Big Sky
 

Can anyone give me any info on Big Sky? Lines, morale, QoL, contract, pros and cons, etc...
thanks

i have some buddies in montana and they like it despite the meager pay. pros and cons like everywhere else. 6 months and your looking at capt and logging pic time which is key. new hires are going to boston though and living in boston on 15/h......no thank you.

I am planning to enter with them as a street CA. How long to get to BIL...I will be commuting from SLC and thats a looooooong flight to BOS

Friend of mine in the CVG ramp tower said a BSY flight was delayed for over 15 mins the other day because a passenger got on the airplane and froze up in a panic attack because the plane was so small.

I would believe that. I had to be transported on a Mesa 1900 once and I remember thinking how grateful i was to not be the one flying it...
ahhh how things turn in life.

IF you come to Big sky as a street capt. you will never hold Bil. Most senior BOS pilots want to go back to Bil. BOs is a CF. Many problems, moral is low. Schedules are pretty lame. Only one pilot @ a time gets vacation. Personal days not awarded. many cxld flights. tail swaps up the wahzoo... Great group of pilots. All trips picked up/jr manned for the next 3 wks being paid very well. Expect to be Jr. manned (or at least called) about 5x a day on your days off. Mx in bos needs help. Sounds like the company is on track to make many changes to fix the lack of quailified people, parts and other key components of infrastructure that have been lacking since day one of the Bos operation. We were woefully underprepared to start. We have cut cities out and upgrade looks like it will not come as quickly as told for the FO's on property.
Bottom line come make some money, get your PIC, and try not to get violated.
adios

I am actually seriously thinking about applyingto Big Sky. Ilike the fact that they are a Delta Connection and I want to be in Boston

if you want to fly out of BOS give Eagle a shot. Minimums are about the same and QOL is alot better. Plus, you will be flying a jet.

But once you're an eagle, you're gonna stay an eagle due to the LONG upgrade time.

I'll step up as one of the street CAs here.

You won't ever get BIL. I have 500 PIC in almost a year. Go to Skywest.

I would not recommend Eagle. Too much uncertainty with the possiblity of being sold, and they have quite a looooonnnnng upgrade.
I would shoot for Republic/Shuttle.

That sounds frustrating in Boston, I spoke with the chief pilot at Big Sky about a week ago concerning an interview. He was concerned with my lack of 121 time (only about 100 hours) though I am flying in a crew environment under 135, 95% of my flight time is dual crew time, and I have the mins to be hired as a captain. I plan on interviewing for a captain position sometime after the holidays as I want to live in Boston, I'd definately be uncomfortable going there as an sic under a contract but it seems like an interesting company. Thanks for the info from the guys that work there, I know it can be a pain when people keep asking the same things over and over. Some one please help me find the perfect job in new england.

Good jobs in NE (not 121)

Airnet has lears at BOS
Wiggins has caravans and 99's at MHT
Alpha has PC-12s and sometime in the future grobs at PSM
Linear has caravans and an eclipse or two with more on order at BED
Cape has 402s in BOS, HYA, ACK and a few others
Infinity Jets flys Hawker 800s out of ASH

Then there are a few fractionals.

I am sure you have done your research and know what you are looking for but in the off chance that for some unknown reason you did not know about these companies every one of them is a good company from the people I know who fly there

Thanks for the help I apprecaite immensely.

I've been there and done that with eagle, not really for me, I would go to a 121 job if it had a faster upgrade around there.

I don't think Airnet direct hires into their lears even if you have lear time.

I've talked to wiggins a bit, sounds interesting and I need to research it more.

Alpha seems real sweet, I don't know anyone there and should probably research it more, my issue is with my time I'm really uncomfortable sitting right seat there especially under a contract, I hope I don't sound too small minded, but I'm real envious of their schedule though.

Back at my eagle days luck had it I was nonrevving and the president of Linear was sitting next to me, talked to him the whole flight and have stayed in contact with him, thats an option also to try and interview at.

I have a bunch of close friends at Cape Air, I'm going to definately try and interview there after the holidays, I don't want to get stuck in evv though.

I interviewed at heritage flight, great people, great operation, the lifestyle is just not for me, and I'm already doing on demand freight.

Never heard of Infinity, I'll see what I can dig up. I grew up in pym, don't want to move back there exactly but somewhere in the northeast would be nice, pym has a 135 operator there I've tried but they wanted hgher time pilots already typed.

Where are you working now sarge?

lets make sure we are clear on one thing, we do much better than 15/h as a first year FO. 20.62 with a small raise comin in the new year. look around, thats better than skywest, pinnacle and several other jet drivers. not bad for flying a 19 seat turboprop!

I work for Colgan (this usually gets a bunch of comments) I am at flight safety in Toronto for the Q with my checkride on Thursday. I chose Colgan for the MHT base and the SAAB but i guess i suffer from shiny turboprop syndrome and for some reason picked the Q, time will tell how good of a decision that was.

I looked into all of the places that I mentioned to you with various reasons why I chose not to work at them.

Whoa, as long as its the giving season, someone please help me to find the perfect job in the Pacific NW.

Merry Christmas

Sure. What profession would you like?:D

I see a couple of you here work for Big Sky. I'm starting in the January class. Any tips, tricks, hints, things to do (or not to do) in Billings?

Ha, good point!

Lines: Just started a new system of creating lines, and while they are better than they were in the past, they still are not as good as other regionals.

Moral: If you dig a hole deep enough, you might be able to find our moral.

QoL: Once you find the moral, keep digging. It is down there somewhere.

Contract: Really isn't that bad, plus you can really make some money with open time. Our contract is better than many other regionals, but our union isn't really all that interested in upholding it.

Pros: Fast upgrade, PIC time

Cons: Trying to get PIC time without a violation, Moral, QoL.........

Not to mention that they are paying draft and open time at a very nice rate.

Are their lines commutable?

If not, what does a crash pad in BOS go for?

no kidding, i value my days off immensely but at this rate you can't help but jump on the bandwagon!

if there is one thing about the lines here is that i would say they are very commutable. show times for your first trip are usually sometime in the pm and you usually finish with enough time to catch a flight home. now with that said my opinion is that they are commutable since i have only 1 one hour leg to get to work, add another leg and a couple time zones and it might not be that easy. (for instance an 11 am show on my first day is commutable for me, that is probably not the case for someone commuting from SLC) second, you have to plan on things running late around here (and i mean LATE) so if you are scheduled to finish at 4 pm your last day somewhere after 6 is more realistic if not later.

just some food for thought...

Shiny turboprop syndrome...I like it! The Q is a sweet looking airplane...good luck to you sir.

Any idea what crashpads go for in the BOS area?

you can find them for as low as 200. 300 should get you into a decent house on the beach. either way i would say 200-300, no more.

Thanks..nevermind...just saw they lost the DCI flying....no more BOS.

or CVG or BIL (eventually). They are going to continue to operate BIL until another carrier can take over.

yup, just heard from a former student; they're ceasing operations 1/7/08

I don't know if it's a total cessation of ops, but I can definitely confirm they are stopping all of their delta flying on 01/07/08. Delta is already contacting pax and making other arrangements for them. I sincerely wish all the Big Sky guys the best.

Big Sky guys/gals, wish you all the best. I interviewed at the open house in Boston, but the chief pilot there made me feel less than shall we say, welcomed.

Eagle is hiring, if you need help, shoot me a p.m.

I recommended a friend from that jobfair and he had nothing but good to say about the people there and the process. I know he looked forward to the January class but that won't happen now I guess. I guess it's easy for you to talk bad about someone you don't know. From my own experience our CP has been good to me. Good luck everyone!

Well, unfortunately I am a member of what appears to be that doomed January class. So far I haven't heard anything from BSY on the matter. I'm sure it doesn't help that the CP is on vacation right now. Anyway, for all of you that like to read from other than the gossip columns :eek:, here is the link to the press release. It looks like a complete and permanent shut down of all east coast operations.

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/071219/20071219006073.html?.v=1

It looks like I'll have to start returning those calls from Colgan and Pinnacle after all :D

As a matter of fact I didn't know jack about this and I don't know how he can benefit from having believed in me when I got hired with very little time, just like many other fellow pilots here. Just like you I didn't have a rich daddy paying my way and in case you didn't know the CP left his country behind and worked long and hard before he got hired by Bigsky 10-12 years ago. You have som much hate that I seriously think there's something wrong with you. Are you sure you are fit to fly? Anger doesn't belong in the cockpit so call in sick for a while.

I've explained to you before that I didn't have a "rich daddy". I already had a career (I was a firefighter) when I decided to start flying. I wasn't some young kid with a silver spoon in my mouth. I also had a wife and two kids when I decided to start flying. I went back to school (on my dime) and started flying (on my dime) so that I could pursue a career in this business. I paid for my school (on my dime with some financial aid from the US govt and loans from Sallie Mae), no one else. I worked a full-time job and two part-time jobs so that I could get to this point in my life. My wife and kids all sacrificed a lot so that I could be a pilot.

You seem to be very misinformed. Have we met? Did someone tell you these incorrect things about me? Do you have the balls to contact me so that we can clear that up? You didn't last time I PM'd you my number. Maybe this time you will. I doubt it. Just another big talker.

You are correct in my dislike of GQ's CP. I feel my dislike in warranted. He blatantly lied to my face when all he had to do was tell me the truth about something. I believe he did it to avoid the confrontation that it would have caused because he is a coward and a weasel.

And if you honestly think that you got hired at Big Sky because Stig believed in you, you are the idiot that I always thought you were. You got hired because they needed to fill a position and you were qualified. Please don't let people make you feel like they are doing you a favor everytime you get hired somewhere. You got the job because you deserved it. You owe them nothing except to do your job well and safely. After what Fred and co. are doing to you right now, I'd hope that you would start to figure that one out.

No hard feelings. Good luck.

you are emotionally unstable, do those skywest bennies allow you to go talk to somebody?

calm down buddy, the personal attacks are completely unnecessary

"you are emotionally unstable, do those skywest bennies allow you to go talk to somebody"

I'm seeing a lot of flamebait at this thread in the last few posts. Everyone needs to cool their jets a bit.

Mccube,

Have you heard anything about what your going to do? Did they give you any notice about the closing?

Frankly, I'm just a bit curious at this point, and a little miffed that they couldn't have told me BEFORE I had to quit my current job. Anyway, I'd like to know what you know about how this is going to effect the current BOS pilots?

any idea who's gonna pick up that flying??????