hey.. thanks for all the feedback.

well I'm flying the 42 for an international carrier abroad and am considering of making the move to the U.S and flying for the regionals since I have all my family in the U.S and I completed all my training there as well. thats why I'm asking all the questions I am to make my decision whether it would be a wise one or not and if I'd be able to support myself on the pay.

so what would be the most junior base right now then for the jets? and again, how long are new hires taking to get off reserve? whats the doh approximately of a new hire who just got off reserve and is now holding a line at the most junior base.

how much difference can it make in pay if I do take up say about 15 hours over time? is it possible to do 85-90 hrs a month on reserve or when holding a line? what would that make my take home pay first year?

thanks :)

I know it's a bit different on the jet, so hopefully one of those guys can backup what I said or give you more info! Honestly, if DFW or MIA ATR is offered you might be better off on choosing that. You'll hold a line quicker and then can transfer to whatever jet and base you want provided it's open.

true that, did consider that but I'm guessing I'll be seat locked on the ATR for at least a year before I can move to the jet. Also, can I get a breakdown of how training is divided up? and how long it could take all the way from first day of class to end of IOE?

Its all part of the experience. Drink it up boys, it will be a great story on your retirement day! Same goes for the ATR.

Another Terrible Ride
Another Toulouse Reject
Always Trim Rudder

Always trying reset
Alternate transportation required

How is the new gig?

All Those Relays

Lovin the new job! Good company that treats us pretty well, pay isnt terrible and work rules are a step up. Should be based at home (BOS) in a few months, and then things will be as close to perfect as they can get :)

Definitely proud of the time I spent at AE though, and most everyone I fly with respects Eagle as a reputable carrier. Is the spin-off still an eventuality? Or have they dropped that yet? Either way, I hope for the best for the pilot group!

Where did you go ?

B6

I bought Blue Streak btw

Yep, the carrot at the end of the stick was getting further away ay Eagle. I probably wouldnt have made the 824 FT, and figured this would be a good move for me.

I feel the same way right now :o

Just curious: Is there a particular reason you chose Jetblue? They seem like a great company, but I really don't know much about them.

Do they expect you to learn every weight and engine limitations for every model (135/140/145) during training?

Can't argue with that.

Congrats.

190 or 320 ?

The company culture here is completely different than AMR. Very positive, upbeat, happy atmosphere where everyone is trying to pull in the same direction, as opposed to sometimes at AMR everyone is pulling against each other. Another big reason was JB has a BOS base, and I want to stay in the BOS area long term. If I lived in DFW or ORD I would probably have stayed with Eagle. I would still have come here if they didnt have the BOS base, seeing as JFK is still an easy (relative) commute for me. They are growing, profitable, good amount of aircraft on order, etc. I wouldnt recommend coming here if the thought of commuting to BOS or JFK wouldnt work.

True, there are definitely things left to be desired, but a step up in terms of pay/qol. It would be ignorant to think that JB will remain independent forever. I am sure there will eventually be a buyout/merger and who knows what that will mean.

Thanks! Overall very happy with the choice. I am JFK 320 at the moment, with a transfer to BOS coming between Dec-Mar timeframe.

Very true, but it maybe better than most of the legacy carriers.

Any word on APA coming to a TA yet?

Still at it and tomorrow too. Negotiating committee to brief BOD at Tuesday's regularly scheduled BOD meeting.

Yeah, I have heard all those good things about Jetblue. Congrats on getting in with them. There is Nothing better than living in base.

I have been saying Jetblue would merge with somebody for a while now. Honestly, I see a AA/Jetblue merger in the near future. Especially now with AA getting A320s and potentially looking for ways to storm the Northeast market.

more like they buy the a320 operation spin off the e190 and let republic buy them.
they dont have a union and only have ( if not mistaken) a 5 year individual employment contract with JB.

The rumors run wild over here. I have heard every carrier from Spirit, VX, AA, US, DL, SWA are going to merge with us. Not much different than being at Eagle and hearing rumors of Skywest, Republic, etc going to buy the company!


True, no union and a flimsy Personal Employment Agreement that automatically renews every 5years. Anything could happen. It definitely isnt for the faint of heart, but I'm young and willing to roll the dice.

I've been trying to get on since 2000 with JB... Still not a peep!!!! I keep updating though.

What do you make of the recent JB agreement with management about mergers, alter-ego carriers, and 50 seaters?

Anyone know why we haven't seen any vacancy emails in the last few months? And by "know" I mean wild and outlandish ideas.

There was a little rumoring (read: wild and outlandish) at the lounge and people have posted numbers but nothing official. Might be quiet some time...

We still have people waiting for upgrade training from the last vacancy bids. The new TA they are trying to pass has allot of changes to reduce truing cycles and people moving around so it's beneficial for the company to wait for a vacancy bd until it absolutely has to. Right now the movement at AE is predicated on what happens at AA, since they are having to slow recalls our upgrades are slowing as well. Right now there is no need for a vacancy bid (pilots can use one but the company doesn't need it), not having a vacancy bid has no effect on upgrades since there is a waiting list. But when there a vacancy bid I think you will see a huge number of ATR pilots jump to the Jet at the first available slots. I think you will see a need for ATR pilots soon, in Dallas there are almost 2 times the FOs as there are lines, in Miami they are extremely short. (like 5 guys on reserve) So either they displace allot of pilots or they do another vacancy bid for guys to move to the Jet. The Dallas to Miami TDY was a failure this month (company messed up) so things will be interesting.

It's not that they can start parking ATRs in 2012. The form 10 that AMR filled with the SEC states that AMR can bid unto 12 Turboprops a year starting next year. EVERYONE knows that they ATRs were going to start being parked for years because they are approaching heavy checks that are not economical to do, it's cheaper to buy a new aircraft in the long run. AMR has negotiated with Bombardier and ATR for a prop replacement aircraft. The problem is that AA pilot scope allows less than 40 turboprop aircraft and specifically ATR with less than 70 seats. If AMR buys Q400 you would think they would want to get the most out of that aircraft and buy more than 40 (have it do flying that the ERJ is doing right now). The ATR can be brought in over night since it would only require difference training, the Dash-8 is a different story. We have to wait and see what happens with AA SCOPE. For right now the ATRs are getting new paint jobs, and the ATR lines in Dallas got a large boost in block hours. But you are correct the ATRs are approaching their life cycle.

What's the latest with the EMB-135's and 140's? Are they heading to the desert anytime soon as well or do they still have a few more years left?

It's AMR, enough said!

It depends on what happens with AA Scope.

This is silly what would they replace them with? If you parked the 135's JFK & LGA would no longer have any planes to do their flying.

All true but I would think it would make more sense to let guys move around (ATR to the jet) instead of hiring guys into the pool.



What happened with the Miami TDY?

Curious how long you have to be at Eagle before you can go on Medical leave? I have a surgery that is scheduled within the 1 year mark.

It would cost the same to train a new hire into the Jet (training cost). An ATR pilot would have to complete the same training as the new hire to include Indoc. The new hire would get paid 64 hrs of pay a month and 16 hrs of perdium a day. The ATR pilot will make 72 hrs a month (2nd year ATR pay at least) and 24/7 perdium. If ATR flying remains the same then they have to hire someone to replace the ATR guy. So it's not as easy (financially) as you might think. Just 1 ATR guy bidding the jet after the seat lock cost the company over $50,000. Not to mention they are one pilot short on the line.

Would be interesting if they would hire you knowing that you are going to be a medical liability (that's the way it would be looked at). How long are you going to be on Medical leave for? If it's a while you would have to complete long term once again and they probably won't hire you at this time.