Troutbait

All AE pilots know that the upgrade at AE is 7 years or more. Also the transition from one aircraft to the other is diffiult as well. What makes AE pilots go to AE and stay that long? Are you happy with AE? Is AE a good or great place to work?

swaayze

Yes and no, but I'm kind of an odd case....I ended up at Eagle in a roundabout manner following furlough from a major. My story is long and boring, but suffice it to say that I'm here because Eagle fulfilled a need, and the great jobs that are supposedly so easy to come by for someone with lots of time (and no, I'm not a leper nor have I ever been terminated, etc) really aren't always that easy to come by after all. That said, I have bypassed "better" opportunities because: I've chosen family over career, I have no desire to commute without significant reward and a decent QOL, and we simply will not move from DFW.

Eagle is a good regional job, but it will not pay the bills without supplement until an upgrade occurs, probably 10 years for those of us hired in the last couple of years. The pay stinks, the benefits are actually pretty good despite what you may hear, and the crews and equipment are generally top notch. Most FOs here either have too much time invested and are hoping to finally upgrade when AA recalls start or they are relatively new with lower times and now the greener grass is drying up. We lost 20 pilots per month last quarter. Good bases and a parent company not in dire financial staits (yet?) are part of the deal.

I, like many others here I think, am actively looking for a good corporate/charter job in DFW (help graciously accepted! ), and I'm considering the frax as well.


FWIW

jwes

Swaayze... That sounded like a nice honest post... I agree

I have enjoyed eagle also, but then again I have been fairly fortunate to have upgraded in 3 years. I know that the 7+ year FOs are and have every right to be bitter. I believe that the new hires may upgrade in about 4 years though.

I also believe that our 16 year contract is actually helping us to some extent with all those fears of cut backs.. I have another 22 years of airline employment and have been aggressively trying to get to another carrier (JB, SWA, Cont) but I would or will not go somewhere laterally just to get out of Eagle. When I turn 40ish I will just except eagle as my home, for the quality of life and job security (If you can say that anymore)

I think if your starting out at a regional and your young you should go with the company that has the fastest upgrade, but thats also a guess because you really never know. Just have to take your best guess at that moment with the current information.

If we (Eagle) were to get bigger aircraft in the future then I would be very comfortable with staying at eagle. Because of my age l would like for scope to go away to allow that to happen. But for you younger folks you should really be behind scope clauses. Good luck

AriesIIdriver

I am a Multi eng turbo prop guy myself and will be retiring soon. I was enlisted for 12 years before I got my commission so I have only been flying for about 5 years. I only have about 1500 hours TT but only 500 of that is PIC. It is all turbo prop and all but 200 of it is multi. I don't think I have enough PIC to get with a major but I think it is enough to go with a regional. With my military retirement check paying the mortgage and then some, I don't mind the pay cut but every regional pilot I speak to says to stay away. I just want to fly and although there are some bad things about being a regional pilot (besides the pay), the equiptment is much nicer than most of the planes I have flown in the Navy. Can someone be specific about what is so bad about flying for the regionals?
Also, you mention scope clauses. If this deals with age, I am interested. I will be closing on 40 when I retire and would like to fly for another 20 years. Can you tell me the chances of that. Thanks.

XtremeF150

Well first of all I know several people I have worked with that have been hired after their 40th birthday to a regional job. However, if you are really looking for a 20+ year job now you could consider going to the fractionals as most if not all will allow you to continue to work after your 60th. Hope that helps.
XtremeF150

swaayze

The QOL at the regionals just isn't very good unless you have some seniority and live in domicile. Lots of long days/short nights and if you're on reserve you will not enjoy yourself much if you like your home life. The equipment is great, as are most of the pilots, and there are worse jobs out there. Just don't go in with high expectations and you'll be fine.

JustAMushroom

At the risk of rocking the boat...I flew part 91 corp for 3 years before getting on with SkyWest. My QOL is much better now (and I worked for a very good private family with 11 airplanes) and my pay is finally matched. It took a few years to catch up. Our company hardly ever has overnights less than 12 hours (usually 15 to 16) and the equipment is good. Whoever hires our flightattendents should be given a raise! I average about 16 nights at home a month and feel pretty fortunate.

Now, I'm not a cool aid drinker either! I have apps out just like everyone else and I want a better retirement plan and to get paid for what I am "worth".

The money is good with corp flying but unless your ready to server coffee, load bags, walk some old ladies dog, and sit in some FBO for 10 hours past scheduled departure, then maybe corpflying life is not for you.

Regionals are not the pilot life we imagined as kids but they can be a good place to make a living.

Bengalsfan

which regional do u work for? 16 days home a month sounds good!

junior

I think he said Skywest

Burt Reynolds

A scope clause is an agreement by one company (usually the regional) not to fly a particular a/c or a/c size. The scope agreement that American Eagle and the American Connection carriers have with AA's pilot union precludes the use of 70 seat jets.

However, everything is negotiable. AE now has 25 CRJ-700s with the ability to get another 25. This same scope agreement is the reason (or excuse however you want to look at it) that Trans States' management created the alter-ego carrier Go-Je ts. But that's a whole other ball of wax.

Hope that helps.