Expressjet to Continental?
 

In the near future I plan on working for Expressjet, and after that I would really like to fly for Continental. I was just wondering if Continental hires from Expressjet? The reason I ask is because I heard that Continental does not like to hire from Expressjet, is there conflict between the two? One last thing, I am going to earn my college degree online once I get hired at a regional, will the major carriers except this, or do they look down on it?

Thank's ahead of time for your help.

I hope this helps answer a few of your questions. Express Jet is Continental Express, as you know. It is less an issue of not getting along as getting along too well, between managements. Taking too many pilots from Express will cost a lot in training and slow down growth opportunities. Only so many can be hired and trained in a year. This is a common problem for pilots wanting to go to a certain airline. It happened to many pilots back when United was hiring a lot. It was more difficult, not impossible to get an interview if you came from Express. That being said, if you have very good connections, and can land an interview, it should not hurt your chances of getting hired. Generally it is harder to get the interview, but not harder to pass the interview if you come from the Express.

I assume your strong desire to work for CO is that you have relatives or family there. So, perhaps that would help you get in quicker. However, you could slow your career down considerably by tieing your dreams to one airline. I know guys that are flying as widebody captains in there early 30s because they took opportunities as they arose. You are probably pretty young and therefore will not have too much concern with the starting conditions at CO. That is a big advantage to you as many, myself included, could not afford the first year conditions offered at CO, but that is not what this thread is about.

You mentioned it in your post, so you are probably concerned about your decision to get an online degree. IMHO, that is not a good choice. Many friends have missed opportunities in their career because they chose to do what you are considering. In the regional world, you will not have time to study for school, work, have a family, and study for work. I would strongly recommend you to complete your education then pursue your career. As far as accepting or frowning upon an online degree, it depends. If it comes up, it will probably be frowned upon. Old grey haired captains that do interviews at major airlines, will probably not be as impressed as if you went the traditional route and got excellent grades. Usually, it will never even come up though in an interview. Very little time and if the box is checked they will just move on. I would not put on your resume XYZ "Online" University.

Well, good luck to you. Only you can decide what's best for you.

Cheers,
BBB

IMHO, beer belly is half right.... I agree with all except the online education thing. I know more than one guy that got on a delta in the extra snobby pre 9/11 days with an online degree. Beside, you can always pick a reputable university that has an online program. Embry Riddle (although I heard the online thing was really tough) is one example.
St

You're about 8 years too late. The last of the "flow-thru" guys were fall 98 hires at Continental Express (now ExpressJet). If Cal is your desire, then you're better off flying for another carrier, upgrading, then apply.

Good luck.

CAL still hires from XJT, but there is no guaranttee. I worked for Express 9 years before going to Continental. There are over 1000 former Express pilots at Continental.

how many of them were because of the flow through though?

XJT to CAL
 

To put things in perspective, when I went through class earlier this year, out of 16 new hires, 12 of them were XJT. They still hire a ton of those guys, however they said that they were slowing down that trend as they clean out the XJT pool.

I spoke with a CAL check Airman and he told me that he likes XJT guys. They know the bases and the system, Ex: CCS (crew communication system), even the Ops manual is very close to CAL's. XJT is a copy of CAL. I'm with XJT currently and I love it.:D

There have been various "flow throughs" over the years. There was a time when you got a CAL number when hired at Express, then the flow-through of 97-2001, then the "list" guys (almost flowed, but 9/11 changed the agreement), then the PIGS, etc. I think 400 pilots are from the last official 97-01 flow through. I've flown with CAL captains that were my Captains on the ATR at Express.

Question?
 

My bro got hired at Cal last year and his class was half filled w/ Xpress guys...he said most were good dudes.

In the classes just before him, he said there were 2 express guys that were severely questionable:

One guy who has pen striped highlighted hair w/ bangs below his eyebrows, also addorned w/ 4 large holes in his ear lobes from earings...they nicknamed the kid "California" or something?? This kid blew my bros mind...my bro is ex mil. The guy is very likable but looks like a clown--or a used car salesman.

And another one that got fired at CAL 5 months earlier for exploding during a CAL CRM class--he got his job back somehow and started 5 months later. How did he get his job back??

Just like any group, there's bound to be some a-holes. 99% of the Express Pilots are outstanding employees. Flown with a few that have entitlement issues, (ie: I earned my job here by flying for Express previously). On the whole they do an outstanding job.

Online degrees are fine. You can't tell the difference between my ERAU degree vs. someone who actually had to go sit through classes at a campus. The only differecne is I flew 80 hours at a regional while the classroom guy is probably not doing the same thing.

Agree
 

I agree! Most Express guys are great - surprisingly, some of my most challenged FO's are ex-military - particularly the older retired ones. I'm ex-military so that surprises me some???? I think the early Express guys that had bad attitudes have either been booted or mellowed some.

Calcapt starts another Civ-Mil battle
 

I fly into challenging areas in Central and S America & SW Asia...like CAL. I find the C-17/C-130 guys particularly sharp! They have been there before and are used to flying places far from "Mom & Dad" (dispatchers). They are able to make decisions w/ out calling home.

The "challenged" ex-mil FOs you have probably fall into several categories:

1. Pass themselves off as ex-mil AVIATORS/PILOTS when in reality they were enlisted MPs and got their ratings/degrees at ERAU online.

2. Screw up a radio call and you roll your eyes at them...then, they roll their eyes at you because you attempt to land on the wrong runway after setting your instruments up incorrectly.

3. After flying F-16s the past 10 years the nuances and extreme difficulty of flying pax around EWR and IAH gets the best of them.

Just a guess, what did you fly in the service?..or do you fall into category #1 above.

THERE ARE SHARP PILOTS FROM BOTH CIVILIAN AND MILITARY AND DIRT BAGS FROM EACH...

Cargobob,

Aside from the airlift guys that fly into lots of different fields, I can see ex-military pilots having a not-so-easy adjustment period flying 121. In the tanker, we just about NEVER fly into busy airspaces/airfields and when we do, it shows. Thinking back over the past two years, the only "busy" fields that I've flown into in the tanker were KHNL, KBNA and TJSJ and when we did go into those fields, I remember the crew (at least the other pilot and I) adding a not so common discussion to our approach briefing about being "prepared" for the arrival because it was going to get busy. Each and every military pilot does his/her specific mission and we do it better than any other military in the world. Lots of people respect that. However, you know flying 121 has it's differences and should not viewed as a rip to ones ego when god for bid someone says an ex-military guy/gal had some growing pains in the transition.

KHNL?

That's not registering. . .perhaps you meant PHNL?

A little testy
 

Mr Bob:

Your ESP abilities are noteworthy. Your comments are rude and take liberties in your assesment that are incorrect. The past two military guys that seemed to be a little challenged were ex-CO's of squadrons. I just mentioned I was a little surprised with their performance based on their background - sorry if that struck a chord with you. I see challenged civilian FO's as well so take a deep breath. My personal military history has been mentioned numerous times in this forum if you choose to look and I don't feel obligated to explain my quallifications to you in any way. These are simply my observations. I can assure you my military flying would not be viewed by most as something less than acceptable and would be coveted by most. Your demeanor is disappointing and I just chose to make a simple point. If you feel like picking a fight - go kick your cat or take a nap. I would ask about your qualifications since you know so much, but don't really care.

:o Doh. Yes, PHNL.

CargoBob, must you feel compelled to pick fights with just about everyone on this forum? A quick perusal of your prior posts show that you have taken exception to members as diverse as ryane, surreal, skygirl and now calcapt. I will say this about you - you are equal opportunity.

Why does it matter what a pilots background is?????? If he's in my right seat.......it means he has passed training....and IOE. If, in my opinion, he is diffecient in some area........then somebody in OUR training department dropped the ball....and let them through. If proceedures are not being followed.......then it's my job to make sure they are. If something comes into question.....we..(flight CREW) look it up. I prefer it be a question of what's right....not whose right, because sometimes....... I make a mistake. :mad:
I'm in the left seat because of seniority....not because of such superior flying skills the company had no choice. :p I was new once. I had some really good mentor Capt's that could careless what my background was.......it think it only fair that I return the favor.
If you happen to fly with a turd....blame the training dept........not the military.....or civie backgrounds. :)

Daytripper . . . nicley said!