for them is that they picked a bunch of XJT maint guys.

 

I have a buddy there who is still liking it after 8 months of being holding a line. I guess everyone has their preferences and opinions. Its hard to get a bad taste of your mouth but from I hear the guys are great to fly with, the jet is a jet, and you will get hours if you aren't lazy.

 

The crews were great to fly with. Your buddy have any prior airline experience? If not than how does he know what is good or bad?

 

“The guys are great to fly with.” Says every pilot at a crappy airline.

 

A lot of XJT guys that came to Commutair wound up regretting their choice. Once the downgrades were announced at C5 I remember a group of former XJT guys in the EWR crew room sitting at a large table, filling out applications for Endeavor and Envoy. It was quite a sight.

All of them were on airport reserve at the same time, which is the norm. Some of them were line holders who were removed from their flying and placed on airport reserve, which happens frequently because there are no contract protections. Some were reserve captains tired of being used as FOs (no PIC). Coming to C5 with airline experience from a top-notch place like XJT, they knew just how poor the commutair operation really was:

"The crews are fun" because you will get to know them well while sitting 8-10 hours of airport reserve with them every day. Iffy maintenance. Incorrect paychecks. Inexperienced dispatchers. Clueless, dishonest management. Multiple management types fired recently for not knowing how to do their jobs, especially in the training dept. BIG red flag. I'm rambling but I honestly think it's the most dysfunctional regional operation flying right now. The FAA has been all over Commutair for at least the last 2 years. I would highly recommend seeking refuge elsewhere.

From what I understand the former XJT guys that bailed from Commutair are now captains at Endeavor with the odd couple at PDT and Envoy.

 

Sounded like the old Mesa motto, back when they were public.