ClarenceOver

I never said it was right. I'm not even sure she even knows what she is talking about. That is just what she said.

aviatorhi

I once worked for a 121/135 operation. The feds signed off on 121 crews flying the 135 airplanes so long as the airplane was operated by the crew to the 121 standard and operated (ie. revenue/seats/flight following)/maintained by the company to the 135 standard.

---WARNING, THE FOLLOWING MAY BE OBVIOUS TO SOME---

My guess is GLAs 135 certificate is, as far as procedure go, identical to the 121 certificate and is being taken advantage of to (in a rather clever way I might add) opt out of the 1500 hour requirement.

If they were smarter (and even more clever) than they are they would have gotten a Combi conversion to 9 seats (very common in AK) and utilized the new cargo space to obtain revenue from FDX, UPS or a freight forwarder. Particularly as they rarely see more than 9 passengers to begin with.

Aero1900

I no longer work for Great Lakes, but when I left, the plan was to operate the split 121/135 cert as follows:

All Captains will be 121 captains, and for them, the operation basically doesn't change at all. All flights, 121 or 135 will be operated exactly the same with the only exception being that 135 flights will have lower time FOs, and only 9 passengers. All other aspects will be in compliance with 121 regulations.

Therefore, a portion of Great Lakes flights will be operated under 135, with a potentially 250 hour FO, and 9 passengers maximum. The other Great Lakes flights (to busy cities) will operate as normal with a full 121 crew.

I believe that they have gotten their hands on the 135 certificate, and are thus hiring new FOs at well under 1500 hours. The big question that I have yet to get an answer to is; the training contract. Before I left, the company was saying that wanted to up the training contract to 3 years/ $17,000 for guys hired onto the 135 side of the operation. The current training contract is and has been 15 months/ $7500. Great Lakes is concerned that they will be a great place for people to get from 250-500 hours up to 1500 hours and then bail and head to SkyWest (or equivalent.)

For anyone with well under the 1500 hours that may be interested in a job at Great Lakes, I would strongly recommend you figure out about the status of the training contract, and take the findings very seriously. A 3 year/ $17,000 training contract is a serious thing to sign. Otherwise, if you have 300 hours and the training contract is still the old 15 month one, Great Lakes might be a great place to quickly build flight time and learn a bunch doing it.

And as always, for those interested in Great Lakes, if you accept a job there, I highly recommend you get your IFR skills and instrument scan as sharp as possible, as the training is not easy.

Sr. Barco

I hope no one applies. Lousy pay AND a training contract. Really? If you did work for them you'd have your 1,500 hours in no time and then be stuck for years. How happy will you be stuck for potentially 2+ years at a dirtbag carrier while your flight instructor friends are all going to Skywest?

The sooner companies like GLA go away the better off we all will be.

ClarenceOver

Just go to a bottom feeder regional and they will pay your pro rata share to great lakes because they are desperate for pilots. ^^ (sarcasm)

F224

There is a real legal problem with training contracts longer than 24 months (think indentured service). I'm not a lawyer, but did attend law school for awhile (hated it). The basics of contract-employment law in nearly every state would preclude that contract from being enforceable, anywhere. Check with your state department of labor for an opinion before signing it.

spaaks

I heard that their training contract isn't really a "contract", it's now written like a bank note so they don't take you to court they just send you to collections and your personal credit gets tanked if you don't pay it.

For all the new guys out there considering this place, beware. It is known in the industry for guys getting violated/LOI's through mistakes the company makes (dispatch, maintenance...etc.). Is your entire career worth risking to work here instead of instructing?

Cubdriver

I am throwing the flag on this rumor they even have this alleged 121/135 split use certificate. There is no factual support for it while's there plenty of reason for unfounded rumors. The contract sounds terrible, a year is the most any contract should run for this sort of thing, I am sure a contract defense lawyer would cringe at anyone signing it. What's more, the whole idea of putting 250 hour pilots in the right seat strikes at the very heart of Colgan 3407 legislation that addressed regional airline safety by creating the new ATP rule. How this 250 hour 135 based FO supposed to get the airplane safely down in poor weather by him/herself with a disabled 121 captain?

Ultralight

So now there's another step in the ladder to the majors. Great Lakes for 3 years on poverty pay, then a regional with year 1 F.O. poverty pay, again, then after 5 years, hopefully upgrade to captain (if you haven't been furloughed or your airline gone bankrupt,) then throw your resume on the stack of the other 10,000 on file at the legacies and patiently wait for that slim chance to interview.

Not exactly a get rich quick scheme is it!

aviatorhi

How was that going to happen beforehand?

I support the new legislation from a personal standpoint because it makes my ATP more valuable. I think it is completely moronic from an aviation standpoint.