Cape Air
#2471
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jan 2008
Position: Cessna 205
Posts: 226
I hate to say it but I agree with this 100%.
It was a pretty nice place to work a few years ago and I was planning to stay long term, but things have changed with the new CEO and I would advise anyone to look elsewhere. They pay is horrible and you’re forced to live in expensive places because commuting is basically impossible. some senior pilots sleep in their cars 3 hours from home. family healthcare is about 65% of your paycheck for a new hire captain, more for an FO. You used to be able to pick up incentives for $500/day because they’re so desperate for staff but they changed the lines to be 50hrs a week by adding a “spare” day and going from 4 on/4 off to 4/3. That spare day will push you close to 34hr/7 days so guess what? No more picking up shifts. 8-12 hrs of mandatory overtime once a week is nice I guess, but 26hrs+$600-1000 incentive a week was keeping pilots here. And now everyone is leaving. Nice job management. Didn’t you brag about a $10m “profit” last year?? Pilots each got a $100 bill in a Christmas card and that was about it.
There are currently around 80 bidding captains on a seniority list of 275 pilots because everyone is leaving or has left. The writing is on the wall, they treat their pilots like garbage, the new lines have ruined a lot of people’s lives.
The new equipment is a joke. When you write up a tecnam they say “it’s a project” but the thing is on the flight line… experiment phase should have been completed years ago. Saw a plane the other day that had TWELVE PAGES of engine write ups in a single inspection period and was still on the line. There were 8 tecnams grounded in the Midwest yesterday. This “FADEC” on a piston twin is not meant for commercial use. Everything inside feels cheap and plasticky. The P212 itself is a minivan with wings, and it flies like a minivan without wings when you go to idle. The narrow wheelbase and high wings makes it sketchy in crosswind. The wheel struts sometimes don’t compress on landing leaving you taxiing 10 degrees wing-low on one side. This is “normal,” lol. The 402 was legendary, but they are very old and late on being replaced. The new plane is probably going to bury this company.
Despite all this they’re still trying to open new bases ::slaps forehead::
It was a pretty nice place to work a few years ago and I was planning to stay long term, but things have changed with the new CEO and I would advise anyone to look elsewhere. They pay is horrible and you’re forced to live in expensive places because commuting is basically impossible. some senior pilots sleep in their cars 3 hours from home. family healthcare is about 65% of your paycheck for a new hire captain, more for an FO. You used to be able to pick up incentives for $500/day because they’re so desperate for staff but they changed the lines to be 50hrs a week by adding a “spare” day and going from 4 on/4 off to 4/3. That spare day will push you close to 34hr/7 days so guess what? No more picking up shifts. 8-12 hrs of mandatory overtime once a week is nice I guess, but 26hrs+$600-1000 incentive a week was keeping pilots here. And now everyone is leaving. Nice job management. Didn’t you brag about a $10m “profit” last year?? Pilots each got a $100 bill in a Christmas card and that was about it.
There are currently around 80 bidding captains on a seniority list of 275 pilots because everyone is leaving or has left. The writing is on the wall, they treat their pilots like garbage, the new lines have ruined a lot of people’s lives.
The new equipment is a joke. When you write up a tecnam they say “it’s a project” but the thing is on the flight line… experiment phase should have been completed years ago. Saw a plane the other day that had TWELVE PAGES of engine write ups in a single inspection period and was still on the line. There were 8 tecnams grounded in the Midwest yesterday. This “FADEC” on a piston twin is not meant for commercial use. Everything inside feels cheap and plasticky. The P212 itself is a minivan with wings, and it flies like a minivan without wings when you go to idle. The narrow wheelbase and high wings makes it sketchy in crosswind. The wheel struts sometimes don’t compress on landing leaving you taxiing 10 degrees wing-low on one side. This is “normal,” lol. The 402 was legendary, but they are very old and late on being replaced. The new plane is probably going to bury this company.
Despite all this they’re still trying to open new bases ::slaps forehead::
Are most of the mechanical issues on the Tecnam related to the FADEC or are there other gremlins showing up?
#2473
New Hire
Joined APC: Jan 2022
Posts: 5
There has been all sorts of stuff… landing gear, electrical, exterior trim, spraying oil, crew doors, tail stand, cargo door, ice detection, heater exhaust to name a few. I get it’s an A model and this stuff is fixed as it pops up but it’s almost like we’re experimenting on passengers. At least they’re grounding the fleet when things do pop up instead of pushing the envelope but that also causes problems with service when you don’t have enough planes on line
#2475
Line Holder
Joined APC: Oct 2021
Posts: 40
do not go to cape air with the hope of getting BOS... depending on timing, you'll maybe hold it in 6 months or never at all. Lot of FOs tend to want it because its commutable and one of the few decent places to live in Capes route network. Also, there is a good reason the company is hemorrhaging pilots on both ends of the seniority list. You'll have to let the current cape pilots on this thread elaborate should they choose but I reiterate do not come to cape to wait a year to hold BOS only to be making peanuts in one of the most expensive cities in the country.
#2477
EJET Driver
Joined APC: Apr 2020
Posts: 31
Rip 9K
Pilot shortage hitting hard at Cape Air. Projected to be down to 85 line captains by summer. Not enough to cover all there EAS routes and they are closing down non eas routes slowly to try and recover. Losing PWM for good.
#2480
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: May 2014
Posts: 186
do not go to cape air with the hope of getting BOS... depending on timing, you'll maybe hold it in 6 months or never at all. Lot of FOs tend to want it because its commutable and one of the few decent places to live in Capes route network. Also, there is a good reason the company is hemorrhaging pilots on both ends of the seniority list. You'll have to let the current cape pilots on this thread elaborate should they choose but I reiterate do not come to cape to wait a year to hold BOS only to be making peanuts in one of the most expensive cities in the country.
Should just leave it at “do not go to Cape Air”
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