Should I apply at Pinnacle
 

I see that Pinnacle is hiring guys from my school at fairly low times. I just barely qualify. Yet with all the talk about Northwest going on more strikes and all the Pinnacle lasshing by others guys in forums, its probably not the best place to work for right now....is it?? However it would be nice to get interview experience so I'm prepared better for my top choices. I dont' quite qualify for some of the others yet. (need more multi) So what would you do. Maybe they'll turn me down and that'll be an easy decision. Yet they could offer me a position. Then what?? Turn it down? Or go for it, and hope all the Northwest talk goes ok and not get furloughed due to downsizing or end up being an FO for 10 years.

I went for a Pinnacle interview and was not impressed. The pilots I ran into were pompus @sses. The facility is pathetic, especially when compared to the like of XJT.

My advice, avoid Pinnacle like the plague. Hold out a couple months for an XJT interview or even give Colgan a try.

I asked a couple employees about the NWA situation and after I cut though the BS; I consistently got the same answer, "It is a very SCARY time for us right now." Most of these people had been with Pinnacle for 8+ years.

If you are low time and can't get a job anywhere else it might be useful to do the training, work a year (or until furloughed), then go to a better regional.

I agree. The 121 experience won't hurt you. Get the job with Pinnacle, but keep looking elsewhere. Airlines, like XJT, love guys with previous 121 time. Best of luck in whatever you decide.

If you live in MSP, DTW, or MEM then go to Pinnacle. Commuting sucks...bad.

A long commute can turn the best regional into a living nightmare.

And living in domicile can make a real turd of a company almost bearable.

Don't Waste Your Time
 

Don't waste your time with Pinnacle. I came away with the same impression as some of you other guys. The pilots who did the interviewing were pompous asses. If I were them, I wouldn't be so full of myself if I was 50 and still flying a CRJ. From my dealings with the company, the term clusterf*ck comes to mind. The HR department is a mess and the training department isn't much better. But if you really want to appreciate how good a regional airline can be, go to Pinnacle for a year and then move laterally. You will feel like you won the lottery.

Well I would definetly still like the interview experience. I'll worry about the commuting part until I have to. However it'd be nice to live in Texas which is where I'm from. So obviously Eagle or XJT are my better choices. (yes I know all about the 10 year upgrades) Or I could just stick around here, and get a little more multi time so I'm ready for the better ones.

Eh we'll see.

I agree. Interview experience is very valuable. It was the interview that made me decide NOT to go to Pinnacle.

Agreed. I went into the interview unsure of whether I wanted to work there or not. Much like yourself, I have read the posts on this and other forums regarding Pinnacle. During the exit interview, I almost told the two asses.. I mean captains .. that I had absolutley no desire to work there.

Then to top it off, the POS CRJ that I was to fly home on broke and I spent an extra 4 hours is the MEM terminal. The worst part was that Pinnacle kept saying 30 more minutes and we'll be out of here... what BS. Eventually they decided that after 4 hours, it would be better to just get a different plane.. rocket scientists I tell you :mad: .

Send in a resume, it can't kill ya!
 

When I interviewed at Pinnacle, the staff seemed very professional and courteous. Granted, I probably had a different interview team, but who knows. I just started class not too long ago, and it seems like a great place to be. I'm enjoying it, and almost every pilot I've spoken with has no problem working here.

I say send your resume in, who knows- you might like it here! And find some actual employees for advice as to whats going on here. You'll see that a lot of them have a completely different attitude than the others looking at this place from the outside.

Yeah, I was stuck in NRT once for 13 hours waiting for JAL to fix the 744 we were supposed to fly home on. Does that make the 744 a POS? :rolleyes:

If it comes in a box set with Barbie's dream house, just like the Barbie jet (CRJ); then yes.

I heard that PCL canceled their Aug 24th class and is only hiring into a pool. The reason being is that the 15 a/c NWA was supposed to release to PCL arn't going to be released to them. This is just hear say so don't take my word for it i'm just putting it out there.

hehe.. Barbie Jet, yeah- I hope she doesn't come with a Ken doll! :D

From what i've heard around the building, they're going to push the late Aug class into Sept., the 15 AC at NWA are still undecided. But supposedly, XJ runs out of cash in 6 weeks... who knows what will happen then....

Eh, it's all speculation right now.. time will tell. None of us sit in on board meetings- so it's all a guessing game now.

CL65dirver, I hear it all the time, what makes commuting bad at Pinnacle? Do they not allow you to commute? I live out West, I've got family in Detroit but don't know if I'd be willing to live there. If you have to commute, does that discourage the company from hiring you?

Hey AirWillie, commute-wise, they're just like any other carrier. As long as you show up to work on time, they don't mind. From what I hear, 60% of people in MEM commute. I'm planning on commuting from Oakland, CA. Jumpseat is a very powerful tool to help with that.

As for the interview- just make them happy and tell them you'll live in base, even though you want to commute. A friend of mine was hired about a year ago, and he's flying about 14 days a month with the rest off. It's really not too bad.

All in all, every almost every regional will be the same. It's about what you make of it. With a rotten attitude, any airline will stink. But with the right attitude, you'll enjoy it.

Hey joe! :D

My one regret about xjt is that this place is full of pilots that are pompous as you say. Everyone I have met has had the pleasure to tell me that they are pilots for the best regional. They are cocky and ego drivin.

Yet you dont see that. Interesting.

dude....eagle has 10 yr. upgrades......xjt is two.. move to houston pal!

So if your 50 and flying a CRJ, you're a failure. Why is it with you "little boys" that everyone must be at the absolute top of the food chain by middle age, or they're a loser.

I'm afraid you're in for a rude, painful awakening in 25-30 years.

I'm not a little boy, and I hope to be a boeing captain by age 50 (it will tight). If I end up staying in RJ's, that's cool too, this beats all the other jobs I've had. Regardless of where I end up, I certainly don't look down on any career airline pilot regardless of what he happens to be flying (unless his obvious personality dysfuntion is clearly the reason he is retiring as a 1900 captain).

However, there are some pompous asses at certain regionals and personally I don't see the basis for it. If you assume god-like proportions in your own mind because you have 8,000 hours in an RJ, you deserve to be ridiculed!

Psa
 

Check out PSA. They're hiring big time....

Whats up, brother-man!!!????? Are you gonna send your stuff in again?

I live in the DTW area, and have two friends flying for Pinnacle, both are relatively happy with their jobs, living in base and all. I would say flying with any 121 airline and working getting an upgrade is the key...

Where is the most junior based capt for pinnacle? Memphis or Detroit

Most senior to junior: MSP, MEM, DTW