"Squawk 7700"
 

Posting this in response to the thread below about jumping into the 121 regionals by spring.

Awesome book. Highly encouraged reading for anyone entering the industry.

Written by an Eagle new hire back in '98 who got fed up with the conditions and low pay, and left the industry.

The part about his IOE in SJU on the ATR is an eye opening experience. I've talked to many ex SJU Eagle folks who immediately knew which IOE Captain it was.

Anyone else read it?

http://www.squawk7700.com/

Oh yeah! It was a great book. A very good account of what to expect not at just a regional, but of all the hard work that is required to even get to that point.

I definitely recommend everyone to read it.

I've read it - it's really good, and very informative - but unfortunately, it's pretty outdated - there are things this guy went through (the climax of the book) which would NEVER happen today due to CRM rules. There are other things he went through, which would never happen today either, due to the new rest rules as well. They put him through a nightmare in San Juan, but he was one of those extreme cases of bad luck, bad place and bad time. Nevertheless, a good read....but beware that the author left with a ton of bitterness, and the one thing I don't like about the book is the whole notion of "if you are planning a career in the airlines, read this book first..." - uh, it is what you make of it.

Da40pilot,

The CRM back in 98 at Eagle wasn't much different than how it is today. I'd venture to guess that every airline has it's tiny percentage of CAs like that one, even today.
Yeah, he got fed up and left...but if one only concentrates on that, they miss the entire message of the book. To me it was pretty clear that he conveys that this could be a great career if only one was properly compensated for the enormous responsibilities involved - which is clearly not the case at the regional level.
Still a great read and we are still seeing those abysmal pay rates on year 1 at the regionals. I would have loved to have read that book before I went to the regionals in the 90s.

I have to disagree with you 100% on this. Today, the first officer has the authority to nix the flight or walk away from the cockpit if he feels that the Captain is about to embark on a negligent trip (such as the one in the book did on SEVERAL ocassions, on separate days) and your union would have protected you in the worst case scenario.

I remember a part in the book where this guy Pete finally decided to stand up for himself and speak up, and went to talk to the Chief pilot about the Captain, and the Chief Pilot just laughed in his face and didn't believe a word he said, further making Pete feel like he was enslaved in a hellish nightmare.

Yes, maybe in 1998 San Juan that would have worked but not in today's environment. Furthermore, you have to understand that San Juan is known in its culture for having a very different mindset to that of mainland America. It's Hispanic and in that culture a lot of things are allowed to happen that shouldn't - like I said, wrong place, bad timing.

I do agree with you about the low pay, that sucks, and that hasn't changed one bit and I think everyone is hoping that one day, pilots at the regional level will be compensated for what they're worth, especially because of how much sacrifice was put into getting there in the first place (this guy moved like 56 times).

Either way....like I said, I thoroughly enjoyed the book, but his case, again, sounds like an extreme circumstance - but don't get me wrong, I am not discrediting him in any way, I just feel bad for him, because it just seems like his entire life up until he decided to leave the industry was bad luck after bad luck after bad luck....

You could still nix the flight and walk out even back in '98. Heck, that came about starting in the late '80s with modern CRM. However, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who would do that on their first leg of IOE....

However, what you say about the SJU culture is spot on, and explains why the chief pilot took the CA's side. That could still feasibly happen today in those parts of the world.

Wow what a complete circle jerk. It's a horribly written book about a guy who "makes it" to the airlines but doesn't even finish IOE. Don't waste your money.

I flew with many a junior gringo F/O back then freshly paroled from "the rock". Most had similar stories of a complete CF of an operation.

Your union would protect you???
 

Flush out your headgear. The guy was on ioe, which means he was a new hire. Zero union protection. I was wings west so I can sympathize with the author. Tried complaining to the scummons chief pilot about a serious issue. Same result.

So I ratted him out to the FAA.


Then slept that night like a baby.

Hey, what's wrong with salsa turned up high on number two, atc down low on number one, calling it visual in a hurricane over mountainous terrain, saying a passenger headcount in Spanish to a non speaker, dialing in a "secret" frequency and whistling to talk bs to your buddies while missing atc calls, pushing a pencil into the parking brake to get an out time while the chief pilot looks out the window with his arms crossed smiling as you start to board the aircraft but there is a pile of gate checked bags on the ramp because the rampers are busy telling jokes that aren't funny in the air conditioned bus, and most of all bad grammar with run on sentences that make no sense? Este mira este mira!

where is the author today ? what is he doing ? etc?

This was spot on through the very last day of the operation.

I wouldn't say it's horribly written, but the story is just bad. Thousands of people went through the same thing, and he makes it sound like he was the first person to ever go through basically what was the normal course of events to get an airline job back in 95.

I believe the author went on to a successful career in computer software engineering, and flies for fun.

I applaud him for having the guts to walk away from something he clearly saw as morally and fundamentally WRONG. I bet 99% of us wouldn't have the balls to do that, myself included. And if we had more folks like him, maybe the regional airline industry wouldn't have such crappy working conditions today.

I think it's a dang good book that shines the spotlight on the very thing we make excuses for, and that makes us uncomfortable. Truth hurts, as evidenced by those who say "he couldn't handle it."

Finally, I would MUCH rather have someone who walks away from the industry write a book like his that details the how and why he walked away, rather than someone who just walks away quietly into the sunset without so much as a peep.

What happens in Hispanic cultures that is unique to that culture and is wrong?

Google "Mexican Drug Wars"

At least we aren't being racist.

MOD INPUT: Lets tread carefully with perceptions of racism. Discussing aspects of different cultures (even the bad aspects) is not forbidden here but please be somewhat sensitive as to how you go about it.

The Power Distance framework is a reasonable science-based context for this sort of conversation, particularly as it applies to aviation.

Sounds sporty.

The Amazon reviews weren't too kind to him.

Looks like someone who tried hard to get into this industry, even breaking some rules along the way, but quit once he got to the little leagues.

This is a 30+ year career, and you have to earn your stripes, literally!

For perspective: Doctors come out of 8 years of College/MedicalSchool to spend 5 years in Internship/Residence making $45-60/year working 80 hour weeks before anyone will take them seriously and they earn the next step in pay. (their student loans are much worse than yours!)

What rules did he break??

aa73,

Did you write the book? Are you the author? It sure seems like it. Nice try.

No I did not. I'm an AA 737 F/O...he's a computer software engineer.

I just happened to think the book was spot on, and shines a spotlight on the very thing that we're ashamed to admit: that we sell ourselves out to shameful pay and working conditions, and empower the regional airlines, in order to advance in aviation. I'm no exception. Neither are most of you. He was. And that takes a ton of guts, even more so to write an honest book about it.

If most of you would put your inflated pride and egos aside and stop defending a huge gaping injustice in the airline industry, you'd come to realize his book is a welcome breath of fresh air designed to open as many eyes as possible in the fight for better pay and working conditions in the airline industry.

"Squawk 7700"
 

Damn. The RAA loves kids like you....that you Roger Cohen?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Free download link?

Guess you are not familiar with Island Time.
or
Some of the locals trying to rip you off because you are not a Latino or speak Spanish fluently.

You better be old enough to be retiring if you're calling me a kid.

Doctors only do the residency once and yet pilots have to do it every time they change their employers and start at bottom again. Imagine telling a Cardiovascular surgeon that his hospital is closing and he needs to start over at 20k per year as nurse.

Can we stop with the Doctor comparisons? Half of the people getting hired at regionals went to some "90 day super pilot" program with no real college. Followed by somehow managing to not kill themselves and only get violated a handful of times while pencil whipping their logbook until it totaled 1500 hours.

I didn't create the seniority system everybody seems to love.

It brings all sorts of inefficiencies to the table such as the most junior guys flying the hardest schedules, with the most junior F/O sitting next to them instead of a more experienced F/O. see Colgan crash..

I would allow for station/equipment/seat bidding by seniority, but then assign flights more like the ProSports Drafts.. And make sure the CA-F/O pairings were in reverse order.

I'm all for airlines being able to direct hire qualified pilots direct to a position, and let people decide whether they want to participate in organized labor, but people get very aggressive over that.

Yet those 0-to-Hero pilots seem to think they're worth 100k pay and 15 days off per month!

Just to add some perspective to the it can't happen here anymore, I've flown with a pilot at Eagle on the ATR who was literally afraid of clouds. Most often he called in sick. The CP's office and Pro-Standards were well aware.

We've had captains out of Miami lie about their age flying to well past 65. This person was also responsible for a few items added to the checklist. His approach briefings went as follows, this airplane, that runway. Any questions?

I've flown down on the rock were it was mostly a good experience until the crew speaks Spanish when you don't and you literally have no idea what's going on. That includes ATC communications.

I haven't read the book, and I'm pretty sure AA73 didn't either. But please don't think for a moment that things have changed too much.

TC

LOL. Good ole head Case and Capt Bueno. Legends, for all the wrong reasons.

It's a good read for someone considering a career in aviation. It gives a good description for what is potentially out there, even today, so that the new [professional] pilot knows what to watch out for. It's much easier to spot a shady operator when you know what direction to look if not completely what exactly to look for.

I've read it... 3 times now. It's a great read.

Very familiar. Have experienced it hundreds of times in Mexico and SJU and from Hawaii to Mykonos to Bali. I actually like island time. S But that jack wipe said Hispanics allow crap other cultures don't. Assuming he doesn't mean trivial stuff, I'm calling him out for being a jackass.

And how many times do Hispanics get ripped off here because they can't speak the language? Think before you type.

He couldn't hack it.

Good Luck.

Sorry, I meant to say I'm pretty sure you didn't write it.

TC

Basically sums the whole book up.

Fixed it for ya.