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YokeYanker 06-04-2015 01:21 PM

Bemidji Aviation Hiring
 
Bemidji Aviation is hiring pilots for DEN and MSP operations. Mostly UPS feeder stuff. They operate Queen Air, Beech 99, and Metros for cargo. They recently took over the piston routes from Key Lime out of DEN. I hear some of the routes are out and back so if you live in DEN you'd be home by noon. Nice work day.

Good pay, good management, very fare, good mx, and nice airplanes. The Queen Airs are Excalibur converted and some even have full glass with the G750. Synthetic vision and all.

Here's the link to their page
Bemidji Aviation Services, Inc. | Careers

I'd be all over this if I was a 1200 hr guy.

FlightLife 04-26-2017 12:46 PM

I found it interesting that this post described Denver's schedule as being home by noon. Is this typical only for Denver? What is a typical schedule like for the other bases? Home by noon sounds great compared to Ameriflight whose schedule is pretty much gone all day no matter what, although its M-F.

Thanks.

Akutan Bandit 04-27-2017 09:11 AM

MSP and other small bases are typically out in the evening, sleep at crew apartment, then return home the next morning. The schedule is similar to Ameriflight's, but the company is nothing like it. You won't be faceless and nameless at Bemidji, and their management are pilots. This is a quality company and a growing one. Additionally, Signature Flight Support purchased Landmark and spun-off Encore Air Cargo to Bemidji so the route structure and airplanes are expanding. You could start in the Queen Air and progress to a Metro.

100LL 04-27-2017 12:18 PM

You can be employed by the best feeder company in the country but that won't change the way UPS does things. There are some good ones out there but you as the pilot are at the mercy of UPS and their employees.... The best your employer can do is adjust your schedule and provide good pay to make life as a feeder pilot somewhat bearable rather than painful. Best schedule you will find are out and back flights 4 days week. They are usually reserve and difficult to get...depending where you are due to demand.

DhruvK 05-04-2017 07:41 PM


Originally Posted by Akutan Bandit (Post 2352015)
MSP and other small bases are typically out in the evening, sleep at crew apartment, then return home the next morning. The schedule is similar to Ameriflight's, but the company is nothing like it. You won't be faceless and nameless at Bemidji, and their management are pilots. This is a quality company and a growing one. Additionally, Signature Flight Support purchased Landmark and spun-off Encore Air Cargo to Bemidji so the route structure and airplanes are expanding. You could start in the Queen Air and progress to a Metro.


Flew an outstation-based 99 route for Bemidji for almost two years. Company culture was great, but as the other posts say, UPS feed is UPS feed. Pay was good, not great, QOL was decent, and there's something to be said for having the CP and DO both on speed dial and actually having them hear you out with concerns or questions. The schedule grinds on you, but if I needed day(s) off, usually they'd work with me to accommodate.

The company did care about keeping the airplanes safe and airworthy. I was never pressured to not write up squawks, but carrying a few deferrals between inspections wasn't uncommon. Stuff by and large got fixed, and usually on the 99s the weak point items were avionics-related. As they continue their push to go glass cockpit on the Queen Air those kinds of problems will drastically decrease.

The flying is tough. Winters are unforgiving, and yes, you will spend more than one evening out in the cold de-icing your own airplane with a portable fluid dispenser. You'll get a healthy respect for airborne icing, and approaches to near minimums to semi-contaminated runways are routine. You will also be the most proficient IFR pilot you have ever been in your life, and that's an experience I wouldn't trade for the world.

DreFlyer 05-05-2017 09:26 AM


Originally Posted by 100LL (Post 2352196)
You can be employed by the best feeder company in the country but that won't change the way UPS does things. There are some good ones out there but you as the pilot are at the mercy of UPS and their employees....

No kidding . . . they lost me at "mostly UPS feeder stuff" :D

Akutan Bandit 05-06-2017 04:46 PM

Good insights into this tranche of aviation. I agree with all of that except for the feed is feed part. And yeah, I can't believe it looked like I was promoting UPS feed specifically but it did. I was trying to promote Bemidji specifically.

All these feeders live and die by their relationship with UPS, defined by their dispatch rate and timeliness. The nature of that relationship is terribly skewed against the contractor and its employees. Therefore working for a UPS feeder certainly starts employee pilots at a disadvantage. There are certainly ways in which the contractor can help their pilots have a "nicer" time at work.

My feed experience was with a company (Wiggins) that chose not to strive very hard on the UPS side of their feed operation. We had 99's with no autopilots, no GPS, and frequent maintenance issues with the typical "will you fly it" question. Beyond our CP we had no access to management, we had a poor relationship with dispatch which was staffed with very young and inexperienced employees, and our relationship with the UPS center was awful. On one occasion a UPS manager screamed at our pilots to "pee on his own time" and on another the sort center was locked upon our arrival on a federal holiday leaving feed pilots to scale a 12 foot security fence to get OUT of the airport security area. The feed contractor has control over lots of these types of issues.

Although I haven't worked for Bemidji like DhruvK, but I know management a bit, know other pilots there and have heard from former pilots like the CP at Mokulele who worked there in the past. Consistently I've seen or heard about a feeder that tries improve the components of their operation over which they have control. Maintenance and avionics are one area which blow me away compared to Wiggins and Ameriflight. Queen Aire's with IO-720's and glass panels are certainly not the approach I experienced. Management is accessible and somewhat sensitive to employee needs regarding operational concerns and scheduling.

What I was promoting here is a company making the best of their client situation. New pilots could do worse than fly for an operation like this. Frankly, and I didn't mean to defend them, UPS can go pound sand and I've rarely felt a more negative vibe from any company. They don't deserve to have anyone doing their feed, and if you have a choice to feed for FedEx then you will be more structurally advantaged in your job. I guess I just blew my argument.

Archie154 09-27-2018 10:55 PM

Part time at Bemidji
 
Anyone out there know what the part time schedule looks like at Bemidji?


Have a Part 91 job currently but I would like to know more about the feasibility of working there on days off and, potentially, into retirement in 5 years.


Thanks!

AV810 10-15-2018 08:51 AM

"Outstation" based?
 
What does Bemedji Aviation mean when they say that "most routes are outstation based ?"

Here's the full quote:
Routes operate during the day with layover in outstations & most routes are outstation based ..

EMAW 10-15-2018 11:10 AM


Originally Posted by AV810 (Post 2691581)
What does Bemedji Aviation mean when they say that "most routes are outstation based ?"

Here's the full quote:
Routes operate during the day with layover in outstations & most routes are outstation based ..

If it’s like other UPS feeders, you’ll get your usual rest at the outstation during the day, and about 8 hrs in Denver (or wherever) at night. Also, the airplane stays at the outstation Saturday through Monday afternoon. At least that’s the way it was when I flew that type of operation.


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