The head of the flight program of my college said that Piedmont is hiring pilots right out of school. I looked up the mins, 300 with 50 multi for the students from Colleges with an aviation program.
I've heard to stay away from them. Any other opinions or insight on them?

 

There are pros and cons. You can get hired there right away and get some really good experience. There are a lot of senior guys there so it will be a good learning experience flying the Dash. A downside in relation to that is a slow upgrade with all of those older fellas there. Another downside, from what I hear on the board here, is that the leases on the -8's are up in two years, and neither PDT nor US Airways (who owns Piedmont) has suggested that there are any plans to replace them with either jets or other turboprops. There are definitely better regionals out there, and you'll get a feel for that very quickly on the board (if not the continuation of this thread), but it all depends on what you're looking for right now and what your plans for the future are. Also, pay scales aren't bad at PDT (though they could be better), considering you'll be flying a turboprop and not a jet, and there's a signing bonus too.

There are some PDT pilots on here, so they might have some more specific insight for ya.

 

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles...issue-rfp.html

ATR and Bombardier will each soon receive requests for proposals to renew US Airways Express operator Piedmont Airlines' fleet. During last week's Regional Airline Association conference and exhibition in Memphis, Tennessee, US Airways Express president Robert Martens said the RFP will cover a mix of new 50- and 70-seat turboprops. These will replace Piedmont's ageing Bombardier Dash 8 fleet.

 

I had a buddy just start class at Piedmont June 5th... if I hear anything crazy I will be sure to post.

Its funny... he said he would never go to a regional.... now one year after instructing... he went.

 

RedBaron is right. Piedmont has its ups and downs. I do have to say that most crews in all bases are great folks to fly with. I have been here 8 years and have not much to complain about. Don't pay attention to management, they are useless. Right now we are trying to hire as many Fo's as possible, simply because we lost so many over the past month, which means you wouldn't be on reserve for long. Guys going through class right now will never see a reserve line. The latest SIC bid had 34 open FO slot. Personally, I think Piedmont is great to get started in 121 flying, however there are other out there too. They might look better, but are still regionals. The bonus of course is good as well. And do I believe that Airways is going to replace the old planes we have? Yes. Good luck making a decision. Feel free to ask if you have more questions.

 

They all go at some point.

 

Thats what I told him. I am still laughing because he was so adamant about making a career out of CFI. Dont get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with that at all.

 

Where do you see Piedmont in about a year and a half or so? That should be when my times should become hirable.

 

What are your times now FSUpilot? Mine are 2.3TT/0, lol.

 

Roughly the same...