Well i guess we will have to agree to disagree. I know the exact amount that went to fedex, and ups in the last 2 years is 9 total. CAL maybe 10-15. SWA 15. Netjets ? You haven't been at airwilly long enough by your own admission 1.5 years. Trust me when i say this many many more have left for less than those ideal jobs you mentioned before. I am not agruing the pay fact it is one of the better contracts still but what good is it if this guy doesn't want to commute. I will stick to my points on the QOL around airwilly "it's miserable, hands down the moral is at a all time low." The old contract is a big IF i don't see it happening there is only so much money to go around and all those pilots who were here when the contract got implamented will want there share. The grievence is 2 parts on for stollen back pay owed to pilots like myself and the second part trying to figure out what new things will be implamented. According to people who used to work for airwilly in the union they said the arbitrator essentially ruled out getting our old contract back.

As far as discouraging people to go to airwilly. Your right i am because the company is run by a bunch of crooks! Why would someone want to commute to a airline that takes every oppurtunity to make life more difficult on the one group of employees who have bent over backwards to make the company what it once was "PROUD" the planes are fillthy and the schedules have gotten worse over time. What is it that makes you think things are going to change for the better? They have been talking about improving the schedules for the last 3 years. By the way i didn't leave the industry i was one the many pilots who left airwilly for less pay at a airline that dramatically improved my QOL... Yes they exist.

 

Anybody been to Flightinfo recently? Read all the bitching and whining about ASA's schedules? Or Skywest? Or Comair? Or PSA? Or United? Or Northwest? Or ______________? A buddy sent me an email the Eagle MEC sent out a few weeks back about their "Critical Staffing Issues", so they aren't immune either.

EVERYBODY'S SCHEDULES BLOW THESE DAYS. The schedules blow because beancounters are in charge of the airline, not operations people...and the high price of the low overhead they seek is apparent to everybody on the line on a daily basis.

 

So you went to Compass... who cares, good move for you and your QOL. You are in on the ground floor of something, maybe it'll takeoff, maybe it'll flop...only time will tell.

To say AWAC is a horrible place to be is kind of extreme. Comair, ASA, Pinnacle, Colgan, etc. are all experiencing no growth (some are even shrinking), are getting whipsawed against each other, have no contract, are taking pay cuts, and life is miserable for the pilots that work there.

We have 12 days MINNIMUM off (compared to some with 9-10) we have a good pay scale, good 401k program, great contract, and great insurance. No need to come on here and bash the place man, its not a bad place to be. It's a stepping stone, like every other regional. Not a place like it once was where you can spend 40 years and retire (probably what you planned to do, and is why you are so discouraged). Oh well---things change, AWAC has adapted, and is proactive as of late. Good luck to you at Compass man, but no need to come on here and tell people that working here is going to be so miserable you "escape to another career." I've been here a little over a year, have avg. 15 or so days off a month, drive to work, and pick up an extra trip or so every other month to bring in some extra $$$ (at time and a half thats $54/hr as a 2nd year FO).

Your statment about the company being "run by a bunch of crooks." Yeah, that is getting worked out---our MEC is fighting like hell to get what our pilot group deserves. Mgmt. got caught, there was an arbitration, we won, now a remedy is in the works. "A bunch of crooks"---J.O. is a crook, Mesa is a miserable place to work....there are airlines out there with no contracts, no representation.... those could be miserable places to work. AWAC isn't all that bad.

 

boilerup your probably right most peoples schedules probably do suck. My point is why would you want to commute to these east coast cities with uncommutable schedules. There doesn't seem to be a great regional out there these days so my advice is pick on that is where you would want to live or one that is easy to commute to. I think the current airwilly domicles are some of the worst cities i have ever seen to commute too. ORF terrible.. PHL is always delayed. DCA just not enough destinations to go to from there.. although the most reliable city to commute to for delays.
There isn't a airline around that has dropped there hiring requirements as much as airwilly if they are in fact hiring people with 25 hours multi.... 7 years ago you would need 1500 multi just to get a sniff. My new hire class had only 1 person who was not previously employeed at another 121 carrier. I could have gone to any other regional with those times. In fact airwilly was my first choice but at the time i only had 1800 hours with 750 multi. I had to go to American Eagle for 2 years in order to get hired at air willy. How times have changed. Apparently airwilly just isn't the first choice for as many pilots today, for various reasons. It has gone from the best to a average airline and it is apparent because people now leave airwilly to go to other regionals.

I am happy for those who decided to move there families to the east but obviously i was one of the hundreds that got displaced. In my case displaced 4 times in 6 plus years. I hope for those that remain that history WON'T be repeated. My reason for leaving was simple i don't believe this current mgmt or ownership has any plans to keep running this airline, unless they receive a higher profit then the industry dictates today. Everything was being done on a shoe string budget, never enough money in there pockets. "When i listened to the CEO tell me we didn't get any of the RFP's because my 401k was 3 percent higher than the competion then that was the last straw.

 

Agreed!!!


Haven't talked to a TSA, Piedmont, PSA, or Pinnacle pilot recently have you? Besides, you know folks in ATW don't mind taking a risk on somebody that dropped a bunch of cash for CRJ training...

Heh...a couple folks and I had a field day with Rankin on that one...

"We're not asking you to do with less...only to do things 3% smarter and better."

 

Captcris..

I am not saying airwilly is the worst place by any means. This thread and my response was to the guy who asked about schedules and commuting. IF you want to commute go to another airline. The problem i see it as the line that used to seperate airwilly from the others was not grey, today the line that seperates airwilly from the others is more difficult to detect. Now when pilots have to compare airwilly to being better than colgan.. well i sure as hell hope so. In the history of airwilly nobody ever compared pinnacle and colgan to airwilly. Airwilly was compared to horizon and the top tier airlines. I still believe airwilly has some nice contract pieces but if your planning on going to a airline and commute i find it hard to place airwilly in the top echelon of carriers. Live near philly, fine.. live in DCA great.. just not sure how on the pay! ORF, good luck getting there and again pretty expensive to live in ORF.

 

boilerup...

My point is those previous airlines TSA, Pinnacle, etc. these airlines have always had low time requirements.. airwilly has nothing more to offer like it once did. They have thrown there minimums out, just to compete today, which is sad.. Like i said they were the airline that everyone wanted to work for, today that has changed and it's a shame because this mgmt team has driven the airline backwords over the last 4 years. JO will tell you he's screwing you.. Every one in the industry knows mesa is crap! Airwilly mgmt will keep pushing for more and more. I don't want airwilly legacy damaged anymore than this current mgmt group has.. they act like they have your best interests in mind. I would rather someone just tell me "listen this is what were doing like it or not"

 

I commute to PHL from the midwest. I haven't finished later than 7 oclock in the last 3 months, and I won't next month either. I bid a little worse than half way up the list. Credit 100hrs a month. Sure, it would be great if all our trips started at noon and ended at noon, however, the world is not perfect. I am a glass half full guy, and for me the commute is not bad at all. If you go into it understanding there will be times when the commute is difficult, it makes things many times easier. I would love to be based at home, but for now it really isn't that bad!

 

I assume you live near msp. I imagine the commute has gotten better. When phl opened there were approx. 60 pilots who commuted to phl either from or thru msp. The majority have left which should make your commute easier. I still don't think its a easy commute when you have 1 flight left to get home on your last day. perhaps they have added a late night flight to the scedule. Hopefully this winter when the headwinds are 140 kts you won't get bumped for wt. and balance.

By the way bizzum gotta love the old school twins logo!

 

Yeah im outta MSP, and it has gotten better. NWA is the usual savior, and the 2045 RAH flight works usually too.

I am a bona-fide Twins, Vikes, and NORTH STARS fan...boy do I wish they would go back to the old school logos though....would bring back some great memories!