Colgan Contract
 

Any info on breaking the 1 year training contract? If you broke it, have you heard anything in regards to paying it back? If you did break it, please say how long it has been since you broke it or how long it took till you heard something.

We're not working for the same company that we signed the contract with dude; contract should not be enforceable :D.

Colgan pilots...Is it true that other airlines are denying Colgan pilots the jump seat because of the recent ALPA vote?

I hope not. That sucks if true. We need a list of who voted and who didn't. Like the Eastern Black List. Now the Colgan Black List. To those who bring the whole industry down by voting against labor unions.

Maybe the better question is this. Is a training contract valid by requiring you to work for a specified time frame or else be fined. And two, is the contract valid after the company was purchased by another company? (ie the Pinnacle acquisition)

Where did you hear this from?

Go see an employment attorney. The consultation will likely cost about $100 and he/she should be able to give you a solid answer.

I may get flamed for this but a training contract has its reasons.

In todays age people know what they are getting into when they take a job they have researched it inside and out and if you dont know that XX regional sucks by now then you may never know. So you have done all your research and you have heard 500 people tell you the company sucks and that the works rules are non existent and you are worked to the bone and you decide to take the job. You read over the contract and sign on the dotted line and the company puts thousands of dollars into your training only to see you walk away without them getting their worth out of you. I think it is unfair to do that to an employer.


If you get blindsided or the job completely changes from what you had been told by others or there are unforseen circumstances then it may be a different story.

A bad reason is taking a job at TSA or Big Sky because they are the only place you had the mins for and then leaving when you get the mins for a better regional and trying to find a way to break the contract

thats a horrible idea, peoples votes are private and should stay that way, what if someone got a list of who people voted for president and treated them like **** because of that decision

If you want out, just break the contract. Colgan doesn't know its a$$ from a hole in the ground, let alone remain organized enough to follow up on a contract. Besides, we are now Pinnacle employees, they haven't made us sign a contract yet. In my opinion, Colgan has bigger fish to fry, and word is the Colgans are on the way out.

Any idea if Colgan is planning on making BOS a base? Just curious because of some of the job posts they have on airline apps. for A&P in BOS. Would be nice if they did make BOS a base. Jamers, check your PM's.

Well guys... I just received a certified letter in the mail today from Colgan's legal firm and they are demanding that I pay the balance of my contract within 20 days or they will file suit against me. Anyone else recently gotten such a letter?

yeah, go get that list. And when it's posted let me know so that I and everyone else that voted can sue the ever living hell out of the person that gave it up. I'm looking to get out of this day job.

That sucks, what are you going to do? I found a post a little while ago saying that a company is not allowed to legal hold you fiscally responsible for mandated training. The FAA requires we go through initial, therefore, Colgan is not allowed to legally come after. Additionally, if they come after you, and you can find one other person that they did not go after, then there is precedent. Let me know what you do.

Has anyone else been getting e-mails from Chuck Colgan regarding captains positions from off the street. Does anyone know which aircraft that it would be for? Why are they having to hire from off the street for PIC positions?

they are hring off the street for the saab and beech because:
1) they hired too many low times last year that cant upgrade yet
2) a lot of captains are leaving for other jobs
3) a lot of FO's are moving on to greener pastures
4) the q-400 training starts up next month and requires captains from the beech and saab to do so.

No idea what I'm going to do.. my first thought was to try and bargain with them, hopefully settling on a lower amount. I have the amount of money they are asking me for.. I just don't want to give it to them :rolleyes:. I liked having the roughly $4k in the bank as kind of a safety cushion of sorts.

I agree. find a good lawyer and it's a done deal.

My Opinion...
 

For what it's worth...

You read the contract and agreed to the terms in it by signing on the line. If it's not worth it to you to pay it off, then fulfill the 12 month obligation. You knew what you were getting into.

If the Pinnacle buy-out voids the contract, good for you!

Actually I didn't. I was unaware that I was going to be working so many 16 hour days in aircraft that aren't even fit to be flow by Air Kazakhstan.

good luck presenting that to a judge

I tell you what, put a judge in the jumpseat and let him see the bolt that fell out of the overhead panel and hit me in the head on takeoff the other day. He should understand why we want out. HAHA, it hit me square in the crang!

Captain at Pinnacle Airlines was telling me about it.

Seriously, you oughta be able to say that you didn't sign up to put your life in danger every single day at work!! ;)

You're right... go live in China if you don't want any freakin freedom to make your own decision... obviously some people here are out of touch with reality in more ways than one -- they've never seen REAL hardship. Try sneaking out of a country that was behind the iron curtain to be with your family then come talk to me. People on here whine like little girls.

Explain to me how your socioeconomic problems with a former country relate to a discussion board focused on aviaiton careers. Your analogy sounds like this, I live in the Czech Republic where I was beaten daily, and you complain about your working conditions. Its all relative, Xjet's a better company than Colgan, much like America is a better country than wherever you came from. Don't take your anger out on us, just be glad you get to stay in America.

best advice i have heard on any forum. to be honest he is correct. there isn't a person with colgan as a last name or formerly a last name that knows ****. i bet you could ask for a copy of what you signed and they couldn't find it. have you ever been in the hangar office in HEF. it would have fat ass mikey's super sized coke from mcdonald's ring on it and maybe a little ketchup.

you use them to get what you want and they used you for cheap labor and an ass in a seat....

and on your last day tell genea in scheduling to kiss your ass

Nope, they still have it. They sent me a copy of the original document in the certified letter.

That is funny. The chief pilot had no clue I had left and called me about a voicemail I had left 8 months prior and telling me he would give me the day off and I could come down and talk about the pay issue with them. I could also get retrained. I lauged and called him a dumb ass. He threatened to fire me and I was like I don't work for you and haven't since Aug 06. This was in May of this year

Training contracts are difficult to enforce because they are signed in duress... in other words... everybody knows that pilots sign on the dotted line because to not sign means not getting the job. I have had several friends at other airlines that have broken them and recieved little more than a threatening mailer. I can't speak for Colgan.

I would not put too much stock in what a Pinnacle pilot says about Colgan pilots right now, they are kind of ****ed right now. Plus, if I was ever denied a jumpseat because of a union vote I would have a hard time walking away with my mouth shut. Such a petty thing to deny the jump to someone who as far as you know voted for ALPA.

Awesome and funny. Although a few of us were talking about Katie in HR, not bad for a Colgan

Dude she still looks like Chuck! That said, I love to stick it to the Colgans

Just think of all the frustration you could take out.

Classic... LOL

they all look the same. i guess some just see the pocketbook. i know a colgan new hire can't afford a real case of beer. so they were probably chugging mad dog out behind the training building with the little girls from the dance studio next door...is it a conincidence a colgan owns that as well...NO IT IS NOT.

The flight attendants are at the comfort suites... if you want a good time, just bring the mad dog there. http://maps.google.com/maps?q=best+w...=1&sa=N&tab=wl

There's the directions. It's right behind the Chili's -- and there's a Chipotle on the way there! Just don't ask "for a burrito..." you'll end up with 4 burritos.

my buddy in initial at Colgan slept with the chick in C/S who looked like she was lost in the 80's. I forget her name........

Your link is to where we stay...not the FAs

Yea you're right -- I thought I put a link of the to/from map -- oh well figure it out!