Pinnacle Questions?
 

Ok, well I got the phone call today and was offered the job.....:)
1. Does PNCL send out any material prior to ground school?
2. If not, what should I study prior to ground school?
3. Anyone have any links or books they recommend for the RJ?
4. Any other advise is greatly appreciated, especially about ground school and what to expect.
Thanks in advance.

1.) Maybe - Memory items and Limitations??
2.) Nothing
3.) Buttons book by AVsoft
4.) I wouldn't show up to class if I was you. Go to Compass or Mesaba. Same bases, much better companies. Pinnacle is nothing but lies.

I 2nd that, there's not very many people at pinnacle that very happy with them.

would you mind elaborating on that? have you or do you work there?
is this the book?
https://www.avsoft.com/avstore/webSt...CID=5&PID=119#

Go to another Regional, you will have more self respect in the morning.

Ok, great advise........:mad:
Why can't anyone give me anymore of an answer other than "don't go there". Give some real reasons other than flaming them.

Now, any Pinnacle pilots who can help me out would be great. If you'd rather PM me thats fine too. Thanks in advance.

Oh and my prediction is when pinnacle gets their contract you guys wont be bashing them.

And how many MORE years do you think that will take? Management is stalling and will continue to drag it out as long as possible.

Yes that is the book.

It's the steroetype your going to get
1. you have SJS
2. your quality of life will suck
3. you'll lower standards, just to name a few

I hope that they do get a good contract, but it's true it will be a year or two. It's a better company then it was when they were express. you should do a search on APC and read some of the crap that happens there, don't get me wrong I'm glad you got a job however I'd keep looking for a better one.

Give me til tonight and i will post my thoughts. Maybe another pncl person will beat me to it but there are many pluses and minuses to this place. i have been here 1.5yrs and have pretty darn good qol. Look up other threads on pncl and you will find comments from some who actually work here. Many post on here from things they have "heard". Not saying you shouldnt look at XJ if you like the nwa bases. Compass doesn't appease me with the flowup/down with nwa in the time of "mergers".

For christ's sake have some self respect and don't go to class. The very few there that remain positive will never cease to amaze me. If you do decide to jump off the bridge, enjoy and don''t say others never warned you.

You wouldn't happen to be their recruiter playing the innocent doe in the headlights would you? Looks like the above post as well as a few others buy it every time. Their management used to post stuff on here a while back under the name of wannabepilot or something like that until called out.

On point, don't worry to much about it. I went there with all my memory items nailed down, and was anxious to get right into it. Then I actually showed up and we had a week of basic indoc which felt like we weren't doing anything. You will have plenty of time when you get there to study, which you will have to do. When I was there about 7 months ago the training center was in a state of chaos, so it required us to be proactive in finding out what we needed to learn and then learning it on our own. BFD, we all did it, and nobody had any problems on the oral. Just know you limitations, memory items, and walk around slide (You will recieve that when you get there, it's cake). Good luck!

There are no positives to working here. Wait til Pref bid screws you. Then see how your QOL is... Its only a matter of time my brother.

1. i didn't have sjs when i came here 2 and half years ago. i came here because your company (mesaba) was the worst regional in the world. yeah thats a little extreme but how long have you been at mesaba? i was here when they started losing all the avros and furloughing people. mesaba treated their employees like crap, and made them eat it for breakfast lunch and dinner. if you think mesaba is different than pinnacle then just take a trip back in time a couple years ago and where we are now is where you were then.

2. qol doesn't suck. 18 days off this month, 3, 3 day trips and 2 day bleed over from last month. life is actually really good.

3. lower standards?? we are the only pilot group that is telling management to give us a good contract or they can sink this boat. if you went to mesaba after bankruptcy then you lowered the standards. our contract is 8 years old. your brand new concessionary contract is just a little better than ours. and don't give me the crap about management being better and such because like i said, just look back a couple years and there is no difference.

just read some of flatspins post and you will see the only thing he has to contribute to this message board is flames and flame bait. anyone that has anything good to say works for management, yadda yadda yadda.

uh been using prefbid now since the middle of last year and it has yet to screw me over. you have to be smarter than it is.. :) i average 17-19 days off every month since we started using pref bid. i also get everything i ask for if i know what i can get (you don't ask for stuff you know you wont get, thats just dumb). before i only got 14-15 days off a month.

now before you all get your panties in a wad i will say what i have been saying forever about this place. there is a lot that needs to change. luckily we have a pilot group willing to go for it instead of signing concessionary contracts to "maybe" get some flying. there are a lot of good pilots here. i got to work, do my flying and go home. no problems whatsoever. if there is a picket event and i can make it i show up. i voted yes on the strike vote. i will volunteer at the strike center. like one of the guys on our board says, all it will take is 30 days and 30 seconds to end it all. i will fight for whats right as long as i am here. i like everyone else wants to come here, get the time and move on. that is exactly what i plan on doing. but while i am here i am going to make the best of it and do what i need to do to bring about change. i feel bad for the pinnacle guys who hate their lives here. getting worked up in a unproductive hissy fit wont change anything. to many of you complain yet look at the volunteer status and all the jobs we need help with.

Thanks to everyone who has replied and those who have sent me PM's. To respond to the first couple of threads, no I am not management and no I don't have SJS.
From my research and people I know at 9E I think you guys will get a contract. The mgmt can't afford the strike.
I didn't want this to turn into a flame session on 9E and I guess thats all this will be. It seems that anytime anyone wants to get some info on anything it turns into some flame, or someone gets sent to the corner for making some silly statement.--sorry rant from another topic--
I'm willing to bet that once the contract is in Pinnacle will be flooded with applicants and this negative attitude will turn positive.
I ordered that book from AVsoft, thank you for the recommendation, I do appreciate it. If anyone has any other CONSTRUCTIVE advise, other than flaming the company, that would be greatly appreciated.

I dont have any experience with pref bid. Why is it a bad thing?

I've been at XJ for 9 years, And yes 9E's is better then it was. But I wasn't going to go to Express back when you didn't get payed for training, payed for your own hotel room, and had to pay for your training. All of the people I've with that have come from there had nothing good to say them.

Well after getting through even my own positive and negative PM's I have some things to say.

-In echo's to some there are some MAJOR issues here at 9E. This company WAS short staffed months ago, now we are simply NOT staffed at all. We have minimal (if any) reserves and are canceling flights left and right. We cannot staff a regular schedule of flying, much less dealing with people getting sick (happens) and irregular ops (such as weather, mx, etc.). To say that there is "friction" between mgmt and the pilot group is an understatement. We (pilots) are getting memo's on meal breaks, fatigue calls, sick calls, delays, yadayada.

-There are some LOOMING issues here. We have a contract that is "crap" to be optimistically honest. Almost any regional (including mesa) would be a major pay raise on the FO side (looking 2+ years on the scale) and even then the pay is still horrid. Our contract is not pilot friendly and with our "loving" mgmt vs. pilot relationship the company stance is to basically "throw out the contract" and just tell the pilots to "grieve it later". We cannot staff our jets and have more coming with attrition rising. This path will (sooner rather than later) end up with even more cancellations and eventually the wheels (no pun intended) will stop.

-There are a couple PROMISING things here. Obviously upgrade is quick, we have a pilot group that is fed the F up with this mgmt team. A 99% strike vote is a rather loud showing of that. Our next contract will be one that WE are proud of and --more importantly-- will help to bring up this industry. This is a hard and long process but we are doing it. One day we will force mgmt into a contract because they will see the choices are either a contract or the end of pinnacle.

On a personal side I do have a pretty good QOL. After a year and a half I get 15-18 days off with the weekends. I was off all the holidays. I fly 3 days trips with great coworkers. Pay still sucks.

I have friends here on rsv that are contemplating leaving- I don't blame them. I live in base and am only waiting on a bday to upgrade. We will get a contract- when? Only Phil knows and he seems to be a pathological LIAR so I wouldn't believe what he has to say. I would not recommend this place to anyone, yet you could still come to class while you look elsewhere. If you have other interviews GO FOR IT! Just my thoughts on this place!

so you are one of the "lucky ones" who were left standing after they sent hundreds of pilots packing. i even picketed with you guys right up to the time you all finally gave in. i thought for sure the mesaba pilots were going to stay strong and tell management that you weren't signing that contract. your management is no different than pinnacle management. and if you have really been at mesaba for 9 years then you know that is true. mesaba is a better place to be at right now, but 3 years ago, guys from your company were killing just to come to pinnacle. it all a cycle man. you guys are getting built up right now, just like we were when they were tearing mesaba down. soon they will sell you off to the highest bidder (which could be pinnacle :) ) and then the cycle will repeat itself. nothing has changed, it all stays the same, just goes in cycles. i have met several people from mesaba that have nothing good to say about them either. especially this one guy 2 years ago who was being dead headed back to memphis to be furloughed. yeah, we had a nice long chat on that flight. its the same every where you go. you will find people who hate it here and who are fine here. same at mesaba, you may like it there, but there are a couple hundred guys who think that the company sold them out.

Fedup,

Listen to higney and Airsupport. They actually work here and recount their experiences in an accurate and balanced fashion.

There are advantages and disadvantages associated with working here. Right now the disadvantages grossly tip the scales however things will change drastically for the better when we get a new contract. When we get a contract is the big question and at what expense? We've made it clear that we would all rather strike and risk our jobs than accept a substandard contract. I personally feel that we may be starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel - whether that means a TA or release to strike - but you should by no means count on this.

This industry is cyclical and todays best company could be tomorrows worst, especially in the regional field. If I were choosing where to go, I would not come to Pinnacle as a new hire at this point. There is simply too much uncertainty. However if you are still considering Pinnacle, do some more research on these forums. There is a lot of information in many other threads. Good luck in any case.

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.

DTW is junior. MSP is going to be the hardest to hold because of Mesaba getting 17 planes that will be based in MSP. I would guess upgrade is 6 months.

Latest Captain Vacancy:

9 MEM

3 DTW

1 MSP

10 ATL

i hope you aren't one of those guys on the company message board that has been here for 2 months and is crying because he didn't get what he wanted with prefbid.


have most of those fo's been here 6 months or less?? cause if they are you should have slapped them and reminded them how long people used to sit reserve when we did paper bids.

and yes you will get abused on reserve. your schedule could change 100 times and it still be legal. we all had to go through it but once you have passed it you are done with it. i haven't had my schedule drastically changed in nearly 2 years now. once i was off reserve my qol shot through the roof. even when i only had 10 days off, just knowing that they couldn't just change my schedule when they wanted or keep me on a never ending trip made me happy.

LOL. Pretty sure I couldn't hold 17/w weekends if i've been here for 2 months. Take the time you've been here and subtract 6 months = my DOH.

I'm ready to jump off this sinking sink..Just waiting for someone to push me.