GLA opening 6 new bases?
 

Heard through the rumor mill that Lakes is opening 6 new bases? Any truth to this? Any input as to what they are? Former Laker is curious.

yes Id like to get some confirmation also on this, any lakers?

Paraphrased from company memo:
Great Lakes Airlines is adding the following domiciles: Albuquerque, NM (ABQ) as a B1900 domicile for 3 Captains and 3 First Officers; Farmington, NM (FMN) as a B1900 domicile for 15 Captains and 15 First Officers; Milwaukee, WI (MKE) as a B1900 domicile for 4 Captains and 4 First Officers.

....BE –1900....
ABQ Albuquerque, NM
DEN Denver, CO
DER Denver, CO (Reserve)
FMN Farmington, NM
MKE Milwaukee, WI
STL St. Louis, MO


My take on the situation: Basically, ABQ and MKE are no longer TDY, and are now domiciles. FMN is now a significant domicile, and all Phoenix flying and California flying will be started out of FMN. St Louis already was a domicile. I don't quite know what the Denver (Reserve) is all about. FMN will be junior. Note to new hires, or those thinking about applying: I'm guessing FMN is where you will end up! No one senior will bid Farmington.

Just when things start to kinda look good around here management throws this crap at us. You'd think with all the Phoenix pilots we have they would REOPEN the PHX base and leave FMN as a MX base. I have a feeling this isn't going to slide well with our returning and very junior Captains. Sucks for those who get stuck in FMN. Good luck with that commute!

MKE, I heard, had been senior because of the TDY pay. Will this change? Are they still just going to MBL, RHI, IWD?

The reason for the DER base is contractual. There are certain provisions that if they are going to bump someone out of DEN for instance, they have to cap DEN at a certain number of pilots.

Wouldn't it be easier just to live there?

Yes it would be but sometimes people have other obligations that keep them where they are. Such as family, a house, friends or something as simple as renting and can't get out of the contract.

Why don't they make MCI a domicile? They send a ton of flights through there don't they?

Have you ever been there? :eek:

Making MCI a domicile would make too much sense. As far as FMN I guess that flight will be an employee shuttle. Do we really need STL to be a domicile if MKE will become one?

FMN as a Domicile
 

On the positive side of things . . .

I have a very good friend who lives in Farmington with his wife and two daughters. They are very happy living there.

It is a small community, no doubt. But the things my friend likes about it:

1) Very close to cross-country and downhill skiing/snowboarding in Durango during winter months.
2) Many, many outdoor trails for hiking, mountain biking, road biking, photography, etc.
3) Very close to some really good fly fishing spots.
4) Based on 1, 2, and 3 above, if you enjoy camping or generally doing outdoor activities, FMN is as good as any place to be.
5) Perhaps the best part for any underpaid pilot . . . relatively low cost of living.

Just trying to offer a brighter perspective.

FMN isnt bad at all... It could be way worse... Ever been based out of Liberty KS????? Thats a real sh** hole.

Sent in my app today... I hope I hear something. Ive had enough of PW. Lakes would be a nice step coming from a C208. No more deicing our own aircraft, no more overnights on the termianl couches, per diem would be nice, no more washing and waxing our own aircraft, no more baggage and passenger check in.. Ahh Lakes would be a breath of fresh air!
I live in ABQ and once i saw that it could be a domicile I sent the app in; I know its only going to be a few people. I guess i could drive to FMN if I had to. :D

Is that like Liberal KS, cuz I was based there and it was a real **hole. 100 degree heat with 40kt winds in the summer. Felt like someone was following you around with a giant sized hair dryer all day.

I live in Abulq,NM as well. I have an interview in a few weeks. With all the resumes they get I wondered why did they called me. I do have Turbo-prop and Part 135 time but still I thought it must be another reason. Who knows. Do you guys think they actually called me do to my location?

Domicile locations are based on seniority-based bidding, and there are pretty senior people doing ABQ TDY, and enjoying it there. I would imagine they will continue in ABQ, as most of them have for the past several months. They won't be getting TDY pay now, so maybe a few will change their domiciles. To answer your question, I don't think their criteria for interview calls is much more complicated than drawing names out of a hat.

I find that a bit hard to believe. I don't think it's rocket science but on the other hand they must have some criteria otherwise they would be calling on resume's that don't meet the requirements.I'll tell you what,I'll ask them at the interview.

I think 1900luxuryliner is right the HR guys just draw names out of a hat.

Quick question about that. Who gives the OK for the interview? The HR guy told me the CP gives the OK. I'm guessing it's not really efficient to send 2000 resumes to the CP every other day. Plus I've heard of cases where people with more experience were turned down, I'm guessing HR is doing the picking not the CP.

Yeah, if you're unqualified, then you don't have a chance of getting a call. But, with the hundreds of applications they get from extremely over-qualified candidates, how could it be much more than luck? I've had numerous people contact me, saying they applied at Lakes, and wondering when they will get a call. A lot of these people have thousands and thousands of hours with multiple type ratings in transport category aircraft. People who just barely meet qualifications get calls, people who are overly qualified get calls, and a lot never receive calls.

From what I understand, an internal recommendation is pretty huge. There's a guy in class now with around 300TT. I'm in sim right now and only have 600TT, 400 multi, and 150 in the ERJ...no internal recommendation. I'm not sure how they select people honestly. I applied back in August and got the interview in January.

Yeah this class is pretty broad. I'd say luck of the draw. Times in the 300's to times above 3000 and a lot in between. Just beat down the door if you really want in. It may work it may not but I don't think waiting for people to find you in a pile of 1000 or so resume's is gonna get the job done either.

How long is ground school, sim, etc...? Also, I know that it is unpaid, but do they pick up the hotel tab??

good luck getting to the interview you have to foot the bill

its ok CASS will work

You can hop on Lakes for free, if you just happen to live near a Lakes outstation (yeah right). Or, even if you live by a Lakes hub, you could hop around for a day or two, and probably find some way to Denver; enjoying 5-8 legs on Lakes Air...jk

I think ground training is 4-6 weeks, followed by sim. hotel is paid for but I believe is dual occupancy so you will have a roomie.

wow that is great! I'm used to old pilot lounge couches with mice in them. Sometimes a scorpion or tarantula will roll by. But man.. watch out for those mice. I'm not kidding either. Thats where the company makes us stay on overnights.

Sharing a room with someone will be the least of my worries. I would just be happy having a hotel to stay in.

I miss IWD when it was Skyway...Hurley,WI is an exotically unique town. Long live the Corral!!!!

Yes and dollar beers at every bar in town. Snowmobile season was the best. I miss all the gentlemans clubs up there.

Like was said before, ground is around 4 weeks long. You are in class Monday through Saturday from 8 til 5. You stay in the Plains Hotel. It's like 100 years old and some of the rooms are a decent size and some are insanely tiny. Depending on what side of the building you're on, it's impossible to oversleep (I'd say more but would hate to spoil the fun). The company pays for the hotel and you'll have a roommate. Once you finish ground, you go to the paper tiger for a couple days. Our class was big enough that we had 3 weeks of sim sessions. The better you do on tests/quizzes in ground school, the quicker you're off to sim. I am in the first sim session with five other guys. There are 6 more in the sim next week and 2 people the week after that. You generally get 6 days in the sim but the sim in Greeley was broken when we went there so we had to move down to Denver and only get 4 days in the sim now. After sim we go to the airplane for familiarization and some more training for a couple of days in the plane. Then we take the checkride and if we pass that, it's off to IOE at some point.