TSA Upgrade: 13 mos (and dropping?)
 

Talked to a guy from my 9/5/2006 TSA newhire class.
He's going to upgrade class on 10/9 of this year.
Any of you TSAers care to speculate on the possibility of street captains?

... still don't want to for for HK :cool:.. interesting news nonetheless

I do not work for TSA but I am going to guess when you hire at 250/25 you are going to need street capts in the near future...it takes those kids some time to get the required hours.

those kids? sounds like a case of the kettle calling the pot black?

My voice has already dropped and I have been able to drink and gamble for many many years now.

Don't think it will happen. There were a ton of newhires last year. I know at least 15 personally that will be eligible for upgrade by the end of the year. People that have the time are still having to wait for seniority.

I think upgrades will inch their way back up to around two years because half of the FO list has less than a year in right now.

then why not be a captain at TSA? j/k

He'd probably wash out like most of the ATPers seem to do.

oooo burn!

Spoken like a true genius.

I have never gone to ATP.

Pilotpip, where you one of the 250/25 guys?

DCA, ATP, different crap, same stink.

Nope, I instructed for two years. Most have been hired with 500-600/100 just like the other regionals. Few have been hired with times as low as you state unless they knew somebody.

What 141 did you get your training at? You had your CFI at 200 hours right?

I went to Parks. Got two degrees from SLU and all my ratings for about the price of a gen. ed degree at a state school and had a great time doing it.

You are the coolest!:cool:

Thanks. Given the nature of most of your posts I'd expect you to reserve that remark for youself and Chucky's Saabs.

Back on topic, I highly doubt the direct hire captains. At most they'd be CQFO's or lifelong reserves becaue there will be a ton of FO's that have the seniority/time to upgrade.

Be careful insulting other institutions. Some people might through Parks in the same category with ATP, DCA, and company...


As far as street captains, I think there is going to be a gap of a couple of months until the next batch of folks are eligible to upgrade after a certain point. Despite what the seniority list says, there are a lot of FOs that have no need/desire to upgrade for various reasons.

At least our education at Parks taught us the difference between using the word "through" and "throw". I don't know how you can "throw" Parks into the same category as ATP, DCA, etc. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think it is the first flight school of its kind in the country? If you excuse me, I am going to go "through" the drive "thru" because I am hungry. If I don't finish all of my food, I will probably "throw" it away.

At least your avatar kicks a..!

koolaidman dont be a snooty skywest *********. we all got foxcow's point and since when does anyone correct grammar or typos on an internet forum? grow up. and vote yes on alpa.

foxcow youre somewhere around the one year point correct? will you be upgrading right now?

...since when does anyone correct grammar or typos on an internet forum...

Because that would be a fulltime job. It is so grating to read "there/their" and "your/you're" misuse. Didn't anyone pay attention in grade school? I must say that I do not recall having seen "through" mis-applied, however. Congrats. :D

My all-time favorite misapplication of "your" came from usenet's alt.humor.bestof-usenet newsgroup where someone had made the unfortunate gaff of saying, "your full of sh*t man" to which some wit replied, "I assume you're introducing yourself?". Oh, that still cracks me up!

In any case, it's not endemic to the aviation world, of course. I have to suffer through listening to a young man several years my junior who holds the position of department leader who has "a Champagne vocabulary on a beer mentality." He is Mrs. Malaprop brought to life, albeit male.

I'm hopeful, however, that the English language will survive the MTV Generations which seem(ed) intent upon devolving it into something just a few steps above Eubonics.

Hey Spooner, speaking of airlines that hire people with little time, I had guys in my Colgan class that had like 70 multi and this was two years ago.........................when 1000/100 as pretty much the standard

So I made a spelling error. Big deal. It doesn't matter if Parks is the oldest and the first flight school in the country. The place is not what it used to be. I know some pretty damn good pilots that came from there, and many pilots that are not worth the plastic that their license that are made of that went through there.


Now that I know the difference between throw, through, and thru, I will be able to sleep at night.:rolleyes:

Fox, I'd never insult another university program or anybody that paid their dues unless it was a little playful bantering which is usually dished right back. I'm not a fan of the zero to hero programs at all and I don't hide that fact. Most of the people that washed out of my class were ATP and CAPT type programs and a couple were very arrogant about it.

Spooner seems have trouble with people picking on him or the airline he works for but it's fine for him to chime in with snide remarks when it's another airline. Taking a dig at a "bottom feeder" regional is a pretty cocky thing to do when you also work at one.

Yup, it has been a little over a year and I am hoping for November upgrade. I just missed October.

Here we go again. I am not saying Colgan has not hired low time. If you want to start a thread called "Colgan upgrade down to 13 months" I would leave a post stating expect street captains at Colgan (they are coming).

My initial point was when airlines start to lower their minimums too low, upgrade availibility will be an option. It is simple math that if you hire at 300-500 hours it will take some time for them to have the required hours for ATP, no less upgrade.

Kind of funny SAAB, you are known as the Colgan basher and I am being known as the Colgan lover. Just goes to show how to people can have two totally different experiences at the same place.

And for the record I do not love Colgan...I like the pilots I fly with and I like flying the Saab. Mgmt does not bother me and pay is not bad when you can fill your belly each month on open time.

ahhhhh no hard feelings man, its never personal, besides I may need you to walk my resume in over there for a Street CA, things at the moment are looking somewhat "unstable" here, CAL is increasing the CLE hub by 40% (the airplanes are coming from EWR:()

I was in the 9/5/06 TSA class (now at XJT). It is scary to think that some of those guys/girls will be sitting in the left seat. They are all good people but very few, including myself, are not mentally ready to take command of a jet with less than one year one the line. TSA training is tough though so hopefully they will weed out those who shouldn't be wearing 4 stripes. I'm guessing we will see some TSA planes taking a few wrong turns in ORD this winter......fly safe.

SAAB, you will always have a home here at Colgan:D

Ghilis,

Why vote ALPA? I am happy without it. Where do you fly? What has ALPA done for you? ALPA is not going to raise our quality of life, if they were, don't you think OUR parent company would have come to terms with ASA by now? Or let me guess, we are the ones holding ASA down, right? Because they can transfer the flying to us cheaper?

If you want ALPA, fly for an ALPA carrier. I don't feel threatened for my job like a did at your fellow ALPA carrier Trans States. The majority of people who fly here are happy. We have good work rules without a union, we have the ability to say NO to junior assignments and good schedules. Our first year pay is low, our RJ CA pay is a little above average and our EMB is among the best 30 seat in the industry.

I don't know why everyone has such a beef with SkyWest? We don't hire 250 hour wonders that "bring down the industry" like you all think. We don't underbid everyone like everyone else thinks. If that were the case, I assume we would have picked up a lot more of the 900's. Instead, Comair, Mesa and Pinnacle were awarded around 14 aircraft per company. So the "non-union" guys underbidding everyone argument doesn't hold water; in my opinion.

SkyWest pilots don't leave SkyWest to go elsewhere and get the "protection" that is apparently needed by the current guys holding the ALPA drive. One of the hardcore "let's get ALPA here now" guys was fired and got his job back. He feels that ALPA is necessary for people to get their job back after being "unjustly" fired. However, he got his job back without ALPA, so I don't understand his point? This happened years ago.

Funny how you corrected me for correcting someone who is a professional airline pilot. We all sit here and complain about not being paid enough, yet people don't know how to spell "throw" and "through", or "lose" and "loose". At least I had the class not to call the guy "snooty SkyWest ...hole". Making fun of someone is one thing, but calling someone an a..hole over a forum is another.

And of course, I will get mauled because I don't share the same views as you do about ALPA. It happens every time with every ALPA supporter out there. What is your answer to the current US Airways/Amercia West deal? A decision was made by an arbitrator, yet the pilots at US Airways don't want to accept it. The decision was made in court! How can you argue that? And then have the nerve to sue!

It is people like you that make forums like this useless. I poked a little fun at someone because they can't spell a word learned in fifth grade. Foxcow, I apologize. If you want to continue this conversation and call me whatever, at least do it via a PM.

spooner, i thought u guys were filling your bellies @ night with ramen?

Yep, 13 months, have a couple guys junior to me in this months class, told em i'd be ready next month...haven't decided if i really want it or not, but eh, we'll see.

spooner, i thought u guys were filling your bellies @ night with ramen?

Actually, plenty of the Colgan crew meals, you know, 2 bags of snack mix.

just giving ya trouble...was hagglin a buddy while playing golf this morning, he was eating a crew meal granola bar, and drinking out of an Aircraft Water bottle...living the dream ;)

FlynavyJ

I'm thinking about applying to TSA.....what were your impressions before hire...and in comparison what are they now....I'm out on the west coast but have family that side. Would like to get the low down......in fact, i'm attracted to this 13mth upgrade. In my opinion Turbine PIC ultimately determines where you 'are' in this industry. I'm also aware that this upgrade time will fluctuate due to blah, blah, blah, blah

I'm not interested in a 'QOL v everything else' answer, it is what it is, I have an understanding wife....... But more of whether the company is a good stepping stone. i.e. its' history and the common or current trend of its' pilots..... is the current stance to get in and out, are there regional career pilots there, where do most of the people that leave for majors go? etc. I'm not trying to sit at some regional forever (like half of my buddies), just because it's a popular name and all my buddies say its bada$$.

The least amount of time spent at a regional the better in my opinion.

In any case i don't hear much about the company over my neck of the woods. Any info from your initial interview to your last landing would be appreciated.

JayHub

Jhub, if QOL is not an issue for you, then TSA is your kinda dish. you'll get lots of flight time, and if you can survive out training program(we have excellent instructors, just a brutal regiment!) you'll probably do well! as for commuting from the west coast, it's risky, problematic, I lived in an area that required a minimum 3 leg commute-it's a bear at best! We have an excellent pilot group, but some of the worst moral of any airline. if you want quick time it's a good place, if you are looking for anything else, this probably is not the place for you.

Good luck

The good: The crews you work with, you can fly about as much as you want, hold a line fast, the fast upgrade. Cost of living in STL is low.

The bad: Management is evil, Who knows what will happen with contract negotiations now that GoJets has proven to be an effective whipsaw, Bennefits suck (crap health insurance, 401K has 1% match and 1% "management fee"), and most importantly upgrade won't stay as fast as it is (under a year for some) I'm guessing two years for me. Oh and if you don't want to live in STL or RIC make sure you have a ton of options and don't mind giving up your days off to commute as we don't have a commuter clause.

Hey 15789...thanks for the speedy reply....

I'll prob move back out to the east coast......what's the hiring situation right now....any inside info....future plans...who's your contract with?

JayHub

Pilotpip.....again thanks for the hasty reply.....could you elaborate on this nonexistent commuter clause....i'm sure i know what you mean...but hey i'm still learning the lingo...

JayHub

Most regionals have a "commuter clause". Basically if you try to get on a certain number of flights and can't they won't hold it against you as long as it doesn't happen all the time. We have no such thing.

the company is ok, life is ok, reserve time is short, upgrade is short for some, probably an average of 2 years for others. I got there at the right time, and have the 13/14 month upgrade possibility, but it'll stretch back out in time. Only two bases to choose from, you're owned by a private individual, and you can be whipsawed against the other company "gojet" because "they'll do it for cheaper" mentality.

Hulas is a conservative guy, which really limits growth, and is probably why we haven't seen any, on the other hand, he isn't struggling to make money either, which is a good thing as the paychecks keep coming, as long as everything doesn't get transfered to gojet at some point in the future.

People who are here are heading just about everywhere that's hiring, lots and lots are now at jet blue, several recently went to continental, couple at southwest, couple at delta, few at cathay pacific, and i know at least one who just went brown...I dunno, it's a crapshoot, when i was hired, they gave me an opportunity that the other regionals didn't have yet, the way hiring is going now....don't know if this place would be on my list.

is RIC the junior base,

what about the non rev flying benefits for me and fam.

RIC is junior. it can be held right out of the gate.

flight benefits depend on what codeshare flying is done out of your domicile. if you're in IRC, then you get UAL and USAir. STL gets those and AA.

it's the standard you and your immediate family (spouse & dependants, and your parents) get to fly for free or greatly reduced cost (taxes and pennies per mile, for example) to anywhere the carrier goes