Class at PNCL in January and I've have some questions for those that have been through that:
1. Do you need a car? Opinion on driving to MEM or flying and using Hertz.
2. Do you get time to go home on weekends (it'll take a flight) or bring 6 weeks of clothing and gear.
3. How's the hotel?
4. Anything else you've noted that'll help.

Thanks in advance ... see you in Ops

I thought they were fuloughing? I guess not. Maybe that was mesaba.

Unfortunately, it is Mesaba that is furloughing.... about 120. Basically, everyone hired back to late January 05 is furloughed.

Pinnacle is only hiring due to attrition. Guys are quiting left and right. They are all done growing.

You never hear anything evenkeel about that place. People ethier love it or hate it. Those who love it are usually new hires waiting for a training date. Those who hate it are guys like a fo in know that's been there awhile. I would be wary of a place where crews are walking away from all that seniority just to wait at the back of the line somewhere else. What's going on there?

Yes, does anyone have anything to say about this? A lot of places are hiring because of attrition, but it doesn't change the fact that some are better than others, like Air Whiskey. I've heard they are a good place and everyone there generally is pretty happy with what they sign up for.

As far as regional airlines are concerned, there are good one's and bad one's. It depends on who you talk to. Unfortunately, having Pinnacle on a resume these days is like having Great Lakes or Gulfstream Academy on there. After the Jefferson City crash, the Montana mountain incident and the Milwaukee crash, the word is that Northwest is finally fed up with it. It would take a miracle for Pinnacle to receive anymore airplanes from Northwest. Granted, Pinnacle does have a small percentage of good pilots who know their stuff, but unfortunately the rapid growth of the company put too many pilots out there with 500 hrs who could'nt even keep up with a Seneca let alone a 450 knot jet.
The word is they are restructuring their training department and not hiring the "student pilots" with LOW hours.

All that to say, there are still a good group of airlines out there with great safety records and a good name: Comair, ASA, Mesaba, Air Wisconsin, PSA, Republic.

Do some more research about that place before you quit your job. For one you are not an employee when you start class, so you have to pay for your own lodging in training, no travel benefits, and a very high failure rate. They did start paying couple hundred a month and a split hotel room because they could not get any applicants. Had a newhire class of 32 scheduled only 2 showed up the rest got better offers eleswhere. They hire folks with 270 - 600 hours as FO's. Look for about 6-7 years in the right seat. Attrition has been about 30 FO's per month with about 6-8 of those being terminations. Failure rate in training has been as high as 53%.

Unless you want just want to roll the dice - keep looking.

CoATP, I was in the Jan 3 Pinnacle class, moved to the Dec 12 one, figuring let's get this started. I've heard all the negative information that's been posted here before, and some of it has me worried, but I think things are weak at a lot of places right now. And since everyone's situation is different no one can say which place will work best for you except you. The upgrade time is likely to be much shorter than previous posts would indicate; my friend has been an FO for PNCL for 1.7 yrs, is upgrading soon. I think if things go right, Pinnacle could be a very good place to be, especially if you like the bases. My biggest concern is NWA's NewCo thingy. I can't belive they're really going to start a new company like Delta did when Song was obviously such a mistake. NewCo would get the E170 instead of Pinnacle. So that's one growth opportunity down. But look at their stock, it has rallied nicely since the big drop when NWA announced bankruptcy. I talked to many pilots for the company, and the President and CEO myself, and I can promise that the management team will not go down without a fight. Indeed, they have been growing the company at an exceptional pace for quite some time, and if they have to fly for Delta (or DeltaWest ;-) ) or United or whoever, they'll survive. Look forward to seeing you in class or on the line.

I am currently an FO for a 135 outfit, and I am looking to possibly apply to a regional in a few months. Pinnacle is certainly on my interest list, but I am a little concerned about what has been said here on this thread. I try to take everything with a little grain of salt and kinda' weigh my opinion on the airline being discussed. With that said, could you guys help me with a couple of questions:

1. What Pilot Bases do they have other than MEM and MSP?
2. Which is most junior, or which is a new hire most likely to receive?
3. Will they let pilots commute?

If anyone could help, I would be very, very appreciative of your input.

CJ