Champion Air
03-11-2006, 12:40 PM
#2
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2006
Position: B-737NG preferably in first class with a glass of champagne and caviar
Posts: 5,906
Champion Air is a Part 121 Ad Hoc Charter Carrier. They have 16 727s. The company is based as KMSP. I don't know if they are hiring at this time. I believe they used to be a home based carrier. However, there were some junior guys were told that there base would be where ever. So crash pads are required. If you are starting out its as good as any place. If you meet the requirements for Champion Air, then you more than meet the requirements for a regional where longevity is more assured.
03-18-2006, 06:44 PM
#4
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2006
Position: C47 PIC/747-400 SIC
Posts: 2,100
Not the worst place to be by far, 727 is a great airplane, but movement has been slow,especially tough on the juniors stuck in the pit. The place has potential, we all hope it is realized.
03-26-2006, 02:12 PM
#8
DisplAAced
Joined APC: Mar 2006
Position: EMB-145 FO
Posts: 638
Sat next to a guy that was jumpseating from MSP to BJI who works there. Said he'd been there 5 years, has its ups and downs just like anywhere else. Thing he liked about it was that it is mostly out and backs so he is home with the fam just about every night.
03-26-2006, 06:50 PM
#9
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2006
Position: C47 PIC/747-400 SIC
Posts: 2,100
That is one of the attractions, almost all the flying is just turns. Small company,great people. Like I said before the potential is there and we hope it is realized, and you get to fly a real,live firebreathing,black smoke, retrojet in pax service.
04-02-2006, 06:58 AM
#10
Are we there yet??!!
Joined APC: Apr 2006
Posts: 2,010
Well, I have been a lurker on this site for sometime but I decided to logon and tell a little truth about MG. First off, you can go over to Flightinfo.com and see some of the discussions that have taken form about the place. Forgive me if i ramble a bit but I am just puting this down as it comes to me.
I am a former MG pilot and I left at the end of the Summer '05 and there were quite a few people that also follwed suit. Once upon a time, Champion was an OK place to work. Mostly turns to tourist destinations with the occassionaly seasonal TDY. Those days are over for the most part. After 9/11, managment decided that they could screw the flight crews anyway possible. And that took the form of being rebased every 3-6 months and then trying to screw you our of your moving reimbursemet which had a very low cap of $1500. Even if you are a commuter you still need some cash to defer your expensise while you hunt for a new pad. I for one became very tired of financing the comapny this way. The contact that was signed back in 02 (which I voted NO) has so many holes in it, it not even funny and the company will not even live up to some of the most basic items in it. I was there for almost 6 years and I never upgraded to Capt. I was lead on for 2 yrs after being told we are gonna hire XX numbers of crews and that will put you in upgrade. Well that never happened and Champion ain't the place you want to sit around waiting on upgrade...ie it is not a career job...just a stepping stone. But then again with all the NWA managment comming over I guess things could be worse and i hear it is getting that way.
The traiing Dept was getting worse when I was still there. We stated doing quite a bit of home study and then when you get to gnd school it was usually a jerk off session. The pro checks became certifcate check rides and not to metion one individual that is outta control as a check airman. It was amazing that training could be on one level and then you were expected to perform way above that. Kinda assine in my view.
If one is thinking about going to work there I would not suggest it. First off, you'll proably never make it off the panel in the next 2-3 yrs. Pay is low for the type of flying that is being done. By that I mean the contract they have with the NBA, NHL and other sports teams not to metion the goverment flying such as DoD, DoE, US Marshalls and more. If you qualify to go there, you defintly qualify to go to a commuter and you'll probably make more money there not to metion upgrade faster.
We had one of the uppers on managment on the j/s one day and he was just making his rounds. He let it slip that MG was trying to get back into the VIP and sports market and that meant they could do 1/3 of the flying and still make the same profit. How does this translate to pilots you may ask. Well, that means you'll never make above gurantee of 65 hrs, do a lot of sitting in hotel rooms (which they are still downgrading the quality off) and trying to stay under your per diem of $1.50 hr.
I was a little surprised one day when we had a relatively new dispatcher doing his line fam ride. I found out new dispatcher make as much or more than f/os that have been there for 5-6 yrs. Can ya say I was a little upset when I found that out. Plus about half of the DXers are, to put it bluntly ,idiots. . They make the most basic mistakes and never seem to learn from their mistakes.Ever off-line charter might as well have been a moonshot but they would still manage to screw that up too. You would think they would have figured it out since it is a charter comapany and we do a lot of off-line charters. I can't forget the multipile times they have filed us right through the heart of a lvl 4-5 t'storm and back in 02' right through a hurricane (and no I am not joking) Not to metion that the people in HQ treat you like you have three heads if you walk in. They are so disconnect from the ops side, that I dont think that most of them even realize that the company is an airline and they actually fly airplanes to make money. Not to metion, it is the first place that I have worked the the number of people in HQ out number pilots+pilots+mech altogether and they dont even sell tickets, so that means no reservation employees. Talk out being top heavy.
If your burning desire is to fly the 727 before they go away...you have been warned
I am a former MG pilot and I left at the end of the Summer '05 and there were quite a few people that also follwed suit. Once upon a time, Champion was an OK place to work. Mostly turns to tourist destinations with the occassionaly seasonal TDY. Those days are over for the most part. After 9/11, managment decided that they could screw the flight crews anyway possible. And that took the form of being rebased every 3-6 months and then trying to screw you our of your moving reimbursemet which had a very low cap of $1500. Even if you are a commuter you still need some cash to defer your expensise while you hunt for a new pad. I for one became very tired of financing the comapny this way. The contact that was signed back in 02 (which I voted NO) has so many holes in it, it not even funny and the company will not even live up to some of the most basic items in it. I was there for almost 6 years and I never upgraded to Capt. I was lead on for 2 yrs after being told we are gonna hire XX numbers of crews and that will put you in upgrade. Well that never happened and Champion ain't the place you want to sit around waiting on upgrade...ie it is not a career job...just a stepping stone. But then again with all the NWA managment comming over I guess things could be worse and i hear it is getting that way.
The traiing Dept was getting worse when I was still there. We stated doing quite a bit of home study and then when you get to gnd school it was usually a jerk off session. The pro checks became certifcate check rides and not to metion one individual that is outta control as a check airman. It was amazing that training could be on one level and then you were expected to perform way above that. Kinda assine in my view.
If one is thinking about going to work there I would not suggest it. First off, you'll proably never make it off the panel in the next 2-3 yrs. Pay is low for the type of flying that is being done. By that I mean the contract they have with the NBA, NHL and other sports teams not to metion the goverment flying such as DoD, DoE, US Marshalls and more. If you qualify to go there, you defintly qualify to go to a commuter and you'll probably make more money there not to metion upgrade faster.
We had one of the uppers on managment on the j/s one day and he was just making his rounds. He let it slip that MG was trying to get back into the VIP and sports market and that meant they could do 1/3 of the flying and still make the same profit. How does this translate to pilots you may ask. Well, that means you'll never make above gurantee of 65 hrs, do a lot of sitting in hotel rooms (which they are still downgrading the quality off) and trying to stay under your per diem of $1.50 hr.
I was a little surprised one day when we had a relatively new dispatcher doing his line fam ride. I found out new dispatcher make as much or more than f/os that have been there for 5-6 yrs. Can ya say I was a little upset when I found that out. Plus about half of the DXers are, to put it bluntly ,idiots. . They make the most basic mistakes and never seem to learn from their mistakes.Ever off-line charter might as well have been a moonshot but they would still manage to screw that up too. You would think they would have figured it out since it is a charter comapany and we do a lot of off-line charters. I can't forget the multipile times they have filed us right through the heart of a lvl 4-5 t'storm and back in 02' right through a hurricane (and no I am not joking) Not to metion that the people in HQ treat you like you have three heads if you walk in. They are so disconnect from the ops side, that I dont think that most of them even realize that the company is an airline and they actually fly airplanes to make money. Not to metion, it is the first place that I have worked the the number of people in HQ out number pilots+pilots+mech altogether and they dont even sell tickets, so that means no reservation employees. Talk out being top heavy.
If your burning desire is to fly the 727 before they go away...you have been warned
Last edited by Thedude; 04-02-2006 at 07:31 AM.
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