ASA Question
 

I was talking with a friend that just got hired at ASA and i'm thinking about applying. She mentioned something about being hired onto the 200 and not the 700. I understood that to mean that 200 pilots dont fly the 700 and visa versa... is there any truth to this? Seems kind of odd that ASA would keep them separate as they're virtually the same plane and anyone that fly's the 200 could easily manage the 700 with a little extra training. thanks!!!

It is true. ASA keeps the 200/700 separate.

The company and pilots agreed in the contract to treat the 200 and 700 as seperate aircraft to simplify pay calculations. The 700 pays more than the 200. Now, if/when the 900 gets on property, it will be lumped in with the 700 due to the number of seats of 76.

Also, ASA has more 200s than 700s. That means more lines of flying on the 200. Which means less reserve and better QOL.

I hope this helps.

thanks... i'd imagine there's a lot better chance to get hired onto the 200. how often do they run 700 classes?

If you're thinking of applying I would suggest closely looking at SkyWest and our competitors. ASA's future is still uncertain. We're retiring the ATR fleet this summer, with no replacement in sight. Also, we have a huge number of 50 seat -200s and no new airplanes on order. Despite the contract being settled, morale is still at an all time low what with crappy lines and a still unresponsive management.

If you have the hours, you'd probably be better off to go to SkyWest or Republic.

You will bid within your new hire class for equipment. Seniority goes by age. Not all three airplanes are always open, and if you're not senior in your class, you may not get your pick.

If you do have the choice, I'd suggest the -200. The ATR is being phased out, and most of the senior FOs from it just went to the -700. The -700 is very senior for FOs, and you may spend a longer time on reserve.

I'm a west coast guy and would love to fly at skywest but its an hours issue... i'm still quite a bit short of their hard mins and it seems like they have no intention of changing them :-(

well at this point i'd fly just about anything... i'm 27 now so i dont imagine i'd have enough senority in my class to bid anything but the 200.

thanks for all your help!!!

JP:

Isn't Delta reducing the amount of flying that Skywest does for them? I'm not sure what the total percentage of the reduction is and how it may affect hiring at Skywest.

With that reduction, an increase must occur somewhere else. The post that I'm referencing says that Delta is increasing its international service and reducing its domestic routes. Not quite sure how all of this will play out. My guess is that either that flying will go to Comair or Pinnacle. JMO.


atp

-200 not good/big enough for you?

CRJ Driver read the entire post before you respond... thanks

If you're a west coast guy and you go to ASA now, you're going to be commuting for a long time. That sucks.

If you just hold out for a few months and keep doing whatever you're doing to build hours, then you can apply to SkyWest, Horizon, ExpressJet, or whomever, depending on how long you want to hold out and your latitude on the west coast. You still might have to commute, but at least there's hope that it won't be for long.

Unless you don't mind commuting and/or you're willing to move to Atlanta. Then more power to you.

IMO, at age 27, you will probably be in the mid-range age in your class. I would echo the same advice as others have posted. You will likely get the 200 regardless of how you bid. Just remember, If you bid the 700 and get it, you will spend nearly a year on reserve. If you get the 200, you will probably spend 3 months on reserve. As spring and summer roll around, schedules will pick up and you should be able to hold a hard line. I've been at ASA for a year, and I am holding weekends off finally. Good Luck!

i'm sittin on my butt trying to get a job and i dont have a CFI so there's no viable way to get enough hours in the next few months. truth be told id be at skywest in a heartbeat if they'd take me. i dont really fancy atlanta but how bad could it be? famous last words id imagine :D. its just a stepping stone to the big leagues so its only 4-5 years temporary.

the 200 is just fine for me... would like to fly the 700 for obvious reasons but im in this game to build hours and if the 200 is the best at ASA thats the plane for me. any insight you can give about life at ASA would be much appreciated.

thanks to all

With a recession possible, age 65 effects unknown, effects of any potential DAL/NWA/UAL merger, and near-$100 a barrel oil, I'd caution you to make that "4-5 years temporary" prediction...make sure you're somewhere you wanna be for the next 10 years.

Hiring might cycle back up again, but the IATA is saying this year will be less profitable for the majors than it was last year...if we have a recession, prices go up, and oil stays high, your prediction might get bumped up to more like 6-8 years. In fact, that's what any entry level FO should plan on right now IMHO>

thats sound advice... thank you. basically i want the most amount of hours in the quickest amount of time and i'm willing to live somewhere i don't want to as well as work for someone that might not treat me like a human. honestly, from reading thread after thread on this forum it doesnt seem like anyone likes their company other than the horizon and skywest guys... and since im no where near competitive for a job at either, i guess i need to re-adjust my thought process.

Geez, is ASA that bad.... I kinda thought with the new contract things were better.. Short reserve(I thought) Arggghhhh.. I put in with ASA, PSA, and Republic(best of course) will live in NC.... Hoped for a 2 month or so reserve than be able to commute.

I know many people here at ASA who like...maybe even love their job here :eek:. Dont take every word that someone says on here as the holy word. I have come to realize the guys who hate their jobs are the ones on here ****ing and moaning. ASA is a great company. Commuting is hard, and also will make your life he**. It can be done, if you want to make it work. If you dont want to commute than try XJT or Skywest. I dont know how your building time but try to buy time or even get that CFI ticket.

See, now that's the kind of attitude that allows the whole airline situation to be dragged down.

I dunno, people at ExpressJet and Republic seem fairly happy.

I've decided to live wherever I'm based. Initially I may have to commute from PBI and that's ok. Me & my fiance have a condo in Ft. Pierce. FL.

I've identified ASA, Comair, & PNCL. That means either the suburbs of ATL or MEM. Not to thrilled about CVG; maybe Kentucky where the CVG/Northern Kentucky airport is located.


atp

If you live in Florida, why not apply to Spirit? I hear they hire student pilots, plus you'd get to fly an Airbus!

he he he...

Going to live in NC b/c my Guard unit is there... will only do one commute, plus I hope to get good flying with my unit so in the end I commute even less.

I'm guessing that ASA uses age for seniority? On the SkyWest side, it's determined by the last 4 of your social security number.

We just sent Brad Holt, and he took an entourage, over to ASA. I honestly hope that works for everybody, but I expect some pain before any (hopefully) gain.

Keep your chins up :D

i disagree.... thats the attitude that gets me a job and helps me deal with a less than ideal work situation. i didnt put us in this mess and any radical change is no where near the horizon; so i guess im just gonna play the game and try and get what i need out of it.

At 27, you might could hold the 700 with your initial bid. I'm 26 and just barely made the upper third of our class.. and nearly half the class went to the 700.

Come on over! It beats sitting on your butt..

You're reading way too much into the SKW reduction in DAL flying. DAL is reduction SKW flying by a measly 600 hours. Just to put it in perspective, that’s only about 14 pilots worth of flying. (600 / 85 hrs per pilot = 7.06 x 2 pilots per a/c = 14.06 pilots) That's nothing seeing we're already understaffed. Also our contract with DAL requires us to maintain a % (% varies per base) of their regional departures through 2020.

For numbers sake (means I don’t now the exact #s) lets say its 85% (not saying it is), which is very likely in SLC & ATL (for ASA). If DAL has 1000 regional departures from SLC, SKW contract demands they fly 850 of those departures. Now if DAL wants to reduce those departures to 900 then SKW much still fly 85% of them and no less. Yes that means SKW has 85 fewer departures but some one else took a hit as well. Now if SKW has 87% of the SLC departures then DAL has 2% to work with.

If DAL drops SKW departures below that listed in the contract they stand to lose well over $100M which was all negotiated with the sale of ASA to SKYW Inc.

So as far as another regional getting SKW flying it can’t happen until 2020 and with SKW being one of their cheapest carriers with industry leading performance, I don’t see it happening. Comair and E9 won’t see a bit of SKW departures without SKW being justly compensated. As for as E9 taking our flying in ATL, not happening seeing we were temporary in ATL from the beginning and as we loose one departure in ATL we gain one out west (not necessarily SLC……..LAX).

Mark my words, EVERY DELTA CONNECT CARRIER WILL BE AFFECT BY A REDUCTION IN FLYING! It just happens to be that DAL started in SLC, which is SKW territory, but soon it'll be extended to CVG, ATL, etc. Remember that the reduction in flying has nothing to do with the carrier just the profitability of certain routes. It’s just a matter of time before they start cutting flying with other regionals.

BTW, yes DAL is increasing their international flying, but no one wants to fly on Comair to Europe! LOL! Remember that Comair and E9 are domestic operations not international. Yes they can fly to Mexico or Canada but that's not really what DAL's talking about, they're talking about long haul with heavy iron.

Also, SKW has many new destinations in Mexico.

i'd love to come over... submitted app via email and fax. just need someone to get back to me and i'll race down to atlanta. watchin tv is getting old real quick.

i'd prefer the 700 if all was equal but it sounds like the 200 is the best bet at ASA so i guess i'll shoot for that. thanks.

Careful, sounds like JSJ.

Go with the a/c that provides you with the best chance for a line then down the road move over. Besides if you’re holding a line on the CR2 you’ll make more money than sitting reserve on the CR7. It’s all about QOL (quality of life) not the a/c.

thanks for the advice... like i said... i'll shoot for the 200 if i get on with ASA. QOL and money to feed back to various financial institutions are top priorities :D

I love you, too.!!!:p

Ok, now I see your point. Thus, the "imminent sale" of Comair which will affect the bottom line along with cutting unprofitable routes with all the connection carriers at some point in time. Hmmmmm...interesting.

Btw, is there a publication or periodical that has information what you just posted about SKW and other regionals & Majors that I can get my hands on? There's nothing like being informed!!!


atp

If you want to read more about the ASA purchase agreement between SKYW Inc. and DAL just use Google or research DAL's or SKYW's website for previous press releases about the topic and it’s intricate details.

Below is a decent read:

http://www.skywest.com/media/05/8-15-05.php

So what is the flying like at ASA? Are all the flights out and backs from ATL? The route map looks like just about everything only goes to ATL.

When you've been at ASA as long as those of us "*****ing and moaning" you may have a valid opinion, and may even agree, junior.

It's mostly 4 day trips with 3-5 legs per day. Most of the trips are in/out of ATL but there is also some CVG stuff.

I am in the process of applying and wondered if you might know if it would be easy to commute from Indianapolis. I know ASA has about 3 flights a day in and out of here, but have you heard if many ASA pilots commute from this area?

What about RSW-ATL? I see it's all mainline Delta & Airtran......how would that commute be?

Or MCO-ATL?

Or TPA-ATL?

I've heard MCO/ATL is horrible. Maybe that's just conjecture, though.

besides ASA, there are plenty of S% and DAL flights, along with Airtran. when i was in initial for shuttle, i wasn't sure of my base, and checked to see flights from IND to ATL. there were somewhere on the order of 45 ways to get there. the majority of which were direct or 1 stop flights.