Pinnacle
 

Anyone know how many pilots Pinnacle is planning on hiring this year and whether the 1000/200 are the standard minimums that people are being hired with? Thanks

mins are 300tt with a multi rating if you come from UND...

They are hiring, they cannot hire enough pilots to replace the people that are leaving. There were a number of guys in my class and in other classes who barely had just over comm mins.

I'd like to apply to Pinnacle, does anyone know who I could make the cover letter out to?

Lucifer... why pinnacle, there are posts on this board how bad management and QOL are and you want to work there. They have another company called Mesaba that may be slightly better.

Friends don't let friends work at Pinnacle.

I'm serious. I have a few buddies there, one is in MGMT. They all said that the company wasn't worth the paper your resume is printed on. Unless you live in Memphis, Detroit, or MSP..... Stay away.... Stay away... Stay away....

I have seen posts on almost every regional airline out there about how horrible they are and how they have the worst QOL and how nobody should work for them. If one went by these posts alone.....they would never apply to any airline ever. Sure the opinions here are sometimes invaluable but sometimes you just have to jump in with both feet and see if you can float.

Some folks are quite happy where they are, but everybody can find a couple things about their employer that would make the job better if changed.

Other folks feel entitled to an 18 month upgrade on a 50-70 seat jet, totally commutable schedules with 17 days off per month and 90 hours of credit, free benefits, hot FAs, overnights at five star downtown hotels with hourly pay approaching SWA rates.

The lower the expectations, the lower the disappointments...

Bad idea! There are regionals that are much better than others.

Totally understood, however not all regionals are hiring with the same minimums. I will admit, I'm a low time guy and I certainly do not expect to be handed a job, but I would like to at least try to have the opportunity to interview at a few places to see what it is like. To be honest, Pinnacle appeals to me because I have family and friends in MEM, it would be great if I could move down there.

Go Mesaba...Fly SAAB...Get MEM!! :D

So true, so true! I have no expectations, I'm suprised everyday I show up!!

Or fly CRJ-200s at Mesaba that used to be Pinnacle's.

?????????????????????????????????

dbo861 Welcome to the discussion. I'm not sure how soon you can use the search function (9 posts so far) but when you can it is a good way to check the history of various subjects. Good luck in you new position.

I believe they were owned by NWA and assigned to Mesaba in April 2005. Mesaba got two then the NWA/MAIR bankruptcy got in the way. Only when the CRJ900s were assigned to Mesaba, did the former Mesaba CRJ-200s get allocated to Pinnacle.


Mesaba Aviation to Fly CRJ Regional Jets
Friday April 22, 8:30 am ET
New Agreement to Expand and Extend Northwest Airlink Flying


MINNEAPOLIS & ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 22, 2005--Mesaba Aviation, Inc., a subsidiary company of MAIR Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:MAIR - News), today announced that it has signed a letter of intent with Northwest Airlines to operate 15 Bombardier CRJ-200 regional jets under the Northwest Airlink banner, with exclusive rights to the next 20 CRJ-200 or CRJ-440 aircraft Northwest Airlines may order. Mesaba will lease the aircraft from Northwest Airlines and expects the first aircraft to enter service before the end of 2005.

Anyone know if Pinnacle has any bases out of NY. If so I'll be applying tomorrow. You see my present job working at an Architectural Metal/ Glass firm behind a desk, listening to and conversing with a bunch of miserable people everyday is a little bit on the ugly side of life. So anyway anyone not willing to take the job as an airline pilot I thank you for making my chances at scoring the job all that much better. Oh by the way I work the normal 60 hours a week and when I get home I'm mentally exhausted. Whew!!! Sorry, had to get that out............sorry again.

Ftrooppilot~
Thanks for trying, but I was actually aluding to the 17 CRJs that Northwest is rumored to take away from Pinnacle since they were unable to meet the March 31 deadline for a pilot agreement. I guess I could have been more clear by saying the planes that will soon be Mesaba's (I'm well aware that nothing has been finalized, but it was supposed to be a joke).

I will say it again like i have said before. I enjoy working at pinnacle. I am happy here. I have 15 days off in april, and will fly about 95 hours. Of course there are some things i don't like and some things i do. It is the same at every other airline. One persons trash is another persons treasure. I have friends at skywest who love it there, i also have friends there who say their lives suck, i have friends at asa who liked it at first, but there are sick of getting boned by skywest. I have 1 friend at xjet and he likes it there (no one else to compare it to.) But according to saabrewski, he is as scared as anyone i know about the future of xjet. So all this talk about dont go somewhere and do go somewhere is everyones personal opinion. I would never go to skywest, or xjet. Dont think i would like it there as much as i do here. As far as nwa taking the planes back, that would be fine by me. Every line in april is above 90 hrs, so we are all getting enough work with out them.

So in conclusion do what you want to do. Everyone will have there personal opinions. The pinnacle bashing is unfounded, i am sure there are things we could bash every other airline about. What makes pinnacle different from almost EVErY OTHER REGIONAL OUT THERE IS WE WONT ACCEPT A SUBSTANDARD CONTRACT. some other airlines out there accepted lower contracts for the promise of new flying. stupid.... WE WONT LET THAT HAPPEN HERE... So show some respect for the pinnacle pilots, there are the only ones out there standing up to management and not accepting a BS contract.

and i know some will say "we only accepted it because the company was in bankruptcy and we had too. I can tell you right now that even if pinnacle went into bankruptcy, the pilots would just walk... no questions asked if we had to take a p!ss poor contract.

Airsupport,

Good to hear some positive things on these threads. I interview on the 18th. I know other MSP based pilots that have the same things to say. At the age of 35 I've been around some other blocks where you take the good and try to make the not so good better.

Thank you. I enjoy seeing a positive note on here once in a while. To an aspiring regional pilot....sometimes reading these forums is like watching 40 tennis games at once.....back and forth back and forth.

PS - 95 hours..wow. Is that the norm?

the norm is around 85, but nwa has given us a ton of flying for april, and there just aren't enough pilots here to do all the flying. like i said almost every line in mem was over 90 hours..which is fine by me because i want to upgrade this year, and seeing how people a couple hundred junior me are upgrading i don't think that will be a problem. just need the 3000tt.

just remember you are a pilot and you should not be satisfied with the current situation anywhere. expect higher pay, more days off, and overall better treatment. complain about it if you are not fully satisfied. and if you are satisfied, complain because it still should be better. that doesnt make you a bad employee, it makes you an employee who realizes his or her value as a professional pilot

Remember i never said i was satisfied with what we have, thats why we haven't accepted a pitiful contract. Of course i want a better contract. who wouldn't want more days off, more money, and a better qol. all i can say is i like it here at pinnacle, and if they try and give us a bad contract they will get my NO vote.

What kind of hours are the new hires coming in with? I'm sure some are under the mins...

some has more than min for sure
 

I know of one with near 1500 TT more than 500 turbine and TTME 900+

I have some questions regarding Pinnacle new hire.

What base (domicile) are they sending the new hire at this moment?

How does the Hotel situation during training in MEM work? Are you given a room the first day in Class or is all that arranged before starting training?

Is the Sim training done with Flight Safety instructors or Company instructors?

how many free days are the new hired (allready on IOE) getting per month?

Any base you want.

300 bucks a week, double occupancy, the company will fly you down here and give you a hotel whenever you want, you just have to tell them and make arrangements.

Sim training is done at flight safety with pinnacle instructors. We have bought all the time in 3 of the sims here in memphis, and they are also sending people to clt and stl for sim training.

10 days off min,, and that is all you will get.

For some. Not me. :)

Hiding your pet midget in the closet counts as double occupancy there, buddy... :p


... sup biznatch Yzer :D

Hey man, they gave me that midget for doing so well in class.

Sup, EMBdriver :p

I understand that UND gradauates get in with lower time. What about people not from UND or any other alliance?

Middle Tennessee State University is getting in with 500/50

and the any base are...........
 

Thanks for the answers!

here are a few more questions............


Are there any other bases than MEM, Minneapolis and Detroit?

Does the company provide transportation from Corporate office to Flight safety for the SIM or how does that work?

How do the guys that do not have cars in MEM get to and from class? Hotel shutle?

What time does class usually start and end?

Those are the only 3 bases.
Don't know about transpo to Flight Safety. Most people in my class have their cars here, so getting a ride shouldn't be too hard. Also, staying in Memphis for your entire sim run (or at all) is not at all certain. People are getting sent to STL and CLT. I talked to one guy in the class before me who goes back and forth all over the place for the sim.
There is a hotel shuttle to get to/from class.
Class starts at 8am. So far we've been getting out around 4:30-5.

Thanks
 

Thanks for the answers Yzerman,