hey guys not to hijack the thread... but i am just curious..... do you think they will ever extend the "flow through" past Oct 2011?? in other words allowed people on the senority list in Nov. Dec 2011 to also move up to AA ??

thanks

There is NO FLOW THROUGH AFTER THE 824!!!! The union says that if you are on property by 11 Oct, you will be offered future employment. Not a flow.

ok well then..... is there any chance they will extend the "OFFER of employment" past Oct 2011........

Anyone have any advice for a failure on the oral for the ATR? Do they give you a second chance?

Are you planing on failing? This is an odd question, yes they will give you a second chance. You get 3 strikes and you are out, but seriously study you will be fine, is not as hard as it seems. Now the SIM is a different story.

For now, no. IMHO, it's gonna be a while before it even gets to folks outside the 824 that have been on property prior to that cut off date. Also, there hasn't been a guarantee that anyone will get an offer for anything after the 824. It's a "carrot"!

The current EFB program is in test mode, which is why you still have to carry the paper version of the manuals.

Once the Ipad is officially approved for CAT I use you will not have to carry your FM1 or AOM 1.

Either way it is really nice to have all the manuals available on the Ipad for quick reference anytime you want.

I have had a chance to use the iPad in flight a couple times (mostly just looking stuff up) and I have to say that I think this program will be good but I am curious to know how long the test will last. Also it would be nice to know when (or if) they plan to test the class 2 capabilities (ability to use jepps). Also, once the test is complete, where are they going to put the paper copies in the Embraer? We already have next to no room...

If you are going to use it make sure you keep it updated (super easy) and are familiar with how good reader works. Once you learn a few basic functions, you can find what you want much faster than in the book itself.

Pretty sure we will never see "class 2" capabilities. By the time they design, produce, and distribute mounting brackets for the EFB the fleet will be in the desert. I also heard Jepp charges more for the electronic updates over the paper ones. Crazy huh?

Another "Flying Pig"
 

Another cop here (FWPD Detective)...and ex-regional airline captain.

I am now looking at getting back into the industry after a 10 year absence. I'm not going to ask you Eagle guys what my chances are of getting hired or anything like that. I know it won't be handed to me and it will be tough.

I am, however, more interested in the initial QOL at Eagle. I commuted in my first airline career and it SUCKED!

I live in the D/FW area and obviously would want to be based here. I am fortunate to be debt free with a drug dealing wife (Pharma Rep) who can support my $21/hour flying habit.

My question: If I'm fortunate enough to get a job at Eagle, what would the reserve life be like if I just wanted to fly to remain current until upgrade. I don't desperately need the money and I already have an ATP, so flying less is best until upgrade, in my opinion.

Would bidding reserve even when a hardline comes available keep me at home more (on a 2 hour call out), or are there good day trip lines with minimal overnights in that base?

Please spare the "Why would you want to come back?" and "Get hired first before you ask this question." responses.

Thanks in advance...

Flyingpig, that's a very base specific question. Depending on how the staffing is in DFW at the time. In our reserve system, the junior man gets called out first. So if you bid reserve as a newhire you will be used alot, but as you gain seniority you get called less. The reserve list normally has a big jump in seniority between the junior pilots who got stuck with reserve and the senior pilots who bid it purposely. I'm at another base, but I do bid reserve so I can stay home more.
Pros: Last month I flew 14 hours, but get my 75 hours pay guarantee.
I get 11 days off guaranteed but stayed at home 17 days since I wasn't used.
Normally if the company calls it's just to do a turn some where so I get to spend the night at home.

Cons:uncertainty of schedule.
Less pay on reserve compared to holding a line.
Being called out to do a trip, from another base.

WoW, This is a pleasant change from the usual Q&A. Money is not an issue, then do the ATR at Eagle, Reserve on the ATR is by far better than on the ERJ. You will get to spend allot of time home and not be sued as much as they do on the Jet. After a year (as of right now) you could transfer to the Jet is the prop life is not working for you. Lines this month suck really bad at Eagle system wide because of the whole TA, you know company trying to put the pressure on. Currently a DFW ATR FO with less than a year on the company can hold 2 day back to back trips. You can hold a trip that you are gone for 24 hrs home for 24 hrs then gone again for 24 hrs and then off for a few days or you might hold day trips now and then. On the ERJ you could be gone for 6 straight days were on there ATR you might be gone half the time max.

The unofficial policy of AE is that RSVs should fly everyday they are available. If the ATR folks aren't doing it right now, it will change. I wouldn't count on bidding RSV to stay home as a long term deal...

To answer one of your questions:

I'm on the ERJ based in DFW. I have enough seniority on Reserve that I fly when I want, where I want. More importantly, I don't fly when I don't want to.

So far in October I have only done 2 flights and only one of them was an overnight. Both were by choice. The rest of the time I get to sit at home and be paid guarantee. I have been able to hold a line for a couple of months now but continue to bid reserve. My QOL is very, very high right now.

Now, here is the caveat. To take advantage of that you have to get hired now. If you are sitting at the bottom of the reserve list when hiring stops you are stuck there.

The good thing about Eagle right now is that they are projected to hire upwards of 700 pilots in 2012. Assuming you get a class date for Janurary, I would say that by July you would be sitting at the top third of the reserve list in either ORD or DFW on the ERJ.

Really, because all I keep hearing from ATR FO at the Airport or on here is that they are not flying allot. If you are towards the top of the reserve list you dictate what you do over 90% of the time. Scheduling on the ATR is very different from the ATR. On the ATR you only have 3 bases and one of them requires a DH of over 5 hr from DFW and only 2 flights a day. Trust me RSV on the ATR is way better than the ERJ that is unless you have a bit of SJS and all you want to do is fly.

eagle will not hire 700 in 2012.
all that is for consumption purposes of the lonely masses.
ATR leave all in 2 years. Thats 225 extra pilots.
E135/E140 all leave in 3 years, thats an extra 450 pilots.
No growth just reduction for feed divesting.
Thats 675 extra pilots than required, even with flow of AA numbered AE pilots still leaves 300 extra excess pilots.

but yeap, ae will hire for training bubble but then will furlough at the end. big furlough june 2012. but come on over.

my facts are based on AMR form 10, the ASA agreement, the concessionary contract and the scheduled fleet removal.

+1
Thats why they keep hiring sim instructors, ioe checkairmans like crazy!

:rolleyes:

thay are all leaving.
they hire in advace of the transfer date.
it takes 6 mos for a ground instructor to get qualified.
3 mos for IOE Line Check Airman.
6 mos for a sim instructor
besides, all the last group hired last year were temp, they are all returning to the line. They get called back as needed from the line.

You calculations are way off partner. You are out of the loop.

Wrong!!! I love how people make Eagle sound like a fly by night operator. We might have issues with management (pilots pay and longevity) and the training department might be an organized mess with the amount of training they are doing but I can assure you that what you describe above is incorrect. It doesn't take anywhere near that long for Instructors Sim or Ground to be fully qualified. Now doing check rides might be a different story!

if you say so.

When on reserve at my first airline, Crew Tracking would call the senior crew member on the list and ask if he wanted to fly. That continued until someone accepted or the junior guy was forced to take the shift. I don't know if that was company policy but that's the way it worked.

I don't have SJS...I flew the BE1900 heavy at the world's worst regional airline. Anything is a shiny jet compared to that. Honestly, though, it was some of the funnest flying I've ever done...no autopilot!

I just want a good quality of life and the company, base and aircraft that will give that to me.

If the ATR will be off property in two years then those pilots will be put in a displacement bid, right? They can bump junior pilots in other equipment at any base. Please be gentle, it's been a few years since I had to know how this worked.

As far as the supposed 700 pilots hired in 2012, who knows what will happen, but it sounds good. I could always go to GoJet and upgrade next Thursday. But, I do know that getting "stuck" at a regional like AE is better than 90% of the other operators. Timing is everything in the airline biz. If movement stops at Eagle then I've screwed the pooch and given up a solid career with awesome retirement to sit as a Regional FO till I'm a grandpa!

OK...here's a stupid FNG question. What is the ATP Regional Jet Training program? I read on line that it gets you some kind of RJ experience that AE wants. Is this program worth the investment before an interview for a guy who's been out 10 years?

ATP has/had a 2 day RJ program for Eagle. It was 2 days and $995. About 10 hours of RJ sim time with an instructor. I was out of the loop for a while and did that program and it was money well spent. Really helped get me up to speed with a glass panel, autopilot, etc and made my sim life much easier than it would have been.

Real level D sim time?

No it's a CRJ 200 Frasca, and please don't do it. Eagle will send you to the Rj course (and pay for it) if they need you to take it. But it sounds like you have more than the required hrs, low time guys are the ones that go to the RJ course... ATP says that you can interview with Eagle with 500/100 if you complete their RJ program this was an agreement that ATP and Eagle entered into earlier in the year. Since this agreement Eagle has lowered their mins to 500/50. If you are between 500/50 & 800/100 and pass the interview you will be required to attend an RJ course hosted by ATP at Eagles expense (you will have to sign a 2 year contract with Eagle). Now if you go to the ATP website this is not shown in this matter for obvious reasons. They advertise allot of people completing the RJ course and immediately getting hired by Eagle, but these are the people who Eagle send there and after sucefull completion of the course they are offered a class date.

So eagle is paying ATP by sending the new hires between 500-800TT to the RJ program because of the agreement they had before lowering the mins. Let's see how long it would last!

Anyone have the class breakdown for 10/24 class?

15 Dallas ERJ
10 LGA ERJ
7 JFK ERJ
6 ORD ERJ
4 ORD CRJ
3 LGA CRJ
2 SJU ATR

One question, I almost always see that ATR numbers are lowest in pretty much every class.
Is it because there are only so many vacancies available or is it because ATR gets picked as a last resort.

Eagle only has a handful of ATR's compared to 200 plus jets.

The ATR always seem to go to the youngest in the class or would they have a chance of getting say a jet at ORD?

So, with the new proposed TA (IF it gets passed), it will be impossible for pilots to go from ATR to Jet after 1 yr seat lock.....

I sure hope not, my seat lock is up in march and they better let me off this thing.

Wrong, it is however questionable if the TA is passes whether a ATR captain will be able to transition into EMJ/CRJ CA or a EMJ CA into a CRJ CA since none of these moves will result in a higher pay scale if the seniority pay band concept is put into place.

what are your chances of bidding into dfw right out of training? i saw that the 10/24 class got quite a few awarded, but is that the norm? or could it be totally different for the next class? and if you end up at another base, could you get into dfw anytime soon?

one more thing, all those numbers from the 10/24 class, are they mostly by choice of the people in class or just based on age wise seniority?

thanks for the input.

They change so much from class to class. You will find some classes have a lot of DFW, then no DFW. For instance, I wanted ORD and there was not a single ORD slot in my class. Yet before and after, there were about 5-10 a class. I got stuck with DFW. Also a lot of people in my class wanted MIA and there were none either. Yet the class after ours, MIA was the last thing to go (save ATR SJU)

Word of caution, don't believe people when they say "Oh you'll get that before you finish training." I was told that a lot by people at eagle (pilots) and still DFW. Not being sarcastic, just letting you know ahead of time.

This is NOT the norm though. Everyone in my class got the base they preferred if they didnt get it originally, and will complete their base transfers next month. Even if you dont get it right away, you WILL get it eventually. If you cant get your base, pick equipment that is in the base you want, and you will be able to transfer at some point in the near future. You wont likely get "stuck".

thanks a lot guys.!

so first off, DFW is just ERJ right? and does ERJ mean 135, 145 or just a specific one? asking in reference to what's in DFW? you could be flying any or just one out of that base?

sorry for my ignorance..!

are they running classes twice a month? and how many on average per class?

what's reserve like in dfw at the moment? for how long? and on average how many hours of flying?

There was some truth to "you could have what you want before training ended." Vacancy bids where coming out once a month earlier this year. There hasn't been one in a while that's why people are not saying that any more. Rumor is one is coming.

Rumor I heard was that all flow throughs to AA are stopped until March 2012 because the AA training department is overrun from the hundreds of recent retirements. Most of the retirements came from the 777 including at least 25 IOE captains. All the vacancies resulted in a huge training bubble that prevents AA from taking in any new pilots.

I'm not sure of the accuracy of all this but it sounds pretty reasonable.