Not to perpetuate the cycle, but I just realized pinnacle has a 6 month upgrade. Thats scary huh? I am personally a fan of the 7 year upgrade. <---JK LOL

 

Only reason your quality of life is good is because you've been here for years, and you probably didn't have to sit reserve long. Anyone coming in now will be on reserve for a long time. 6 Months? Probably longer in MSP or MEM. You know as well as I that you get ABUSED on reserve at Pinnacle.

I get more days off with pref bid. But this month I finally got the shaft.

I had yet to been screwed over except this month. Normally I average 15-17 days off with weekends. Well this month I manage to get HORRIBLE schedule. 1000 points towards weekends off gave me only 2 weekends in March off.

Why are you guys trying to make Pinnacle sound like a good place to work? Its a dump. Memphis is a dump. Maybe ya'll just don't know any better. Only thing that will make Pinnacle better is when we STFD!

 

I wouldn't consider myself a lucky one, I was a 7 year fo, and it's true any one with a red tail has *******y management. I hope that everyone that was furloughed is happy at there new place (skywest). But It just seems that there are more people that hate 9E then like it, I again hope you get a good contract. All that being said there is still the steroetype that is stamped on you if you work for 9E just like the one I have at MESABA.

 

Fedup- if you were to stop me in the hall in the middle of a 3-day and say "Do you like it here". I would have to answer with something along the lines of
-I love a challenge and that is all pinnacle is right now. The long and hard fight towards a contract will pay handsomely when its all said and done. I am here for my 1000TJPIC and I am GONE. If I was in your shoes right now I would show up in training and get the type (SIC yea yea but its 121 experience) but I would still be sending my resumes out and looking very hard at which regional you WANT to work at (not just a job to have). If you get hired somewhere else then leave, if we get a contract you are ahead of the wave, and if you can't get the job you want now you are on your best path of resume experience to get there. This is a big choice you have to make that only YOU can make, but keep in mind the saying of "don't burn bridges behind you". If I had come here 6 months later with the same resume I would have gone to another regional, now I have pretty good QOL and will fight it out for the upgrade. There is a line in the seniority list where people get the shaft and where people get what they want. I have numerous friends who went from 15-17 days off to 10 getting nothing they bid for. I don't know where the line is but I feel bad for those who got the shaft.

 

I'll affirm it too -- Higney's giving you a pretty straight warts-and-all view.

A couple of thoughts:

- GENERALLY speaking, I've found that 9E pilots who live in base tend to be happier, while those who commute are the ones who tend to be miserable. That's understandable. Work rules, scheduling and understaffing here make for an average qol at best, but it can quickly go straight downhill if you're a commuter. If you go to Pinnacle, try to avoid commuting.

- Work rules and pay are likely to improve by a good amount under the next contract. Will there be a strike? Doubt it, but you never know. Will the next 3-12 months be tense until it's settled? Already is. The end result will likely be worth it, but it could be rough getting there. As Dirty Harry would say, "the question is: do you feel lucky, punk?"

- As others have said, study your flows, callouts, limitations and memory items and you'll do just fine.

- Great pilot group, *******ty management.

Good luck.

 

i have only been here for 2.5 years. i wouldn't consider that a long time. when i first started i couldn't hold memphis so i sat reserve in detroit for 3 months, then i got to come to memphis and sit reserver for 5. and during those 5 months do you know where i was at?? you got it, getting sent up to detroit to sit reserve up there. at least the hotel was on the companies dime those times. and yes you do get abused and yes you will sit reserver for around 6 months. there is nothing new to that. everyone has to pay their dues here, and when you work for pinnacle, they really make you pay them.

if you are using the points system and you got screwed by prefbid then it is because you don't know what you are doing. i use the automatic bidding. i have 2 prefrences in my bid. max days off high, and weekends off high. that is how i get 3 day trips and 18 days off with 4 day weekends. no points, no other crazy requests, just days off and weekends. i have yet to get screwed by pref bid. for christmas i asked for what i knew i could for sure get. i traded a few days off so i could get the entire week of christams and new years off. and guess what, i got it. not because i am the most senior person in mem, because i am not, but because i know and prioritize what i am asking for.

if you have ever read any of my posts then you would know that i know there is a lot that needs changing around here. i have never said this is a great place to work or tell people to come and work here because its the best! i have never said any of that. what i say is the truth. i don't let the fluff or hate of the people on here or the company get in the way of saying the truth. the truth is yeah, pay sucks. management likes to kick us while were down. we have a contract that is 8 years old. you will make more at other regionals. will i say your qol will be better. probably not. my qol is great. i am at work 1/3 of the month, and at home the rest. so coming on here and saying that your qol at pinnacle sucks just isn't true for me. it may be for you but that is why i am letting people know that yeah if you are new it sucks. but like higney said he has been here just 1.5 years and has great qol.

not all your guys went to skywest, like i said we have a lot of mesaba guys over here when they started sending a lot of you home. several came over as street captains. and of course right now there are more people that hate 9e than like it. we are going through the same things you guys went through 3 years ago. management threats, bad work conditions, etc. etc. i wont say i hate 9e but i am not pleased with the way they are running things. i do what i can to help the union and nothing to help the company. i take my days off, turn off the phone, and don't pick trips up. sure they call a lot but i dont help them because just like everyone else here i want to see a fair contract that is good for the pilots.

 

I do know what I'm doing. I have not changed my preferences months. The company changed something with the system.. To magically go from 17 days off/w weekends to 12 days with only 2 of the 5 weekends in March... yeah something is up...Wonder why the bids 'took' an extra day...yeah....

 

Every FO i flew with this month told me they got screwed on their bid. Most of them got 3 less days off. in Feb we only had 9 MSP CA on reserve, we are up to about 15 this month. Also there's about 600 block hrs less in open time for MSP CA. Reduction in flying maybe?

Like everyone says, you will get abuse on reserve. I did a high speed last night and was suppose to do one tonight but they pulled me of that to do a reduce rest turn. and some how it turned into a 3 day trip. My schedule has been changed about 5 times today.

 

How much time do you have?

 

Is the upgrade still pretty quick for those with the flt time?

What is the junior base?

I have about 2000 hrs sic in the crj.