As I'll be starting with Frontier soon I've been reading as much as I can about the schedules, QOL, and future of the airline. I'm a new regional captain and although I'm really looking forward to the move there are a few Big things that are screwing with me. The First year pay again will be my 3rd major pay cut since starting with the airlines. Reading on here it seems that a lot of Frontier guys think contract negotiations will drag on for a very long time. Is that something that most people feel at the airline? I actually live in Chicago but I'm from Denver so the basing works out perfectly. What kind of overnights or trips can I expect if I were to be based in Chicago?

Frontier is an airline that I have always wanted to work for and I've kept up with them through a lot of the ups and downs. But to be honest I was pretty surprised at the disparity in pay scales compared to all other airbus operators. I'm hoping that I'm getting in at a great time and that we will see some gains.

 

The Chicago schedules are better than the Denver schedules, and it's more junior, so your quality of life would probably get better faster in Chicago...probably.

Denver is a much larger domicile, about 275 crews to 100. In Chicago for December, the average line is 16.3 days off and 80 hours of pay. Denver for December is 15.5 and 79 pay.

Chicago is 32% day turns, 4% 2 days, 8% 3 days, 31% 4 days and 25% 5 day trips.

First year pay does suck and is well below average. Our current contract is from the bankruptcy days. I'm looking long term, and I believe frontier will offer a good career. The airline is very profitable and growing fast. Once we get a new contract, it should be a good place to be. I'm not retiring for more than 30 years, so I'm not too caught up in the current contract. It will only be a short portion of my career

 

I have an upcoming interview and I was wondering if any current or past F9 guys can give me some insight as to what to expect regarding DEN?

I have heard some recent rumors that the operations in DEN will be shrinking... and I understand it is a senior base. I live in Denver and would want to be based there ASAP... how long could I expect to wait until that happens? How long to hold a line? Upgrade?

I am brand new to 121 (all Pt 91 and 135) and I have never commuted to work. I am trying to plan for this reality, as well as taking a 70%-ish pay cut. I do believe from what I hear and read that there is great potential on the horizon, and I would like to be a part of the process.

Any insight is helpful.

 

I believe that getting Denver straight out of training is possible. If not, I would think you could get it quickly. It doesn't appear that Denver will shrink any more than it already has. Denver has shrunk by about 40%, but I think it's holding steady now.

The Chicago base is as big as it's going to get since we can't get any more gates in ORD, and thus can't expand more in Chicago. Orlando has room to grow, but they already have the base nearly up to size. I really do think you could get Denver right out of training.

Upgrade in Denver however is a very different story. I bet you can't be a DEN captain for a decade.

If you are new to the 121 world and you care about your quality of life, don't commute

 

Anyone from the FLL job fair get a call? Previous job fair attendees that got called, what was the turn around time to Denver interview?

 

I went to the DEN job fair and I heard via email that I would be invited to interview 2 weeks after? My interview is mid Dec.

 

You received the email to interview two weeks after or your interview is two weeks after the job fair? When was the Denver job fair?

 

Were they conducting interviews at the job fair? I was able to talk to a recruiter and was asked a couple of questions about myself but was not aware that they were conducting on site interviews

 

Frontier does not conduct on-site interviews at the job fair. You still have to come to Denver for the full interview.

 

Does Frontier use Fore flight or Jepp Pro?