Small Community Airlines?
 

Is this for real?

Small Community Airlines is a regional commuter airline committed to providing quick, reliable and cost effective transportation between communities where little or no air service currently exists.

They are advertising for Jetstream Captains and FOs out of Dallas-Love.

Anyone got more info about these guys?

Welcome to Small Community Airlines

It looks legit, and that tail # checks out. I just wonder who they would be flying for. Hope that's not another code share for Southwest!:eek:

Looks like they will be operating out of DAL to smaller cities in Texas and Louisiana. Maybe EAS?

All EAS stuff out of Love field. I think they are still awaiting DOT approval...

Can't wait to see their pay. :rolleyes:

Don't be a High Maintenance pilot!!


Hotel Waffles & Jimmy Dean Muffins (you can help yourself, but don't take too much) should suffice!!

What more do you really need?

Coffee. Free coffee or NO DEAL!;)

Sounds like a fun job. Of course I say that, being in Nigeria flying at the moment, where anything sounds more appealing. LOL. Plus the base is in my hometown. I'll bet capt. pay is livable. Hope it works out for them and the pilots they hire.

In their letter to several Texas airports, they talk about having "peek" time departures. And they want their pilots to have a high school diploma? They should check to see if management has one.

At least they are jumpin' puddles in an actual puddle jumper. J31s are cheap: less than a million right out of heavy checks.

Just spoke with the cheif pilot, nice guy. Their going to select guys with Jetstream time first, then they'll look at people with high Part 121 time, and so on.

Aren't 19seat Jetstreams a little old now for 2009? I bet they could have found some nice cheap 1900s on the market.

Jetstreams are not really that old and most of them have low cycle times. Also a lot less than the over priced 1900.

I don't know, maybe it's all the Jetstreams I've seen in the desert or the pre 90s pics that I've seen of them. If I was a pax I'd go with something newer, at least the 1900 looks like a proper airliner.

The Beech 1900 is a great aircraft. I'm big Beechcraft fan and I use to own a Sierra and a Turbo Baron. But there is nothing wrong with the J-32, its 2-1 seating is better and they also have a restroom onboard, the 1900 does not. The oldest J-32 are 1992s and like I said have lower time on them then the 1900s out there. The ones you saw in the desert (Kingman) are no longer there, most were x-American Eagle.

cheap is 250k sitting on a ramp. could get one running for 500k with new P & I

I have firsthand knowledge of this operation.

Don't get your hopes up. It may never fly, and they've been working 5+ years for a cert.

They haven't been looking for J32's. None are in the states that are anywhere near flying condition.

When did they put a restroom in the Jetstream? The 2-1 seating did come in handy when one poor lady saturated her seat cushion and moved to the dry, vacant seat next to hers. The lav would have been nice while I was flying them.

Sounds like it would be a cool deal if it ever got off the ground. I always thought it would be fun to to puddle jump around my home state. Anyone remember Conquest Airlines, for some reason as a kid I always wanted to work for them. Anyway I imagine the pay would be competitive with GLA:rolleyes:

Small Community Airlines is working on getting service from Dallas Love Field, TX-Lake Charles Regional Airport, LA and now we hear-''American Eagle Airlines to Launch Nonstop Jet Service Between Lake Charles, LA., and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport'' American Eagle last served Lake Charles in November 2000. Now they want to go back! What do you think is going on?

didn't they get some Air 21 money (like EAS) a year or 2 ago?

Please, yes, be a high maintenance pilot. We have more strict guidelines on us telling us if we can do our jobs or not than doctors do. Can you be a pilot if you are colorblind? Yes, but it is hard. Can you if you have diabetes? No. Can a doctor? Yes. How many RX's can you be on? Not many. How about doctors? They can take nearly anything and still go to work. We often have 10's or 100's of lives in our hands on an hourly basis. They are lucky if they spend a combined hour talking to the 10 lives they have to deal with.

If we go through school and get a BS degree (around 120 hours) and also our Commerical Multi (Around 250-260 hours) we spend nearly enough time training to have 3 BS degrees!

It's about time we start getting paid what we are worth as professionals. Demand respect for yourself and your profession and expect to be paid like a professional.

Hmmm....must have photoshopped the hydraulic fluid leaking from the pod.

X

That's a non sequitur. Obtaining a commercial/multi is relatively easy and no big accomplishment. The accomplishment is what you do after getting your ratings. Hours in an airplane to obtain a pilot certificate are not comparable to college credit hours.....not even close.

I agree. However, remember that we're talking about a Jetstream 32. Don't expect a 737 wage for a Jetstream.

Agreed 100% Glad someone else caught on to that

nitecat
 

Have they started interviewing or hiring yet. They have postings on two
pilot employment websites, I have faxed my resume but haven't heard
anything. Have high 121 time and high J-31 time, but haven't flown the
Jetstream in 15 years. Wonder how many pilots are current in the J-31?
Any information anyone has would be greatly appreciated. I do love
flying in Texas. I can also name a country/western song for practically
every mid to large city in the state.

They're hiring pilots. You need Jetstream type and be current on it........

Well, that'll be interesting. Boston Maine shut down over a year ago and I think they were the last US operator.

There a few corporate/charter ops running them as "shuttles".

Not sure they're going anywhere soon..
 

DOT is asking for some additional information for their Economic Fitness.

if you know how to use the Regulations.gov website, its OST-2005-21822 -
but basicly they've failed to include a bunch of expenses in their finances and have to account for items like airport operations, aircraft leases/loans, etc. Knowing how 'fast' the DOT is, could be a few months...

Weren't there a couple of failed Dallas- Louisianna J31/32 operators in the past decade of so, I believe tied in to Casino's? Is this the same bunch of guy/s trying it again only with EAS?

The top two guys were at Casino. There is an Angel Investor. They've been working on their cert. for over 5 years. Can't get it strait.

They have one, almost flyable, J31. It's presently in parts. Has not been airborne since 2005, and that was under a ferry permit form Cali. to KDAL. There is another airframe at KDAL that will never fly. The GM, former Casino guy, is insistent on using this type. He's spent more on the one in parts in the hangar than the airplane's worth. He's been looking at some old Boston-Maine aircraft. They're also dogs. The DM has been around JS since they came out. Good guy. The CI is also a good guy, but a little of a victim of circumstance, ex-DAL and UPS, and the CP is an old Indy Air guy. He's extremely knowledgeable about ATOS. He could make a fortune on his own as a consultant if he wanted to. (???)

They have no leases on anything. They pay rent for 1/4 of a hangar and office space in it. They've been through 4 DO's on the last year or so.

I worked in their "office" last year for a short period. Don't hold your breath for this thing to get started anytime soon. I really think they just want a cert. to sell.

They're not going to pay you much, they're gonna stretch the CFR's, and there will be a training contract. Stay away. You were warned.

Pay is $35 to $49 per hour for CAPTAINS


They will be doing proving runs soon. I bet they will have about 1000 applications.

I agree hours in the aircraft are relatively a non-event. But the hours of study required for the knowledge is something else. Some pilots are so quick to dismiss the ground time, and only recognize the flight time.

Looking for a new DO. Just fired that last one. That's 3 in a year.

Airplane is in pieces in the hangar.

I just interviewed for a position and they seemed close to certification and are going to fly some part 91 for demonstration and some proving runs to get their part 121 cert.

If they had (3) DOs in one year, it seems to be one may have been very old and has since died, the second one was not qualified to be DO, yet they tried to get a deviation from FAA and FAA said no. The third was fired.

Sounds like normal turn over for the aviation world when you have people that do not qualify, are too old, or are fired.

A DO is a top management position and if fired, must have been important to terminate to make the company better. When a top management position is fired it must have been a big problem.

They said the plane was in parts because they opened it up so FAA could do an ageing aircraft and corrosion inspections for conformity, seem SOP to me.

Not sure why the sour grapes about this airlines. I do not see many others trying to hire and expand in this economy.

Anyone that can offer me another shot at work is a choice I did not have before. If I do not like the pay or duty station I will simply turn, go and wish them good luck. Again, not sure why the negative hits on this new startup. Must be former employees and sour grapes.

Not everyone will "ride for the brand" where they have to support the brand before themselves, especially on a startup.

If I can get part 121 experience at their expense I will ride for the brand, even if the money is low for I still will get the part 121 time on my resume when everyone else is being laid off. Over time part 121 pay is better then part 91.

I am just happy to have choices and some pay is better then no pay!

Well, since they haven't been in business before, I'd say it's not likely to be disguntled former employees. A DO has to have an ATP and three of the last six years as PIC in 121 or 135 ops. They can't find someone who meets those criteria and have to try to get a waiver? Oh, right, they're paying 600-700 a week. And you say since the DO is top management, to have to fire him, it must have been a big problem. The question is, where was the problem? Was the DO doing something wrong, or were the owners asking him to do something he didn't think was right? It could go either way.

I think the reason you see the negativity here is we're all wondering what they're smoking? They've been working on this for a while on a shoe string. Problem is, ATOS requires you to jump through the same hoops, whether you're a one plane start up or American Airlines. You know as soon as they start, AA and Continetal will have $39 fares to Louisiana out of DFW and IAH. After 30+ years doing this foolishness, I wish them luck. I sent a resume off 350 but it's been 20 years since I was near a Jetstream and I haven't heard anything back. I'm not holding my breath.

:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: Unbelievable. Why do I get the feeling that you're going to get hired on this one??

If these guys are short on startup cash that they can't afford to pay decent wages, why don't they just make it 9 bucks an hour for CAs and pay for training for FOs? I'm sure people like this guy will show up anyways, refer to his last sentence.

The aircraft has NOT flown since 2005. It was never placed in a storage program, just hangared.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Small Community Airlines showed me their aircraft, a J31 tail number N831JS that is in their hanger and yes it in parts going through conformity with FAA, just as it should be.
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This aircraft was last flown the end of May 2009 when it was flown to DAL.

Why do you say “The aircraft has NOT flown since 2005” and “Don't say I didn't warn you”.

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Why do you have such hart-burn for this company?

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What did they do to you?

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Are you the DO they fired?

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You need to get your facts straight before making claims like “The aircraft has NOT flown since 2005.”

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SCA showed me the aircraft they are leasing. The J31/ N831JS is the aircraft they are finishing their part 121 cert with, and they told me FAA is pleased with this aircraft.

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I researched the flight activity of N831JS with FlightAware.com and it checked out.

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It was flown to DAL at the end of May of 2009 just like SCA told me. During the month of April and May 2009 N831JS was flown 15 times for over 18 hours.

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Here is the link to the flight data records for the months of April and May 2009 from FlightAware.com for J31 / N831JS and if you are a member you can go back and see more flights:

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FlightAware > Live Flight Tracker > N831JS

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This does not appear to be an aircraft that “has NOT flown since 2005”.

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Before you go around casting doubts about the aircraft used for certification and the company, you would be well served to actually do some research.

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I prefer to be positive and encourage a company that can create a great number of jobs.

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Everyone is trying to get the economy started again and grow new jobs. I think we should support new start-ups and not attack them with false statements.

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I hope they hire many.