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Old 08-16-2010 | 07:02 PM
  #61  
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Originally Posted by bgmann
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".
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
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Old 08-25-2010 | 01:48 PM
  #62  
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Originally Posted by splat
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
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Old 08-25-2010 | 05:39 PM
  #63  
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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.
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Old 08-25-2010 | 06:07 PM
  #64  
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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.
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Old 08-25-2010 | 06:37 PM
  #65  
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He is clueless.
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Old 08-26-2010 | 06:19 AM
  #66  
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Originally Posted by atp409
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.

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.
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Old 08-26-2010 | 10:34 AM
  #67  
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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.
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Old 08-26-2010 | 01:06 PM
  #68  
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Originally Posted by atp409
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.
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Old 08-26-2010 | 01:47 PM
  #69  
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Originally Posted by BigToe
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.
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Old 08-26-2010 | 04:01 PM
  #70  
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Originally Posted by atp409
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.
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).
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