News at Colgan
 

I was just wondering how things are going at Colgan?
Any rumors regarding hiring this summer?

Specifically- how jr is the Q400 base at EWR? if Colgan starts hiring will it go jr? How are the trips/QOL out of EWR? Long sits? Day trips? Overnights?

I'm not a Colgan pilot but I have heard that the QOL is not so good. I've heard of a few pilots that go just to get PIC jet time then leave as quick as they can. But I would get more info from people who fly there. My real purpose for posting was to say, I will trade you....your law school seat for my PA-44 instructing seat. The way the industry is right now I would much rather have a law degree to fall back on than continuing to HOPE that the industry will get better...especially as a furloughed airline pilot :D. I truly wish I had the money to go to law school right now but instead I get to pay back outrageous student loans and HOPE I eventually get to mainline:D. Hope everything goes well for you in your search and we'll talk with you later.

The idea is to fall back on the law degree... I would much rather be sitting in the right seat sipping coffee at 350 looking down at the suckers pushing papers...

sipping coffee at 350 sounds nice, but then you get done with your four day trip you go home to your smelly condo with two other roomates who are buried in college loans arguing over whose turn it is to buy pizza. meanwhile the paper pushers are frittering their time away sitting in a lawn chair out by their pool behind their 4000 sqft home.

Why must we always try and discourage those who want to be in this proffesion:confused:. The guy / girl is a lawyer they have had plenty of practice researching things and I'm sure they researched the low wages and quality of life as a pilot. At the end of the day although he / she has a law degree their heart is in aviation and our horry stories are not going to change that. Therefore why don't those who work for colgan answer law pilots questions as he / she is researching obviously by said questions.


FL450

q400/ewr is junior for FOs, senior for CAs.
When(if?) they get the 15 Qs, they will need Q CAs and Q FOs. So some of the present saab CAs will transition to the Q, and saab FOs will upgrade to fill those saab CA vacancies. I guess that'll leave FO vacancies in both the saab and the Q. If I had to guess the Q FO will still remain more junior than the saab... unless you live in jersey, I just don't see much incentive for FOs to head over to EWR as long as the pay remains the same. but, that's just my guess.
The more important question is, why anyone would come to colgan for the q. They just increased the upgrade minimums (rightfully so in my opinion) so you will be sitting right seat for a long time. Which is good, I think everyone should sit right seat for at least a couple of years before they get to upgrade... except pay suuuuucks. $21/hr was bearable before because the upgrade time used to be so short. that is obviously no longer the case, and you could be a third year FO making $24,000 (27x75x12) and that is before taxes!!! if you were going to sit right seat for a long time anyway, why not sit at a higher paying regional where a third year FO could make a more livable wage? yes, no one is hiring right now but by the time colgan starts hiring again, who knows who else will be hiring too.

He's a law STUDENT.
Colgan doesn't fly jets!
And those turboprops don't go up to 350!

Specifically- how jr is the Q400 base at EWR? if Colgan starts hiring will it go jr? How are the trips/QOL out of EWR? Long sits? Day trips? Overnights?[/quote]


QOL + EWR = LOL ! They have 5 day trips with 4 stand up overnights right now with about half of the pilots sitting reserve 5 on 2 off, ten days off a month thanks to our new ex-MESA crew scheduler. Long sits is a given, thats a daily occurance, IF you get off the ground within 30 minutes from push its considered on-time. There are day trips and our regular overnights consist of two types, A- show times of 5am ending at 1pm and B- show times early afternoon ending around 11pm so basiclly your too tired to do anything or its too late to even get food. Most new hires get EWR.

I agree with this definitely. Colgan used to be the regional to go to if you wanted to sacrifice pay for a quick upgrade, but this is not so much the case right now. I know of several FOs that will probably be into their 4th year before they upgrade ... it sucks, but that's just the way the economy is right now. Until the new Q's come next year, there won't be any movement. Buuuut, on a brighter note, the next batch of Q's has been confirmed that some, if not all, will be going to IAH. When that happens, IAH will go VERY senior for the Q. IAH is already a senior base for both CA and FO, and I know of several people who would transfer back to IAH in a heartbeat when the Q goes there.

EWR, my guess is, will go junior relatively quickly once the Q's start heading to IAH, and all the new and junior Q's CAs will either stay in EWR if they are already based there, or will transfer from the Saab to the Q. There are quite a few very senior CAs in IAH that have refused to transfer to the Q until it shows up on IAHs doorstep.

Upgrade will not be bad compared to the rest of the industry. I have been here for 2 years and will see upgrade at the end of 2009 or the first of 2010 for the ramp up of the Q deliveries...so still less than 3 years which is great when you look at the times we are in.

Pay sucks but hopefully one day it will be better with a contract. In 2008 my earnings were 27,400 with 4 months of that year being at 21/hr and the last 8 being 26/hr. So it was about 31,400 gross for the year when you include per diem. I averaged 93.5 hours a month credit and a lot of that was when we were short on FO's so I had a few 120+ credit months in there because of the open time.

I am senior at a senior base so QOL is not that bad. I have 14 days off this month, with weekends off but that is not the case for all.

All in All not too bad. Great pilot group makes up for the issues with mgmt. And lets get real, the industry sucks right now so I am happy to have a job right now.

Things will get better with a union on property.

I apologize if it sounded like I was trying to discourage you from the industry, that wasn't my intention. I could never remain on the ground for the rest of my life! I would always end up looking at an airline flying overhead and wish I was flying! No, flying is my absolute PASSION and I encourage you to do the same! I was just saying I wish I had a law degree to use for suplimental income and to fall back on when the industry is cruddy. Plus I've always really enjoyed going to jury duty and studying law. I even skipped my Associates degree graduation before moving on to my Bachelors to be on a jury :D! By the way which Law School are you attending and what year are you? Keep up the great work, don't give up on either of the goals and I hope to see you in the skies soon sippin' on that coffee at 350.....with a Law Degree:D!

Well my earnings last year were pretty decent too. it looks like i am just a little junior to you, and I grossed almost 36k. and that is not including more than 3k in per diem. might sound good, but I dont think its relevant to bring up last year's pay to a "prospective" colganite, because it just isn't the same anymore. last year we had it good because there were tons of extra flying to go around. that is not going to happen this year or the next. i dont expect to see more than 25k this year. even if i start off with an 85-hr line i always fall below guarantee now because of maintenance cancellations that only garner 2 hrs credit. nowadays we're looking at (relatively) longer upgrades, no open time, and making bare guarantee at $27/hr while we wait for upgrade. and that's what the prospective guys need to know. you're right, i agree things will get better, with the union... but i think it will be a whiiiile before we see a contract.

and i agree, i've met some awesome guys here, there are some captains who would be on top of my list for "people i'll share with when i win the lotto." but, i'm certain that every other airline has great people as well.

who is this person? it's not MH, is it? on the saab side the lines have excellent days off now (hopefully it's not a one month fluke) and i heard it was because MH was trying to make the lines better for us.. or something like that.

QOL is not so horrible at EWR. I usually hold 15 days off (this month will be 16-17 but that may be a fluke, we will see if we ever get these lines again.) I usually bid overnights near my home which will help and this month even more with the addition of BOS overnights so most trips I spend at least 1 night or so at home. I do not typically credit much more than 75-80 at the most but bidding commutable trips is my number 1 priority. I flew just barely under 1000 hours last year and didnt feel like I worked terribly hard.

Could be better...much better but I suppose it could be worse.

Isn't that the situation at any regional??? Never met a Mesa, Trans States, Comair or Eagle who made captain and said "I'm going to stay here forever"

Well I hope that I count in that lotto winnings ;) We haven't flow together, but still, I don't think I've ticked you off since I've been here, haha. I agree with you though ... there's NO open time at all. No people on the street, and ZERO open time. It sucks ... the zero open time, not the no people on the street part

I really hope you see upgrade that soon brother! I think a lot of guys aren't going to see it until next summer. Talked with a few upper people recently who've said they've pretty much frozen upgrades and base transfers unless they are accommodating for attrition. But I hope for the best for you!

Well that's good that you're able to do that, but just how senior are you? I have a feeling you're rather senior. There are about 20 or so 7000s and above on the Q ... the rest are all 8000. :)

I heard the same thing ... but we'll see where it goes from here ... the line in CHO seem to be getting better and better with respect to days off :)

they are better in the sense of organization, but its like the economy there's a big gap...the super senior have a great lines (17 days off) and the junior have crap reserve (10 days off, 5 on 2 off) keeping in mind 90ish percent of the base commutes to from the worst airport ever EWR. Not to mention they have "special lines" that dont get published in normal bid sheets for the top guys I hear.

Colgan should have never sold to 9E.

Well new aircraft are coming late summer next year. The company is going to have to upgrade a bunch of Saab FO's for Saab CA slots to take the spots of current Saab CA's who will transition to the Q. The Saab upgrades have to come first.

Now the company needs to schedule class and sim time way in advance because you can not upgrade 60 guys at once. The whole process will take close to a year to upgrade one group and transition another group. Summer time is way too late to even start on Q captains, no less the Saab upgrades who will take their place.



Colgan may not be around today if not bought by Pinnacle. We would have never received the Q's if not for the fact of PNCL Corp being profitable (thanks to the Pncl pilots). Also Colgan would have had big problems with the high fuel of last year and those crap EAS and ProRate flying we were doing.

It appears my thread is wrought with some confusion. Prior to picking up the $150k gavel I was an airline pilot for 4 years. 2 driving RJs and 2 DC-10s for a supp 121 carrier which was cut short by a mishap on my part. I look back on my short flying career fondly, as I feel I never worked a day of those 4 years.
So- thank you, I realize Colgan doesn't fly jets and therefore no FL350... I thought the m[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']etaphor would be understood by all...[/FONT]

My query grew from the fact that - yes I am a law student. I am attending a school in NYC and I'm considering getting back into flying (while attending school) but only if I can hold a base in the area. So- among many of the complaints that riddle this forum I realize this may offer a small lesson for some-

My previous and your current jobs offer a very flexible schedule that comports with attending school full time. I think a lot of pilots may feel much better given the state of the economy if they had a fall back plan. (I know would and maybe will...) For those of you curious - please feel free to PM me!

Lastly, thanks to those who offered some REAL info as to life at Colgan. I am always refreshed to see postings like "well its not that bad - I have 15 days off a month"

A few more questions to follow-

..........

as for future upgrades/movement at Colgan or any other regional for that matter minus maybe expressjet and Eagle... I was at a job fair less than 2 years ago in ATL and a few regionals (the names escape me) were offering classes to 500hr guys upon interviewing them in the hotel! I even interviewed for 2 street captain positions around the same time - Now no movement... I suspect in a year or two things may be different despite the economy.

The flood gates will reopen... and regionals like Colgan who have a ton of young capts with PIC turbine time will rush to the majors and upgrades will sky rocket again... I've lived to see 2 cycles so far...

"when your up its never as good as it seems and when your down you never think you'll be up again"

In the mean time just enjoy what your doing! Like I said- my 4 years as a pilot I never "worked" a day. (omitting recurrent of course)

I heard Colgan was giving up US Air pro rate flying, any truth?

hey J, any captain who helps his fellow pilots with commuting is an awesome man! :)

AMEN....there will always be things about this industry I dont like, but flying for a living beats sitting in an office illuminated by pasty white flourescent lights....

im a 7000 guy

Well I hope you're right. I've just heard nothing but "no upgrades until at least spring" constantly around the crewrooms. I agree that they'll have to start training early on. I hope to be able to transfer to the Q sometime late next year, but we'll see.


I hope that your theory holds up my friend. I know the regionals will be hiring again soon enough ... how many regionals and how many pilots I have no clue, but it will happen.

I haven't heard a thing about this, so I couldn't begin to speculate where you heard this from

Haha, well I'm a commuter myself, I'm not about to strand someone unless I get screwed over by the ground crew after we've already discussed final numbers. I have actually gone back into the terminal at IAD a few times just to make sure there was no one else trying to get on. Once or twice I remember finding a pilot pleading with the gate agent to speak with the CA to see if he/she could board. Of course the gate agent wasn't allowing it and when I walked up and gave them the OK the gate agent looked like they were going to shoot me ... I personally found it hilarious.

Thought so. I can't wait to fly that thing ... The saab is a friggin tank, but man it'd be nice to have some technology, haha :)

Be careful what you wish for, it is not the greatest airplane. I passed the 1000 hour mark in it last month and it is not the most enjoyable airplane to fly.

Certainly not bad by any stretch and the pilot workload is very low but as far as a hands on flying machine the saab would be the way to go any day.

I take it from your statement that you've flown both the Saab and the Q?

I love hand flying the Saab unless I get one that is a pain in the a$$ to roll in either direction. The cable and pulley system just doesn't work too well sometimes, lol. The Q has hydraulic controls correct? I don't know much about it except the technology dwarfs that of the Saab :D

YaY! More XJT flying going by the wayside. GOOD TIMES!

You mean more CAL flying moving to another regional, right?

Not this again....youtube southpark..."They took R' jawbs!"

It reminds me of the less than 10% of express jet pilots that still think we are out to get them. Luckily 90% of the express guys and gals are great people who ACTUALLY know how the industry works.

See, right there. A positive outlook on life...


Or maybe it's just because we finally have some BOS overnights. :D:D

I GOT MY FIRST CHOICE!! I WILL BE LANDING IN BOS EVERY WEEK AT 9:55 AND THEN OFF UNTIL THE NEXT MORNING, 100% COMMUTABLE. NOT TO MENTION I WILL ALSO BE IN PWM EVERY WEEK AS WELL WHICH ALSO PUTS ME AT HOME.

Colgan is the best!.....until next month and then I will hate them again.

so what exactly is going to happen when Colgan starts hiring again? Will new FOs be put in the Q, or the Saab, or will they need pilots for both?

WAKE UP! no one thinks colgan is out to get them. It is more a frustration with this industry. heres an airline where the fo's make almost HALF as much as an xjt fo (2nd yr fo comparison and so on) and we as pilots not as "my company is better then your company" BS are supposed to be happy about this?

Great more flying going to a company who treats their employees like garbage, paying pilots who are now living in the Northeast 25-35 thou a year, flying a larger airplane, and then having to tell these drooling kids bragging about their turbo-prop that Yeah sure its great you have a job but this career is complete and utter crap. As soon as you have a chance at making a nice living, some other drooling newb will do it for half the price and say "its CAL's flying". (no offense to whoever said that) The QOL afforded to colgans pilots is horrendous... HORRENDOUS! If half of you even knew how most airlines ran their operations you would be ashamed of what you have now.

It is CAL's flying but this whole regional vs regional stuff is killing any hope you might have of having an enjoyable career. I dont care who you work for or how awesome you think your plane is... you will be undercut down the line and be in the same spot as xjt, comair, ....

Thats why many people are upset at xjt... not any airline especially but the industry as a whole.

amen brother. i cant believe the wage they make over there at colgan. xjt 2nd year fo probably makes more than a 70 seat dash captain at colgan. so who do you think future flying will go to

I guess something else to take to confessional this week.

pay wise we arent doing too hot over at xjt either.... in order to make ends meet over here you would need to pick up open time and with almost 400 guys on the street thats just not the right thing to do. A lot of people are hurting right now. These airlines can afford to pay their crews a liveable wage but they play games and whipshaw the ever loving sense out of each pilot group... some people see the madness and the ones who dont think your crazy.