Oh young grasshopper, welcome to the 121 world...the place where leverage means everything. "Throwing a bone" doesn't happen. Nothing's for free. Expect to be asked for more concessions and expect to be hated on even more the second you accept them.

 

I have forgotten how entertaining these forums can be !!

 

Was on the PDT post but I'll leave this right here. Come on over to PSA. It's greater than a poop emoji.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

 

How's the CA upgrade looking for a zero time 121 person? I know the DEC's are eternal reserve. Wondering about the other guys. I know Piedmont supposedly has the better deal, but some of their bases can't be reached from this part of the country haha!

 

There is so much movement in the regional industry that no one can do better than guess what will happen in the next 2-3 years. Things can change overnight. The "guaranteed" flow can turn to crap in a heartbeat, and the loser airline can be the next golden child.

Pick a place that has domiciles that work for you, offer a decent quality of life, and one that is not on the verge of bankruptcy. Other than that, everything is a guess. We only know half of what is going on. The management holds the cards, and they don't even know exactly what is going to happen.

Republic could tank, and there is no telling what could happen next. Air Wisconsin may not get a new contract extension. MESA could vote down their TA and lose AA flying. PSA could implode due to terrible management. (Envoy will likely be a great place...just ask Cujo).

No one knows what is going to happen, most of all, pilots.

Here is something to think about...

If PSA is in fact hiring street captains, and you are not on property yet, then you will obviously be junior to them. These street captains will likely never benefit from the SSP (20 years?), but are likely guys with years in the regionals and now getting their PIC time. Will these guys stay at PSA long, or will they bail at the first chance (SouthWest, Jet Blue, Virgin, Cargo)? I would guess that they will be some of the first people to leave the company. Sure, there will be some attrition from the top, but in the "new regional" model, the attrition will likely be more spread out.

The important question:
If you were a former Comair/Endeavor/Pinnacle guy, had 8-10 years in the regionals before PSA, and now getting your 121 PIC time, how long would you want to stay on reserve? If you were going to be on reserve for 3-4 years because you were hired as a street captain, would you bail at the first chance that you got?

Conversely, if you were a 10-12 year guy at PSA, were a line holding captain with Christmas and Thanksgiving off every year, and got the schedule that you wanted every month, would you be as hungry to make a jump to another airline? Would you give that up, along with your flow in a few years, to go and work at a LCC? Most likely you would not.

Typically, street captains at regionals should be looked at as temporary employees. They come in, get some time, and are the first to leave. Historically, this is true.

 

^ Isn't this APC? This is no place for a logical post such as yours. Seriously though, good post. Newbs should read and take heed before Cujo and Sublime find it.

 

Many senior pilots will leave PSA the first chance they get, From seniority 50 thru 1200. I doubt you will see many 12 year plus pilots at PSA. The contract/loa's pretty much force people to move on. The tough job for management here is not going to be hiring. But retention.

 

I think anyone hired at PSA today can expect a 3 year upgrade. But there will be continuous growth and movement through 2017. During your time as an FO you can expect a pretty decent QOL as a round 1 line holder pretty quick and you likely won't sit reserve as an FO for very long.

Also, keep in mind that our SSP will be increasing in the future despite management dragging its feet on the issue lately. And it will also likely become a direct flow up to mainline like PDT and EVY have. That combined with increased hiring from all of the other legacies, majors, LCCs, and freight outfits, and increased hiring at corporate and 91K/135 biz jet operators will mean you will likely not be at any regional for as long as the past decade has shown. We will also be opening a couple more bases soon and that will also help with the amount of time spent on reserve and with upgrades.

 

Your view seems a little optimistic. A few months ago I probably would've agreed with you.

I've heard that AAG is not happy with PSA mgmt not wanting a hub base, hence the no announcement of the CVG base in August as expected.

As far as the SSP, who knows. It will certainly be a flow but I wouldn't hold my breath on any meaningful increases in numbers. The company claims they don't need to give the pilots anything due to the fact that classes are full but then on the other hand they claim they can't increase our SSP numbers due to staffing. As far as I know no one is applying to PSA anymore.

6 months or a year ago was a pretty good time to come to PSA. Now, not so much unless this is where you want to stay long term. Other regionals simply offer more upside.

 

I have a friend that works for Psa in Dayton at the training center.He basically told me the same thing.AAG wants a hub base,chicago,Miami,Philly.Psa's brilliant management dosen't want that,they want a base in Nashville or Cincinnati or expand the Knoxville base,which makes no sense at all he said.As mentioned in previous posts,the management of Psa will be it's demise.
They dont have any clue as to what they are doing.From the training dept to top management, someone needs to clean house Inn my opinion. Their sop's are just crazy, having the captain verify vspeeds while he is taxiing instead of doing it at the gate,a ridiculous 2 paragraph taxi brief that you have to memorize verbatim, numerous times where the poh says one thing and the fom says something different. Not to mention the 8 to 10 months it takes to get through their training pipeline. They brush if off as growing pains, no,its poor planning on mgmts part.
If you go there,get your time and get out before it implodes.Unless they make a lot of changes to their antiquated way of thinking,it's bound to happen.This industry is changing faster than they can adapt to.