It is 126 by Sept of 2016. PSA is taking 2 airplanes in each Nov and Dec then 3 airplanes per month after that. There are currently 920 pilots on property now and yes there is an FO who got an 8 month upgrade but he was prior 121 before PSA. The 900's finish delivery in May 2015 and the Envoy 700's start being delivered June 2015

 

Wow, that's almost 16 pilots per plane on the property right now. Is your reserve fat right now?

 

Not really. It will probably get fat real quick. Guys are getting round 1 lines after being on reserve for a month in TYS. Not sure how long CLT and DAY are for holding a build up or round 1.

 

How long before Parker merges all of you?

 

Only until they go single pilot, then it will be the Captain acting as cruise waiter.

 

What is training like? Ground school and sim straight through or are there breaks? Where is it held?

 

Ground school is in Dayton, OH. Sim is held in Cincinnati or Charlotte. I had a 3-4 week break between ground and sims. That is changing, I hear it's shorter now since we have more sims.

Training was good. I was prepared well for my exams and Check ride. They give you plenty of instruction. 2 weeks of IPT (procedures training) to get familiar with their checklist, flows, the FMS and profiles. Sims aren't too bad. We had plenty of repetition and practice.

 

How long is ground school?

 

5.5 weeks ground school. 2 weeks of sim. 4 days of differences training for 700/900.

 

The training is very good. It's very thorough. They do aa good job of laying out objectives, teaching you what they expect you to know, then testing you on the stated objectives. Basic indoc, systems, and cockpit procedures is 5 weeks 3 days in Dayton. You get paid min guarantee from date of hire plus 24 hour per diem while in training. I think per diem is $1.75/hr. Single occupancy hotel rooms at the Fairfield inn or clarion in north Dayton. The Fairfield is near many restaurants and shopping. The clarion has free breakfast and lunch and has a lounge/restaurant in house.

After ground some guys are starting sims a few days later....2 weeks max. There are 11 sim sessions and you generally get 1 day off per calendar week then it's right into differences training. I believe they plan for 35 hours of IOE but only 25 is required per the training manual. For all travel to/from training they positive space you home and back if you live near a US Airways serviced airport (they couldn't put you on an AA plane a few months ago but that might have changed now).