thats what they said about Lakes.... ask the 4yr FO's there what they think...:rolleyes:

Bottom line... Go to an airline where if you were to get stuck, you can still have a decent life along with pay. Chasing the fast upgrade can bite you in the A$$ in this business.

I passed up the 6/16 interview date for the 21st, because my now ex girlfriend was in town on the 16th, guess I should just blown her off so I could get a class date quicker. Well, I guess if enough people say they're not coming then maybe I'll get in the class and if not hopefully things go quick. Love2Rotate, who do you work for? If it's Colgan, the problem is im not at 1000TT yet. Thanks for all the great responses guys and I didn't mean to offend anyone, I'm just gonna make the decision that I feel is best for me, thanks for all your comments though, every little bit helps me make the best decision. Hopefully the Eagle interview tomorrow goes well and I will actually have some options.

Nobody made them stay. They could have just as easily have walked (possibly after forking over $7500 which is asinine to begin with).

This entire industry is a massive risk taking...nobody at a regional can predict their upgrade time, they're time to the majors, how far they'll get in the majors, or how many furloughs they'll go through. The only given about this industry is that it can turn on a dime.

I came here knowing I could upgrade quick or get stuck as an FO for a few years. It's a risk I'm willing to take. Most situations that would drag out the upgrade time here would do the same thing to any other carrier, and when the situation resolves itself you'd still be in a better upgrade position at a carrier like C5 where the pilot group is small.

I flew with a 26 year old Capt today who is leaving for JB...not a bad deal.

We have 23yr old captains, whats your point?. Actually, quite a few were just hired by JetBlue. My .02 is this.... When an FO here (9L) is making 48hr and it takes a C5 captain 9yrs to equal our FO payrate thats obsurd.

The pay scale isn't the only thing to take into account. Whats your contract look like, work rules, min guarantee, soft pay, ability to bid into other equipment/bases? All of these things should play a role into how you choose. Eagle is hiring, ExJet, 9E, XJ, 9L, SKW and others. is there room for growth at the carrier you want to work for? Are they parking planes or adding them?

I chased the fast upgrade and found out the hard way. I'm just trying to shed some light on a young aviators career choice. Either way, good luck.

Of course at C5 you get to hear "TM the Milkman" tell stories of his grandeur flying in Africa (apparently in addition to flying F-16s, ERJs, CRJs, working for the FDNY, and attending multiple colleges).

You can't get that anywhere else. :rolleyes:

Ya know I hate the hostility sometimes on this site; however I would like to thank everyone for their opinions. Just got the offer from Eagle today. Got some decisions to make, but I have a few weeks to make them. Would love to interview at Colgan; however I don't think they would take me with 720. Thanks again.

Wow times have changed when you meet and get accepted at eagle before you have the minimums for colgan.

ha maybe, can't say i was looking for a airline job in the last big hiring time, i was worrying about graduating high school / starting college

Congrats OHPilot! Hope you get into training soon and get the plane and base you want.

The hostility on this site comes and goes, but I think most of us agree on the important points of strengthening this career and giving us all reasonable wages. You see it when an airline pickets and pilots from other airlines come on their own time just to show support.

You don't always see the agreement and support on an internet forum, but you can believe that it is out there.

this Pabst is for you. :)

Is commuteair still hiring??
Also, The website says 900 TT minimuns, are they really Firm on the Minimums for TT.
Anyone with any latest, Pls share.

I have been swimming in the pool since 6/21. Waiting for a class date. I guess they are running one on 8/29; however I am not in that one. I have under 900TT; however I had someone walk in my resume which drops the mins to 600/100. They are very firm on 600/100 from what I hear.

Rumor flying around is there will be one on the 29th and Sept 26th.

Of course, there's also a rumor flying around that one of the APU's actually isn't MEL'ed, so I wouldn't get my hopes up. :rolleyes:

Apparently more spots opened up for the class on the 29th, class of 6 total. Guess I'll be turning down eagle.

Cool dude, shoot me a PM if you have any questions.

FYI there's a decent amount of stuff around the hotel in CLE for ground. Walmart across the street, few fast food and sit down places within walking distance.

In SEA though, there is nothing within about a mile of the hotel. The van will run you a couple of places, but plan on nabbing snacks from Flight Safety every chance you get.

With whats going on over at Eagle this is a wise decision. Kinda funny that turning down Eagle for CommuteAir is a good move. Boy this indsutry changes quick :rolleyes:

Ya, I really wanted Commut, I'm not a gambler, I'm that guy that went to Vegas on his 21st birthday and didn't gamble. But I'm actually from Cleveland, an east sider, so I'm pretty aware of what's in the area. Probably going to stay at home and not in the hotel. I'm only about a 15 minute drive. In SEA I guess I'll have to figure it out, thanks for the tip! It's funny I'm leaving FlightSafety to go train at FlightSafety.

Oh yeah, living in base is nice. You'll have EWR to start with though (unless something weird happens). None of the lowest class right now can hold CLE, but you should be able to within a few months at the latest.

In my opinion, get the room. Ground is pretty thorough and you'll want to study with your sim partner as much as you can. Remember that by staying at home and driving in every day you may be potentially hurting not only your studying, but his/hers as well.

Plus when you get into the second week or so you'll want to hit up the paper tigers/FMS trainer as much as you can, and they can get pretty busy, especially if an upgrade class is running concurrent, so you'll end up in there in the middle of the night.

Oh yeah...and there are a couple things that are different from the memory sheet they gave us that'll screw you not so much in sims, but on IOE. Might be worth checking into.

Congrats, I'll see ya there.


<---From Seattle. (Definitely staying at the hotel, but with a vehicle and knowledge of local PacNW customs...)

???

The company will put you up for sims in Seattle. They also will do so in CLE for training.

The memory items and limitations sheet with the flows they send you still need to be memorized prior to training. I'm sure a few things have changed, but it isn't much different and you can learn the differences from your manuals when they are issued in class.

The instructors here are great and you'll learn a lot in ground school. Don't be afraid to ask questions in class, in sim, during IOE and on the line. Congrats to everyone joining us, good luck in class and see you all in the fall when you hit the line.

I think he's joking about the Southwest Captain part.

Okay so whats the news here at Commutair? I know the hiring is still happening, I have a couple buddies just starting there. Curious what people see in the next year. I'm looking to send out apps around March April 2013 and curious what the new legislation is going to be doing to hiring. A strict 1500hr minimum or is there an exception for 141 collegiate programs? And whats the upgrade time like currently? I just want out of this contract I'm in. Ugh

Recently got hired by Commutair for a class beginning in November. The Gouges for the interview that you can find on here and other places are still extremely accurate. If you study those and overall know your IFR procedures and have some common sense you go in prepared for the interview.

Any new updates on this place? As a new FO what bases are most junior and is the 75hr min pay pretty accurate? Around $22,000 first year? Thanks!

Nothing new going on. Still hiring for attrition and new rest rules. All three bases can be junior from month to month. If you don't get your first choice of base you can usually get it a month or two down the road. $22,000 is probably a good estimate for first year.

It's a pretty good place to cut your teeth in the 121 arena. I would only come here if you plan on sticking it out and upgrading. Upgrade is a little over two years at this time.

Many FOs are staying here a year or less and then starting over again at another regional. This obviously hurts the ability for the company to continue to run upgrade classes. We currently have around 100 FOs and we have seen over 50 leave within the past year. The reason there is hiring is mainly because FOs are leaving.

Some people think this place is really bad. This is usually their first 121 job. We have several pilots that have flown at other regionals and the consensus is C5 is a good place to work. Again, it's not anyone's dream job but once you get to a regional its best to hang tight, gain some experience and upgrade when they call your number.