Hell yeah! I'll see you there, in that class too.

Check your PMs

 

That would be true if we did not continue growing, but we will continue to keep taking deliveries of 2-3 E145s a month.

My personal prediction is 145 upgrades will continue to stay junior, even moreso than the dash.

 

Considering that our most junior Captain award is a Sept '16 hire, it doesn't appear that there is any delay in the upgrade times just yet. Everyone has to get hired and qualify as an FO before bidding upgrade anyway. That process takes a minimum of 3 months as is. Our pilot group is junior enough that people who have been around for over a year still don't have the required 121 time to upgrade. It's also worth considering that pilots who come in with a R-ATP are still required to obtain 2500 TT before upgrading. I think seniority to hold upgrade will still stay under 1 year through 2017. AAG also wants to increase the number of 145s that are coming on property as well, this should bolster the need for captains.

Just my $0.02 obviously, but there was a sim backlog all of last year, and upgrades still stayed low with an overall minimal net gain of airframes on property.

 

Explain this to me..

You are hiring 20 a month at most, due to your inept training department that can't even get 20 pilots a month through without long delays.

You are flowing at least 5, and probably losing another 5 a month at least to outside attrition.

So, you are adding 10 pilots a month, but adding 2-3 airplanes a month? How are you going to staff them? That is mathematically impossible!

My guess is that you will only add 145's at the same rate that you are parking the Dash. You may be able to add 1 additional 145 every couple of months for growth, but that is about it.

 

For the record, we have 50 new hires since 12/5/16. I also wouldn't lay the burden of the backlog on the training department. It's a logistical problem until the CLT sim is up and running. Having to shuffle people between DFW, CLT, and STL does not exactly breed a streamlined training experience.

BUT, we'll take your hypothetical as fact for the sake of argument. If PDT is growing a net of 10 pilots a month and receiving at minimum 1 additional airframe, isn't that staffable growth? It is a fact that there is overall airframe growth at PDT right now. Your logic, while trying to prove that low upgrades are unstainable, is actually proving the contrary. All the while, the additional 10 pilots who aren't getting through the training program expediently are receiving paid vacation while they wait! I'm putting words in your mouth, but in this case, they're your own.

 

A few of us still want to fly the Dash. I think they will stick around but will be moved. Look for another fleet type possibly or a merger. No matter, PDT seems like a really decent place but as with most regionals, they will have increasing difficulty attracting pilots. Not because of pay but there just may not be enough people. A few of us are happy to return. I know of a guy that left an Asian job on the 777 to fly a turboprop in the U.S. He's on a jet again but you may see more come back as it's not longer fun to be an expat.

 

Classic daOldMan. Make up wildly inaccurate numbers, and try to dispute something that is happening as we speak, without a shred of doubt. Verifiable, hard facts. Indisputable.

Guys are upgrading as soon as they have the time at PDT. Fabricate hiring numbers, staffing numbers, training issues....whatever floats your boat. I'll always be here showing you new hires upgrading as soon as they finish SOE.

Until next time, daOldMan

 

Hello,

The upgrades are still going very junior at PDT. most junior JET captain is an 8/22 hire.

Does anyone have any good study guides? would be nice to have one for the 145

thanks

 

Anyone else see the new Western Region on the PDT website? It wasn't there a few days ago. PHX base anyone?

Piedmont Airlines > Our Company > What We Do > Route Map

 

Aren't those just the stations that PDT runs the ground handling at...