Mitchell T

I'm going for an interview with pinnacle pretty soon and I was wondering if anyone could give me some insight or their opinions on a few things. First I've been wondering what is going on at pinnacle so that they could hired 300-400 pilots in 2006?? I can't find too much info on it except I know that NWA is restructuring its domestic system and that is going to affect pinnacle. are they getting new aircraft.... is it due to attrition??
junior bases?
reserve time?
updated upgrade times?

thanks a bunch

cloudjumper

Congratulations on your interview at Pinnacle!!

The hiring craze is due to different things depending on who you ask. Some think its because of attrition or retirement, some think its because of this new second certificate thats rumored to be in the works. If the second certificate becomes a reality, Pinnalce will be looking to get new 70 seat airplanes, new lines, and a whole mess of new pilots!
Junior bases aren't really a factor that I know of, reserve time is about 6-7 months, and upgrade (again depending on who you ask) could be anywhere from 1-4 years.

Good luck in your interview!!

ubermich

A buddy of mine who just got hired there told me that they put a bid in for some of XJT's routes two or three weeks ago (source: some lady at the hiring department). Of course, nothing is known yet about those 69 planes, so I can't think that they're planning on hiring because of that. He also continued to tell me about other expansion plans as well, but I stopped paying attention to him because it was just a bunch of crap that is just wishful thinking right now, like them getting EMB-170s or 190s and giving some of their CRJs to Mesaba.

jmack

most people I know at Pinnacle seem to think the company will be gone in the near future??
FYI last month 14 attrition, of that 14, 5 were fired, not good

freezingflyboy

Of course a lot of that speculation on Pinnacle's growth is based on NWA keeping their head above water. And from what I've heard, there are a lot of ****ed off people at NWA (pilots, mechs, FAs, rampers). My own theory about the mass of hiring (no basis in fact, just pure speculation) is that NWA is ready to start dumping a bunch of the -9s and Pinnacle would be picking up the slack on the short/medium thin and high frequency routes that the -9 is used on now. This would require Pinnacle to pick up 70/90 seaters (and maybe even bigger?) to cover the capacity. Now, that will more than likely irritate some NWA pilots and FAs and I haven't heard too many big order announcements from Embraer or Bombardier for new RJs recently. So who knows? Is Pinnacle the rumored NewCo? I don't know. I just find it hard to belive that they are losing 400+ pilots this year (1/3 of their total pilot group )

Why would NWA do this? Look at how much cheaper it would be to fly those routes at Pinnacle prices! Also, those DC-9s have got to go some time. I am willing to bet they are a thorn in NWAs side right now from a fuel cost and maintenance cost standpoint and NWA can't wait to get rid of them. I guess the real question is, does NWA have the balls to try and pull this over on their labor groups? I don't think so.

prop2jet

i am in the same page as u ,, what r u doing 4 studing? im interviewing on the 15th

machaf

The second certificate is in the works. Listen to the confernce call between CEO and investors in late February.

sgrd0q

There is a lot of speculation and rumors at this point. Also, nobody knows how things will work out particularly with NWA. But if I were a betting man I'd bet on Pinnacle hiring a lot more than currently projected and acquiring a substantial number of new aircraft.

That's my hunch. You may see spectacularly fast upgrades for those who get hired with a lot of hours to begin with. Then again there may be no Pinnacle months from now. Who knows...

freezingflyboy

Congrats on your interview. Just be sure to watch your cornhole if you get hired
As far as your questions: I don't think you will get a straight answer out of anyone about all the hiring. When I interviewed with them I asked that very question and was told a lot of it was due to attrition but I had friends who interviewed and asked the same question and were told there was a "deal in the works" and they (Pinnacle pilots) couldn't talk about it. So who knows.
Junior bases? Sounds like there aren't really any junior bases with Pinnacle. At the time of the interview they said that regardless of what base you were assigned, you would probably be able to hold your preferred base by the end of training.
Reserve Time? Sounds like its short, about 6 months or so. May change depending on what happens with NWA and/or new airplanes.
Upgrade Times? They require 3000TT with 500 in type for upgrade. I have heard anywhere from 1-4 years for upgrades, depends on who you talk to and if you are willing to move bases. Hope this helps.

overspeed

I interviewed last month and the new-hires that were there all got their preferred bases. It was split three ways between the three bases. The hiring is definitly due to attrition. They maintain around 1200 pilots for about 120 CRJ's and they actually lost a few CRJ's, so it's definitly not expansion. The turnover is partly due to people leaving to other regionals (sidesteps) and leaving to Major or National carriers. I'm not sure how many to each, but one new-hire said it's about half and half. I have a friend at Pinnacle that is moving on to a major, so... The upgrade time above is true, if you get hired at 1,000 hours then you can't upgrade for a couple years anyway because you won't meet the minimums. The latest class of upgrading captains were 2 years from date of hire. Hope this helps