[quote=swaayze;845971]How are you crediting 112 hrs each month ($55000/12 mos at $41/hr)quote]

Here's your answer.

And yes, I am counting per diem. Then I trip trade a 2-day trip and pick up a 3-day trip. I lose a day off, but I get another 10 hours of pay. Toss in a sick call, a PVD, then add vacation and training and you are right there.

Flying on a day off is OT in my mind (though in this case with no premium). And you cannot possibly have training, sick and vacation every month. So you're actually flying about 100/mo and getting conflict credits for the rest? Too much work for me! I prefer to not be constantly trying to create conflicts so my schedule is more firm, but to each his own.

Thanks for the explanation.

You don't have to stay there. Benefit what you can from the 121 training and multi-crew environment. 121 CRM is priceless if you get it at the right place.
The down side:
People hang in waiting for things to change, even low timers which baffles me. I have no idea what your time or experience is, but if you are new to 121 all I can say regarding all the replies about long upgrade, bending over etc, is get in, pay some dues, get what you can and move on.
Keep networking and don't burn your bridges.
The airlines may suck overall, but it's a great place to get free training. Don't feel guilty, you will be working for peanuts anyway.

Best base and aircraft
 

What are the best bases and aircraft for a new hire for QOL? If you wanted the ATR, but couldn't get it, what would be next and where?

You'll have no problems getting the ATR in my opinion..it's not an aircraft most choose.

Although I'm not sure why...it's a fun plane to fly!

The big winners are Chicago Embraer and Laguardia CRJ..those seem to be where most of the new hires are going (aside SJU ATR)

Because you actually have to fly the ATR, and well RJ's are a piece of cake. Takin the easy road.

Any idea how long to hold a line EMB Chicago or CRJ New York?

I have ove two years seniority and still think itll be awhile on the emb. On the crj i think new hires will hold a line out of training. But i think one big displacement will fix that

Are you in Chicago on the EMB? How does the displacement work for those who end up in New York on the CRJ?

reserve is currently 3 years and then a crappy line with no time and no weekends for the next 4 years. After that you will have 3 years of a "decent schedule" and then when you upgrade in SJU after 10 years and the abuse starts all over again. (this is assuming you don't die or come down with a serious illness resulting from the beat down) have fun

Haha! great summary! that made me laugh...

I think the times to upgrade are going to be shorter over the next 5 years then they have been in the last 4 years. But who knows, this is, after all, the airline industry.

For those of you who are at Eagle and have been there for a few years, and are still on reserve, what is the average amount of hours you have flown each month?
Thanks!

Hours flown:

JAN 51, FEB 38, MAR 52, APR 62, MAY 75, JUN 62, JUL 68, AUG 34
SEP09 44, OCT09 58, NOV09 28, DEN09 67

DOH: March 2008 (still on reserve)

As I commute a lot I am reminded how bad reserve is at other regionals. Eagle has one of the best contracts for a regional. Many Eagle pilots forget that others don't have a proffering system: a method to bid for open time. Most other regional pilots are at the mercy day after day of crew scheduling. Most other regionals dont have a system to see where they sit on the reserve list or look at open time. Many regionals dont have a computer system like Eagle has. Eagle pilots are capable of "stalking" the work of crew scheduling, others don't.

I will NOT disagree with any comments made on this forum because Reserve makes me want to quit! But it's better than most...if we were staffed correctly.

I have heard a few times we cancel 10% of our flights because of pilot staffing.

If you can find a job that pays well and still afford to rent an aircraft or buy a Cessna do it. I am generally an optimist, but it's the truth! I didn't listen to the advice when I was deadheading for my job interview given by a mainline First Officer: "run as fast as you can away from airlines".

Yeah, the times will go from 10 to 9 :rolleyes: The next 5 is too far to predict. 8 to 10 year upgrades will be the norm here until we go bye bye.

Can somebody explain how a displacement works? If a new hire can possibly hold a line on the CRJ out of training in New York, but "one big displacement could fix that", what exactly does that mean? Sorry, first time in the 121 world.

Also, is it possible to review the contract? I would like an opportunity to see what it says before training starts.

Let's say they park some aircraft..and have to realign flying.

For example, if Eagle moved 10 CRJs from ORD to LGA. There would no longer be a need for XX amount of pilots in ORD, they would need to go to LGA instead.

At this point, a displacement bid would be posted, which essentially is a warning to "put in a preference, because there's some shifting going on."

So you're a new hire in LGA...and the 10 CRJs that are moving affect 100 pilots. Those 100 pilots, if senior to you..are going to now have the opportunity to bid anywhere their seniority can hold.

Since they're senior to you, they might choose to follow the aircraft from ORD and take CRJ in LGA, either pushing you down the list, or totally bumping you out of the base, to whatever base your seniority holds. So this might mean you become an ATR FO out of DFW, or a EMB FO in ORD...even though you didn't bid for it...and even though you CAN'T bid for either of those airplanes contractually..you can be bumped to them if you're displaced (which essentially means a more senior pilot took your spot..this can't just happen..it has to be forced)

Since your seniority can no longer hold CRJ LGA because of those 100 guys that are coming over from ORD (or other bases if it's a system wide displacement bid)..you're going to get bumped to whatever you CAN hold.

This is why it's important to have a standing displacement preference bid, so that if this were to happen, you have a bid in for something...

Make sense?..sorta?

Great summary, but I think you mean a standing displacement preference bid?

Oops, fixed!

Thanks Andy. Let me know how you like SJU.

i proffer for a late show on my first day and and an early release on my last day. I can commute on my work days instead of my off days. This helps a lot. I'm in the ATR. They seem to be leaving us alone while hammering the ERJ guys. . . scheds are 5 on 3 off

Splat,

Where are you based? Is it tough to proffer for a late show on you first day in, and an early release on your last day out? I am assuming you are still rsv.

Thanks

ATL

Don't make the same mistake 1000+ of us did. You will not upgrade before we are sold or spun off. Use AE to build some time and get out. Commuting sucks, dispatch gives your slot away to AA every day, we are understaffed and fly ridiculously small and inadequate aircraft. AA would rather go bankrupt give scope relief. You are in a spin and your f'n rudder just snapped off. That's eagle in a nutshell.

What do you mean by "Dispatch give your slot away to AA every day"?

Why do you feel like you and over 1000 others made a mistake? Don't most people go to a regional with the intention of using it as a stepping stone toward something else? If that is the case, and that is what happened, where is the mistake. From what I have seen so far, AE is a good regional airline.

He is clueless.

And you didn't set a local altimeter so you don't really know your altitude when you entered spin...so you're not really sure when you'll hit the bottom. It's also cloudy. The sun doesn't really peak through much.:)

Wow man, forgive me for being frank. We did come to AE as a stepping stone, one that had historically been a three to five year stepping stone. Some of us have been furloughed, displaced, downgraded, base closed over the last 10 yes 10 years. We don't have a single hour of turbine PIC to show for it. Without TPIC your odds of going anywhere are slim to none. Yes some have left without PIC, but in this market it's next to impossible. Many of us have tried to leave for years, none of us get a phone call.

Let's say you are supposed to fly to ORD or JFK on your last leg of 6 days on. If there are delays at your destination airport (DFW JFK ORD etc.) there is a good chance that you will taxi out and shut down for over an hour, perhaps return to the gate and cancel. I have heard from the coordinators mouth that SOC will frequently give your (slot) away to an American flight, and cause you to be delayed or cancel. The goal is to inconvenience as few customers as possible, so delay the small airplane. AMR having control over Eagle allows them to do this on a daily basis. This will cause you to miss your flight home, lose a day off or miss that episode of "Airline" you've been waiting so patiently for. AMR is not the only company to do it, just know that being wholly owned has it's cons too. Oh and we are forbidden to get new aircraft by our 16 year contract, so the only way up is if guys/gals leave. Other than career changes practically none have left in the last 5 years. It's grim man, I'm not trying to get in your face, I'm just doing to you what I wish someone had done to me 9 years ago.

What would you say the upgrade times are today, with the flow throughs leaving for mainline and the new CRJ's coming on line???

Forgive my ignorance and thank you in advance.

It is sooo hard to predict future upgrade times if you were hired today. Right now, the CAs upgrading on the jet have been here 9+yrs and the ATR CA slots are at about 7yrs. I would be prepared to be in the right seat for 8yrs+ before upgrading if you got hired today.

We are getting some new CRJs, but we are shrinking in other areas. We also have contract negotiations coming up at the end of 2012, that can be a tough time for any growth or movement. APA is currently in negotiations for their contract, and that specifically stipulates what/how/where we can fly. So keep an eye on what happens from that. Who knows what the economy and business travel trends will do, but that generally correlates to how the airline industry as a whole performs.

Thanks for the clarification ATP. By the way, I wasn't dogging you for being frank. Just looking for clarification. As far as the stepping stone is concerned, I know we all wish it were much shorter, but you can never tell what is going to happen in the future that can result in a change of plans for us. That being said, anyplace we go to could result in a much longer stop then we had previously planned for, and Eagle seems like a better place to stop then most regionals. Not perfect, of course, but much better than (insert most regional airline names here).

Big Toe,
You asked "What would you say the upgrade times are today, with the flow throughs leaving for mainline and the new CRJ's coming on line???"
I can't answer all of your question, but It is my understanding there will be no more AE flow thrus until the AA feb 2010 furloughed pilots are offered recall.

Does eagle make new hires share hotel rooms in training?

yes they do.

Is that for the indoc class, or the whole thing?

THAT, is ridiculous. What is this, freshman dorm?!? Are you kidding me?

At least they provide hotel. Several out there wont.

Several?! Who? Name a few.

Pretty sure Trans States still makes new hires pay for their own rooms

Most regionals do make you share a room.

Could be worse, one regional I worked for made us share a room on overnights.