How are things going at GoJet?
 

I've asked around to other Pilots and a lot of them don't know much about GoJet.

I keep reading good and bad things about them on here and am not getting a clear understanding about this company.

Is it still true that Delta may consider dropping them because of possible past performance? Are there too many Captains where it's making it difficult for FO's to upgrade?

I don't know who is honest on here, I'm new to this Forum and just want an honest answer.

Thank You

Take everything you hear with a grain a salt. Remember the loudest voices are always the 2-3 people that have a beef with the airline. Happpy people don't come to these forums and complain. You'll notice for gojet on here it's the same 3-4 people making all the negative posts.

And it's always the same few defending GoJet. I would say There's a lot of value to the negative posts on here. The fact that it's still happening says a lot. If GoJet was all sunshine and rainbows there would be a lot more praise

Flysooner seems to be one of the only defenders of Gojet. I believe he left a while back. If someone wants accurate information on what it is like send me a PM. It is not the kind of place you would want to go to unless you know the problems.

Lol your very far off on my career.

I don't think he works there or has ever worked there but wants a dec spot.
Still far off?

If I wanted one I'd be there all ready. I just get tired of people trashing a place because they may have had a bad experience maybe even due to their own doing. I know and have talked to a lot of people about G7. While it may not be top notch it's certainly not a horrible choice.

Ok, Mr. Oklahoma, it's "not a horrible choice"? Gojet has ruined so many pilot's careers for no reason other than the greed of their owner. I don't know of any choice in aviation that could be worse than Gojet. I could line guys and gals up who could tell you about how it ended up being a horrible choice for them. Could Sooner, or anyone else explain to be how any other airline out there is a worse choice? I'm willing to listen.

Then why haven't you left? Or why did you go there in the first place?

I've been here a year and a half and honestly GoJet has treated me pretty well. Like Sooner said, it's the same people that always complain. Maybe something happened to them, but for me, I go to work, fly the contract and go home. Nothing more has been asked of me than just that.

Here's one for you --

About 3 months after completing IOE at GJ, I was hired by a Part 91 company to fly a large body business jet. I was not out looking for a job - they found my profile online and liked what they saw. So, I gave two weeks notice to both the Base Manager and Chief Pilot at the time.

About 1.5 weeks into my notice, the company I was hired to fly for ended up needing me immediately to fly 1 leg back from the Virgin Islands.

I called the CP and told him the situation and offered to complete the remaining days of my two week notice upon my return (the other company only needed me for two days).

He told me he wouldn't do it because he wouldn't do that for anyone else and it wouldn't be fair for me to be the exception. He told me if I did not complete the remainder of my two weeks notice right then and there, that I would be marked "not eligible for rehire". I again told him I was between a rock and a hard place, and to please reconsider; I had never missed an assignment, called in sick or whatever. My training went flawlessly.

As a matter of fact I was given great kudos by him and the D.O. a month earlier for my conduct during an emergency where we had an engine that required to be shut down in flight.

Anyways despite the fact that he was sympathetic to my situation he refused to cut me any slack.

So now GoJet is the ONLY company I've worked for that has me down as not eligible for rehire and I have to give an explanation of this every time someone pulls a job history report on me.

There you go. Great company to work for.

Sounds fair to me. Sounds like your new company should have understood as well.

Is it legal to label you unhireable? That doesn't sound kosher...

Don't know but I'm sure an attorney would be happy to look into it.

I would definitely go that route!

So what you're saying is, you gave a 2 week notice. You agreed to those conditions as did Gojet. In the process the 91 carrier needed to use you immediately, regardless of your current employment commitment. Speaks volumes. You decided to cut short your commitment of flying scheduled services at an airline to go fly some 91 jet. Sounds like a fantastic idea! Did you really think you wouldn't get a letter in your file for something like that? Hope it was worth it!

You're conveniently leaving out the fact that I made every effort to fulfill my commitment to GoJet. Even the CP agreed that stiffing a new employer who was paying me north of six-figures to fly for them would probably not make a positive first impression, regardless of whether they "understood" my prior commitments or not. Remember, I did not ask for this situation. I was doing the best I knew how to remedy it and make it right for both parties.

So, in the end I was dinged on my employment record for asking GoJet to slide two days off that I had coming toward the end of the week (Friday, Saturday), to the beginning of the week (Tuesday, Wednesday) so I could fly for my new employer and then come back and fulfill the rest of my commitment.

Ever flown corporate? You don't tell the owner "sorry I can't" - especially if you are new, unless you just a plain freaking idiot. Regardless, I cannot see where my request was so egregious that it could not be accommodated. Just because you have the right to do something, doesn't mean that you do it; especially when someone is trying their best to do what's right - especially after I had already fulfilled 95% of my two week commitment.

I could have easily told GJ to pound sand the second I got my new job, but I didn't. How many guys do you know that would stick it out sitting reserve with a crappy regional paying for their own hotel for over a week and a half, after signing a job offer for over 100k? And yet in your eyes I deserved a not-eligible-for-rehire status, which basically tells others I was a sh*it employee. Was I?

I guess you and GoJet agree that all things considered, the right thing to do was to reward my efforts of making things right by blemishing my employment record. That's fine, I'm just grateful subsequent employers that evaluated this situation do not possess the same critical thinking skills that you and GoJet possess.

Why does every gojet recruiter, I mean pilot post the same thing on here? You're about the thousandth guy that's said I just fly the contract and slip through the cracks therefore it's fine. That's the point of having a union that has your back and supportive management, so you don't have to slip through the cracks.

Hah I'm far from a recruiter, and if you look at my post history, I try to stick solely to my experiences. I've never felt like the union hasn't had my back, nor have I ever felt like anyone in management was out to get me. Actually quite the opposite, my experiences with management here have been really good. But that might go back to the fact that I fulfill my end of the contract, which is what every pilot at every airline is hired to do...

As far as the guy getting the unhireable status, sucks man and I actually feel bad as I would hate to be in that situation. But if you are doing 65mph in a 55mph zone and get a ticket, I don't think "But I was doing 95% of the speed limit" defense is gonna work... was it harsh, ya pretty harsh, but unfortunately you did break an agreement...

Not "unhireable", just not eligible for rehire. Point well taken, but like I said to the other guy, I'm glad that other employers were a little more understanding and could see the situation for what it was. At the end of the day it was a broken two-week notice with extenuating circumstances. If someone won't hire me because of that and ignore plenty of other employers who will give me stellar recommendations - oh well.

Oops sorry, not eligible I meant... either way, you're at a good place now and like you said, have a reason for why you left.

I've only been with the company since January of this year. But so far I have no complaints. There's like a handful of the same dudes on this forum who like to bash the company and that's about it. Most of the people who work here enjoy it... and from what I've found so far really is a good group of guys here.

The problem is you get on hear with the conclusion that Gojet has not done bad things to you so they must not do bad things. There are many people who had no problem with Gojet for several years until they became inconvenient to Gojet for some reason. When that happened the contract and the laws did not mean a thing to Gojet.

You say that you "I've never felt like the union hasn't had my back", have you ever needed to have the union have your back? Let us know what happens when you need them. Do you know there are grievances that have been outstanding for 3 years that Gojet is fighting them even being heard? Do you believe that the Union had their back? Perhaps they did, but it shows how weak the contract is or how good GJ is at avoiding it.

So parts of this might come off as snarky, but not intended...

Have i needed the union, ya a few times, but nothing major. They were quick to give advice and rectify the issue. Another few times i had issues,
I just went straight to the part of the company i had an issue with, and it was resolved as well. I wasnt paid holiday bonus for Christmas and New Years, talked straight with payroll and it was on the next check.

I'm a grown ass man, prior military and this isnt my first regional. So when i give my opinion about how things are, I can only compare it to the other places I've been. If you have such a problem with G7 or the union, you have a couple choices the way i see it. 1, quit.(if you even do work here) Everyone is hiring and many places are immediate upgrade. 2, volunteer for the union. I've never even seen anyone complain on the board the way you complain here. How about you start a thread on the union board, it'll prove you work here and that you want it to change. Amd lastly 3, put your app in next time there is a management's position! Change it from the inside.

That's my .02, sorry your experience here hasnt been the same.

Last note. Years back I was given a good thinking point when i was in the Air Force. A retired General came in to talk to my NCO class. He started off my talking about people with horribly negative attitudes and how these people would go around saying "The Air Force isnt for me!" He followed that with, "When was the last time you heard the Air Force say that they werent for it?" My point, G7 needs and wants everyone of their pilots, and isnt picking people out at random to target. If you don't hold up your end of the bargin, lie cheat or steal; no matter where you work, i would hope that they would hold you accountable.

Oh boy.... how clueless are you. How long did you say you've been there? Hope your luck doesn't run out. I've heard so many unbelievable stories there. Maybe they've changed the culture there a bit but the dirt hasn't been removed, just rearranged.

What's the average monthly credit folks are making over here?

Im at 84hrs and 14 days off as captain. My last FO was over 100hrs, which included a junior assignment. Average credit is around 80-85hrs and 14-15 days off per month.

So you're calling me clueless about a place I work at, and a place you've heard stories about? I've talked to plenty of guys that have been here 7yrs +, and ya things have been slowly changing for the better, day by day. But I can promise you that the stories you hear and the environment that I've seen in the 1.5yrs being here are very different. I left a really good job, working for EagleMed; a medevac single pilot king air company, to come here as a street captain. and honestly things have been overall really good. I have a few small complaints, but no more than ive had at any other place.

7+ yrs ...You get to pick whatever 2turns you want outta LGA...(in a jet) saaaawheeeat. Not to mention the 1%401K match. It's great to be king!

And what regional is any different?

I'm not in the discussion other than as a fact checker as flysooner asked here. It seems that all the other regionals I checked, 6 or 7 that is, are much better. Gojet pays nothing the first 9 months and then up to 2% match. Even TSA pays 3%. Republic supposedly enrolls you immediately with 6% match. Stick that in a spread sheet allowed to compound over 35 years and that's a big amount.

It was harder to get info about scheduling but one guy I asked has only been able to trade or drop one trip in 8 years unless he paid someone to take his trip. He summed it up as, "What you get is what stays on your schedule."

I mean it really depends, As an FO i was able to drop only 1 trip completely. But i traded and swapped all the time. When there was open time i moved my schedule around all the time. As a Captain I managed recently to drop the last 2 legs of a trip and I have swapped trips a bunch. When you pref bid correctly most times you dont need to do do much juggling. ( i did not bid correctly on my last bid)

Quote from the contract:
Pilot’s Years of Service Company Matching Percentage
After 9 months through 2 years 50% match up to 4% (2%)
Beginning of Year 3 through 6 years 50% match up to 6% (3%)
Beginning of Year 7+ 50% match up to 8% (4%)

What's reserve time looking like these days?

FO
DTW - 0 reserve
ORD - 1-2 months
STL - 1-2 months
RDU - 4-6 months
DEN - 8 + months

These are rough guesses, give or take a month.

How about CA (DEC and non-DEC)?

For May, I was the most Junior line holder in DTW as a Captain, Feb 16 hire, but will prob be on reserve next month due to FO upgrades. Right now there are 30 lines in DTW, but expected to go to near 50 lines and be our largest base, which I'll have the line back.

To hold a line as a Captain:
DTW - 15 - 18 months
STL - 2 - 2.5 years
RDU- 2 - 2.5 years
ORD - 3.5 years
DEN - 4 years + (flying has been expanding here, expecting those numbers to come down)

All bases except for DEN can be held straight from training or within a few months for Street Captains.

How much is Gojet paying their LCAs these days?

Also bear in mind that if you are hired at gojet as a DEC you are basically being hired to augment FO reserve. You will fly in the right seat a lot. When the DECs were first being hired this was not the case. Now, however as it is getting more difficult to find and recruit new FOs, GoJet is using the DEC position to entice experienced pilots to join GoJet. New hire DECs at GoJet can reasonably expect to fly up to 50% of their time in the right seat. On the plus side, all flying is paid at the captain pay scale and it's better than sitting reserve all day.

i believe it is a $15 override on top of pay

Actually I was just talking with a street captain last week. Said he was hired in Oct, only been online for a few months and had over 50hrs in the left seat for April and was over 30hrs left seat for May already..

And even if you sit right seat a bit, you're getting paid over $68/hr to do it...

I agree, as I said; street captains are still getting captain pay and it's still better than sitting reserve.
My post is merely to advise potential new hire street captains that they can and will be used in the right seat. When you compare they FO reserve grids to the Captain reserve grids it is glaringly obvious that we are very short of FOs and with the increase in summer flying approaching reserve captains can be expected to fly a lot more in the right seat.
I'm not complaining (this time) just providing info so potential new hires can manage their expectations.