I have been reading this thread over the last few days, and there is a lot of negativity on here. Wow! It makes me wonder whether I should come back or not. I'm a Colg...I mean Pinnacle FO who has been on military leave the last few years and it looks like my active duty gravy train will run dry at the end of the year, so I was planning on coming back to/beginning with 9E next spring. I have a quick question...Have the Congress imposed FAA changes happened yet? (ie ATP mins for 121 guys) I ask this because I have less than 1500 hrs. (about 1300, I think. Thanks...and let the flames begin.

The ATP mins will become effective in August of this year. 9E has it's moments but when on the line the soap opera this forum makes you believe is going on is not. 99% of the pilots are great to work with.

August 3rd my friend, if you don't have the 1500 by then I don't know if you will be grandfathered or not...I doubt it. They are in a rush to get everyone through right now and those who don't have 1500, they are trying to get them as much flying as possible...

Honestly, this thread, and most of the stuff you read online is complete BS. I came from Colgan as well, and honestly, Pinnacle is fine. They pay better than Colgan, the hotels are better, the trips are better, and the crews are great as well. People love *****ing, and while there are plenty of issues, it's not bad at all.

True but then again that still isn't saying much when comparing to such a low bar to start with.

Every regional, heck, every employer has issues. 90% of whether a person will have a positive experience is their own attitude, not the employer. Out on the line the attitudes are nothing like they are here. People certainly have issues and talk about them, but are still fun to be around and not all doom and gloom.

This place is like a circle jerk that climaxes in suicide, and that is not reality.

Good post. Attitudes are expected to be bad when you come off 5.5 years of contract stagnation, shoot down the first offer, get a contract you enjoy for a little over one year, and then go through bankruptcy. Add in 4 management teams in 2.5 years and it's no wonder people feel less than secure and happy here.

You will go on unpaid leave of absence until you can come up with the 1500. Then come back do your checkride and come back. This is the agreement that the company and the union have come to. There will be a good amount (10-15, all from the bridge program or former schedulers) if not more of the most junior FO's that will drop off the bottom in AUG.

Damn it, now I have to waste my afternoon watching Life of Brian.

Good to know. I guess I might not come back as quick as I thought then. It will take me a couple of years to get the 1500 at the pace I'm on now.

At 1300 hours you should qualify for a Part 135 gig, even part time on call. Look at something like that. You could also fly jumpers or pull gliders. Otherwise you end up renting a c150 for 200 hours at about 80 bucks an hour.

I take it you don't fly for the military. Did you go technician or AGR? If you do fly for the military, are you aware of the reduced ATP mins, which I believe are 750 TT.

Yep, like this guy.

I cannot stop laughing... nice find!

thanks man! You made a crappy day better with this.

10-4. 135 is probably my best option, if I can find the work around here.

No, I'm not a pilot in the guard. I'm a navigator. I have been fortunate enough to stay on active duty orders (AGR) for a few years now, but my orders end early next year. It is possible, however, that I may be able to extend them for another year after that. If given that chance, I will stay on orders and be pretty close to the 1500 by the end of 2015, so that's the best case scenario for me. If not, then I will do some time building while guard bumming to pay the bills.

BTW, this has been a pleasant thread the last couple of days without "He who shall not be named" trolling around. :)

This has not been finalized yet. This exceptions is part of the NPRM that the FAA put out for comment. It has not been finalized. That's why the regionals aren't hiring college program grads with 1000 hours either.

I think his mom may have finally kicked him out of the basement, and made him go look for a job...?

Good point! My mistake. Thanks.

Is the navigator time log-able? Have you applied for a pilot slot where you are at? Are you on 130s? You can PM or not answer at all if you want :)

Oh. You want me to continue? :)

I fly an Airbus, it doesn't fit in a basement. The RJ does, though.

ALL HAIL!! God's gift to aviation!!!

That's not saying much...I can fit an RJ in my guest room's closet... I can only fit the airbus' lav in my basement..... That lav is soooooo cozy.. No crick neck after a pee in that thing, however, if your over 5' 0" good luck taking a pee in an RJ lav. A real pilots chart should be--- pilots ability based on size of current aircraft lav.... Fighter pilots are totally screwed.:-)

Colgan pilots were the chosen ones. They had a God-given "career expectation" route. The rest of us measly pilots did not.

Just out of curiosity where did you apply to back in the day? Did you only want to fly a jet or would u have flown a prop?

I love flying with a colgan captain hired a year after me. He complained the entire trip how he might be on reserve...

Reserve blows. Id expect both of y'all to be complaining about still being at 9E on top of the reserve.

Hired a year after you? Where is he on the ISL? Junior or senior?

Remember, it's not DOH, it's your spot on the list that matters. An independent arbitrator came to a decision, and, for better or worse, it's what we have to live with.

I don't care if a guy was hired a year later, if he is good to fly with that's all that counts.

That happens everywhere, look at DAL/NWA. DAL guys hired 3-4 years after NWA guys are senior to them. The same will happen at UAL/ CAL, look at how low the longevity is at CAl compared to UAL. Kinda apples to oranges here but it still happens. 9E guys need to quit complaining about the integration, there is nothing you can do about it except leave or wait it out.

The problem with the regional level is that it is filled with pilots who are part of the entitlement generation. It's not all their fault, a lot of them came from jet u and were promised 2 years upgrades that never happened. This is the industry we are in, if you don't like it, get out. Do you think this is the only merger and or bankruptcy you are going to go through in your career? Haha good luck. Delta/Nwa is about as good as it can go, and there were still bitter people

That all depends

I applied to Eagle knowing I could get a Saab or Turboprop. But my flight program was basically 9E. Eagle I applied as an outsider. As for Colgan? I did my flight training (some of it) at Manassas. Back in those days, I think it was a MX base for them and their HQs. I got to talk to several crews at HEF and they made it clear Colgan was dangerous in what they push you to do. In the words of one CA there, "don't cone here, go to another regional."

No, PinnacleFO, the problem isn't that. You can't look at the legacy mergers and say that well those guys have pilots junior to them above on the Seniority list. Because at the majors:

1. FO wages are actually livable. You can clear six figures easy as a senior FO.

2. Your career isn't looking to move on from the major. This is the place for retirement.

The same isn't true for regional mergers. Being right seat RJ FO for 6-7+ years while capped at 4th year FO pay, while you get to hear a Colgan guy beotch about his reserve CA schedule even though he was hired after you? Two things, if it's that bad, go back and bid FO. Or quit. And two, he'll be at Delta much sooner than Pinnacle pilots before him. And you have to wait for all these guys to interview before you get tour shot. He's a CA while physically junior to you and Delta only wants to interview Captains in SSP.

This will stir the pot...

I'm assuming you aren't part of that "entitlement" generation? Probably older which means your generation raised the "entitlement" generation. Your generation instilled the values that became the "entitlement" generation.

:) Ready....set.....go!

1. Navigator time is not log-able like flight engineer time (up to 500 for ATP). So, my 5000 hours flying all over the world performing flight/fuel planning, navigation responsibilities, and programming the flight computer doesn't stack up against the flight engineer, who, in the air force anyway, is just a systems expert. Not to take anything away from them, (I think their time should count) they just don't get pilot-like training on anything except systems. Whereas, navigators in the air force are trained like pilots, in every aspect except operating the controls. Yet, our time does not count towards the mins for ATP. Sorry for the rant. As you can probably tell, that's a sore subject for me.
2. I'm way too old for UPT.
3. Yes.

Lol I don't fit into any of what you said. But nice try. Every colgan guy I fly with is really unhappy here and all they do is complain about pinnacle. In my eyes they have no airplanes left at all.. I had one guy hired a month before me complain that he had to work a weekend. Really??!? One month got him 600 spots senior to me. It's a little had to not say anything to these guys who are obviously rubbing it in.

I flew with 9E folks who were not nice to me but you don't see me complaining. I'd gander none of us are real happy about what happened, how it happened, and what will happen in the future. If you don't like it you can make like me and show yourself to the door.

So man up and say something. I ain't gonna respect ya if u don't stand up for urself. Next time go to the bottom feeder. How many CJC guys are actually captain right now?