You dodged a bullet by not going to Southern! I'm not familiar with Alaska Seaplanes except it seems that they pay far more, and you never hear guys who work there *****ing about the company. Incidentally, Saipan is a very expensive place to live and way off the beaten track. You likely wouldn't get any instrument time out there either.

Saipan can be a cheap place to live. STAR Marianas first years guys were living just fine on $22k a year there.

Anyone have any info on which equipment is located at which bases? Info is not available anywhere online and the recruiters won't answer the phone or return emails.

If you live in a 'pad' with twelve other guys. Sounds like this fella has a wife so they maybe need something different!

So did I. We were fine on $2,300 a month take home pay. No roommates, no “pad,” one of the nicer apartments of the pilot group.

Bases/Equipment
 

Hey fellas figured I'd try again. Looking for info on bases and equipment. Is there a base in MEM?

Well this should be a huge red flag to you! Known numerous pilots who have worked for them for years and one currently. This place is the ultimate bottom feeder company. Best advice, stay far away!

Buddy of mine works for them and is on food stamps. The CEO was asked by one of the towns they were bidding an EAS contract why they paid so low, that they were interested in bringing good jobs in to the town and he said something along the lines of "the pilots use me so I use them".

Appreciate the insight. Would you be willing to put me in touch with your friend so I could ask some specifics about the company?

SAE Update
 

Hello all, here is a update for Southern.

Southern is hiring for all positions and is in need of King Air crews the most.
Not sure where the king air crews will be based but most likely either PHX/DEN area.
Southern is hiring soft minimum of 500 total time Fo's and caravan PIC's at 1200 total.
Southern has monthly classes with 21 seats.
Crew bases are in the EAS communities they serve.
Not sure on the PC-12 time they're looking for but apply apply apply.
Caravan crews fly 100-110 hours a month.
Southern has the agreement with sky west, 7500 bonus when released with southern as an FO 5,000 bonus pic upgrade, work 600 hours as a southern PIC then transition to skywest who has a 15% ownership in the company.
Once released as a skywest FO another 5,000 bonus comes your way. Skywest prefers to hire southern over any off the street people.
The caravan FO pay sucks not going to lie, but get your time, fullfil the training contract and move on.
The time is better than being a CFI.
Get experience flying into ORD, ATL, PIT, IAD, DFW, LAX, DEN, PHX instead of flying around the patter for 1500 hours.
Southern isnt unionized, so of course the QOL isnt great and there are alot of horror stories, but just understand what your getting into.
Fly your ass off, get great experience and move on to skywest once the contract is completed. The people here are great and the CEO is involved and actually cares.
DM if any questions,
thanks

MEM is a mx base not a crew base.

How enforceable is the 12 month contract and is it pro-rated?

Souther Airways Express - Time Frame and Base
 

Hello guys, can anyone help me with the average time frame for the training (I hear about two weeks)? Also, how long does it take to define your base after the training? Also, HR said they need help in Arkansas, Illinois, and Pennsylvania; where are the bases for those states?

they say they enforce it, you must sign either the contract to go to skywestg and be a pic at southern for 6 months or a 12 month pic for southern. either or

[QUOTE=Liberatore;3592990]Hello guys, can anyone help me with the average time frame for the training (I hear about two weeks)? Also, how long does it take to define your base after the training? Also, HR said they need help in Arkansas, Illinois, and Pennsylvania; where are the bases for those states?[/QUOTEindoc is 2 weeks, then 2-3 weeks off to study, then 2 weeks of sim/flight training and checkride. month-2months total training time.

whats the term commitment look like for SkyWest once you go to them?

Skywest, just like any other regional, hires anyone with a pulse. These "prefers" stories are always just complete fabrications.

I was also amused by the “The time is better than being a CFI.”

Sugar coat much? Are you a recruiter Bingo?

[QUOTE=BingoFuel69;3594347]Depends whether you're Captain or FO. The timeline might work for Captains but FO's can wait for months for training because Captain attrition is terrible, and they need to replace those folks first.

My Experience at SAE
 

The flying is fun. I love it. But there's a lot of issues I wish I knew about before signing the $16,000 contract:

1) the company is extremely disorganized and shady. The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. Everything is done on a whim or they completely forget about you. It can takes days for replies from the Chief Pilot or HR of you get a reply at all. I knew a pilot from a foreign country that they threatened his work visa if he left. He was from another company that they bought and they tried dicking him around and he wasn't having it. So they threatened to get his work visa pulled. Also, the first thing everyone asked was where the bases were day 1 of ground school. They were very aloof of that and didn't tell us until the next to last day 2 weeks later.

2) the $16,000 contract isn't for a year of service like they make it sound. It's a year of service AFTER you become PIC. So for an FO like me tbag got hired with 700 hours, that's 5 months of FO flying at $18/$21 an hour (assuming I actually get to upgrade at 1200 hours)

3) pay is crap. I knew it would be, but it's much worse than I was led to believe. I get guaranteed 65 hours of pay a month. 32.5/paycheck. Problem is, I haven't been flying as much as I would like to. So I am making less than $1000/mo after Joe Biden gets his cut for Ukraine. I am on food stamps and I am literally going bankrupt. I was told my base would have crew housing, and that hasn't happened and won't happen. So now I have to pay for an apartment in my base and one at home with my wife. I don't make enough money to move my wife here.😢 Also, if you TDY, you're supposed to get $35/day for it. The problem is, the only way to get paid is to fill out an expense report and submit it which waits for approval from the Regional Chief Pilot. I have $450 I haven't been paid from February.

4) the planes are always broken. Sure they have you train on G1000 equipped EXs. But if you're mainland, prepare for 6-packs and lots of MEL stickers with no autopilot. The FAA has been snooping around our MX departments at several locations recently.

5) they will pressure you into flying into unsafe weather. But they won't call you from their recorded lines from the company. They'll call you on their personal cell phone so the conversation isn't recorded. WATCH OUT FOR THIS!

6) schedule is hectic. I was told 4 on and 4 off. Ive never had that so far. There is a lot of turnover here and I suppose that is why the schedule is so disjointed.

7) its not all bad. The other pilots have been awesome. Ramp agents range from awesome to having an attitude. Corporate has been nice albeit a bit shady.

Anyway, if you're young and just want to build time and don't have a family to take care of, this is a decent alternative to CFIing. I'm married and it has been a nightmare for me personally. I can't say either way if it's a good company or bad company. There's some good here but a lot of bad too. I am looking for work at another company that pays a livable wage because I am literally going bankrupt working here.

No, it's not okay to work at an outfit like this just because you're young and inexperienced. Those are the gullible ones who will do something illegal at the behest of the company and fall afoul of the Feds and end their career prematurely! This company shouldn't be in business and they are only surviving in these times of pilot shortages by abusing young and inexperienced folks. My best advice is to get your CFI, skip Southern, and get to a regional ASAP. You won't get any extra credit for time served at Southern!

I had a zoom interview with them about a week and a half ago, I was told I would hear from them later that afternoon, but I haven’t heard anything since. The Interviewer seemed very eager for me to start but did it give me an official job offer… does anyone know how much longer I should plan on waiting before hearing anything?

FloridaFlyboy98 is correct
 

I wholeheartedly agree. Go CFI to build time

It's been a few weeks. Have you heard back?

Hey all. Is Southern that bad? I’m instructing right now but not getting as many hours as I’d like, considering applying at southern once I hit 500 TT. End goal is airlines. The pilots I’ve talked to there seem happy but the forum seems very against them.

2 years contract?
 

I heard there is a two year contract for new FOs, is it worth it going there if you get hired at the minimum hours(i heard they hire at 250tt) to go build time?

What’s your end goal? If it’s part 135/91 corporate, might be worth it. If it’s part 121, no, I would say it’s definitely not worth it. If you get your CFI and go find employment at a busy school, you can build your hours faster and be on your way to a regional quicker. You’ll probably be hired at a regional prior to the end of the 2 year contract, assuming you went that route.

No matter what you've heard, what matters is what it's like when you get there. Get an interview and ask these questions of the HR person. Talk to some of their pilots in person, not on an internet chat board. Then read the contract carefully if your get the CDO. Only you can decide it it is worth taking the job offer. There is no harm in turning down a CDO if you don't like the terms.

It's been a few years since I was at Southern, 2018 but ^this^ was my experience also.

https://apple.news/AcVf8D-d0R9eTFTjjL7wQEw

Interesting read…. 19 lawsuits, filed in recent days, to recover training costs.

I don’t know what’s more pitiful… the company paying such low wages??? or the pilots who took employment with this operation.

Yep, the pilots who accepted these wages are making it justifiable for them to treat young pilots like this. The pilots are their worst enemies. Don't let desperation become so bad that you accept employment terms like these. Fast food workers unironically make more money than this, just to fly a single engine plane? LOL

I retract everything good/semi-good I said about this company. If you are considering working for this company, DON'T DO IT! RUN! They aren't good people. I would even say Scam Little is evil. This company is full of crappy, broken down airplanes. Pay is crap, benefits are essentially non-existent. The training bond isn't work the $16,000+ that they charge you. You're literally going to sit in a redbird for a couple days, then get about 3 flights in an actual c208 before your checkride. Training is NOT worth the money they claim it is. RUN!!!

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 19, 2023. Registration No. 333-

SOUTHERN AIRWAYS CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
( page F94)😳

“The Company incurred greater than expected losses and negative cash flows from operating activities in April and May 2023 due to inefficient aircraft utilization, primarily caused by an underutilization of pilots and a shortage of maintenance personnel and critical aircraft components, which, in aggregate, have challenged the Company’s ability to serve its customers as desired and, in turn, cover expenses. Previously forecasted strategies to alleviate these challenges have been unsuccessful in the full deployment of the Company’s fleet with the Company seeing an increased cancellation rate well above historical averages and previous forecasts, particularly during the second quarter of 2023. This has resulted in an accelerated decline in revenue, coupled with increasing costs associated with rescheduling pilots and flight personnel to active service areas to mitigate the flight schedule disruptions. The Company’s success going forward is dependent on the ability to achieve a high level of aircraft and crew utilization, increase flight services and the number of passengers flown, and ready access to capital to fund operations and planned growth. “


“These factors raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The accompanying consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments to reflect the possible future effects on the recoverability and classification of assets or the amounts and classification of liabilities that may result from the outcome of this uncertainty.”

Hello
 

------
thank you so much for the information above
I am getting typed on the Boeing 737-800 I am 55 years old low time pilot
can you please give me any information that might help ultimately during my type rating and also I have to build hours to get a121 job
you did mention that you have your own simulator business and I specialize in preparing pilots for 121/135 simulator training. I will like to get information I am interested to get any prep training I am not sure if I am allowed to give my phone number here
I am in Oklahoma City please let me know the best way to communicate with you
best regards

Check your PM.

Sounds like a different Boeing Aviator.
Here is what he wrote in January.
Why such different opinions from same person?



"Plus you risk your career flying for a bottom feeder like Southern Airways Express. Equipment and maintenance has deteriorated, management threatens pilots. If you bend mental or do anything wrong Southern management will throw you under the bus in a NY second. Company has really gone down hill last few years. Friend there was told to falsify training records, of course he didn’t.

36 year senior 777 CA here who mentors pilots and provides career counseling. Do you really want to risk your career flying for this scum bag operation? Do you want explain incidents, accident, violations or being terminated on your regional, LCC and or Legacy interviews? Something to think about."

Looking for new customers for his 'mentoring business'?

Actually I’ve never charged a cent for my career counseling and pilot mentoring. I’ve been extremely fortunate in my 38 year airline career and just trying to give back and pay it forward. So there’s that, anything else?

Wow flyboy, can’t come up with anything more original?

My opinion has changed significantly over time with regards to Southern. I have mentored pilots that worked there five years ago. Although at the time, you had to be really careful to make sure you got out of there without an incident, violation or an accident. It was a marginally “OK” place to get your experience and get out as soon as possible. Especially if you were a low time pilot and no CFI.

Fast forward to today, still have one pilot I’m friends with that works there, Southern has become a total
scum bag outfit from top to bottom. I no longer suggest that as a viable option to the pilots I mentor. Too high a risk of an incident, accident or totally unwarranted legal action against the pilot,

With regards to your question. So I’m not allowed to change my mind?