Boris Badenov
Fortis Leader
Light fuse, stand back.
Allegiant to purchase 18 MD-80s
- Thread starter surreal1221
- Start date
Light fuse, stand back.
jynxyjoe
Queso King
Nah, it makes sense. Northwest made tons of money on the EAS runs, Delta did too. Delta pulls out because they are stupid, someone should come in and grab the remaining routes and make a profit. Anyway, I keep hearing it, but I haven't seen anything official.
ppragman
No pasa nada.
EAS is bigtime money, so far in my experience it's been the "make or break" of alaska aviation in general. Crap loads of money to go places that don't need service based on out dated censuses.
jynxyjoe
Queso King
EAS is beneath Delta, or at least owning a Saab.
grasshopper
Well-Known Member
Forgive the layman's question here, but aren't MD80's getting a bit long in the tooth after so many decades and thousands of flight cycles ? In other words, does there exist a point of diminishing returns where even the most rigorous microscopic structural inspections might still prove inadequate in locating hair-line fractures and subtle evidence of potential catastrophic failure from metal fatigue ?
jynxyjoe
Queso King
There is a point, but its a long way off.
ppragman
No pasa nada.
That's a crying shame, Ward Air gets money to fly to Funter Bay which has like 3 year round people or less, its kind of a joke, that and AS gets a couple mil to go to Cordova when it'd probably be better served by ERA.
citabriapilot
Well-Known Member
SFB usually gets a few new hires every hiring cycle... With that said, SFB has been around for several years and pilots are starting to settle down into their. Current class has several who are from Sanford or the Orlando area.
When SFB was new, most of the pilots hired wanting nothing to do with the place and transfered out to LAS as soon as possible. Not the case anymore. I would even venture to say that several FO's will pass up an upgrade in order to stay in base.
LAX and IWA are probably going to see the most growth for now, so expect the west coast to get the most new hires. Probably LAS since the current LAS FO's are gonna upgrade into LAX and IWA leaving FO vacancies.
Fast upgrades are gone. Current growth rates are 6 planes a year. At that rate it'll take me another 2 years. The junior captain in class is only about 7 months senior to me, too. It's all about timing. If we could get the pay up and improve some of the work rules, sitting as a senior FO for awhile wouldn't be a bad gig.
The MD-80's that the company picks up are usually low(er) time and cycles then one would expect. Usually come from Europe (read SAS and FinAir). They aren't the prettiest flight decks, but they don't look any different than the ones I have seen at American or Delta. While they do have their share of MX issues, I haven't experienced anything out of the ordinary.
As far as unions go, there is an ALPA drive going on as I type this. Does a Union mean I'd want to stay here forever? Can't answer that. There's a lot more to a career worthy airline then just a union, in my opinion. I'd love for this to be my last stop, but I can't commit to that right now. Granted, no one else is hiring either, and it sure is a heck of a lot better than AMF...
When SFB was new, most of the pilots hired wanting nothing to do with the place and transfered out to LAS as soon as possible. Not the case anymore. I would even venture to say that several FO's will pass up an upgrade in order to stay in base.
LAX and IWA are probably going to see the most growth for now, so expect the west coast to get the most new hires. Probably LAS since the current LAS FO's are gonna upgrade into LAX and IWA leaving FO vacancies.
Fast upgrades are gone. Current growth rates are 6 planes a year. At that rate it'll take me another 2 years. The junior captain in class is only about 7 months senior to me, too. It's all about timing. If we could get the pay up and improve some of the work rules, sitting as a senior FO for awhile wouldn't be a bad gig.
The MD-80's that the company picks up are usually low(er) time and cycles then one would expect. Usually come from Europe (read SAS and FinAir). They aren't the prettiest flight decks, but they don't look any different than the ones I have seen at American or Delta. While they do have their share of MX issues, I haven't experienced anything out of the ordinary.
As far as unions go, there is an ALPA drive going on as I type this. Does a Union mean I'd want to stay here forever? Can't answer that. There's a lot more to a career worthy airline then just a union, in my opinion. I'd love for this to be my last stop, but I can't commit to that right now. Granted, no one else is hiring either, and it sure is a heck of a lot better than AMF...
kellwolf
Piece of Trash
Heh. I sorta hope that DOES happen. Then we could toss management's "promise" that any growth on the NWA/Delta side would go to 9E rather than Colgan right back in their faces. Back when Colgan was first bought and we were in contract negotiations, they tried to sneak a scope clause in there that woulda guaranteed all growth with NWA for Pinnacle. We already saw where THAT would go since XJ was getting -900s and they had just pulled 15 -200s from us to send to XJ. Now that NWA no longer exists, it's questionable if that would even apply anymore.
citabriapilot
Well-Known Member
Tunica opened about 2 years ago. Charters for Harrah's. Went VERY junior at first, but now it's pretty much impossible to get. The schedules are pretty good with lots of days off. And for commuters, it's about as good as it gets: Lot's of days off and 30 min. from MEM.
Yes, ALL day trips with the exception of charters. I had a charter line a few months ago and that was the most time I've spent in a hotel since I left AMF 2 years ago. With the exception of the typical redeye returns on charters (most are for either college teams or the UFL football league), the layovers are not that bad. I spent a few days in SFO, LAS, FLL, MEM, BNA, etc.
As for reserve, if you are a commuter it sucks. 10 days off per month and an hour call out. Although I hear the call out time might be getting a much needed extention. I live in base and maybe fly 5-6 times per month. Everything else might as well be a day off...
citabriapilot
Well-Known Member
Again, most people with no inside knowledge have no clue as to the inner workings of the "allegiant pilot". The majority of the pilots who work here are VERY different than the top 10% of the seniority list who came to Allegiant when the Legacy's were hiring full swing. I'll speak for myself when I say I'd like to see this place evolve into a career worthy airline. Is it going to happen overnight? No. Are the gears moving for positive things to happen? Yes. I'd expect to see ALPA onboard within 6 months. Is having a union going to change things overnight? No. Most of the people here are awesome ladies and gentleman who are here for a number of reasons. Some for the PIC time. Some to have a better QOL. Some who were furloughed (TWA, USAir, ABX, ATA, UAL) and can't find work anywhere else.
As for me, I applied to Southwest, Delta, Continental, AirTran, NetJets, Allegiant, FedEx, UPS, and Northwest. I had 5 internal recs at CAL and missed the big hiring push a few years ago. Allegiant was the only one who called me. I'd be on the street had I been hired at AirTran, CAL or NetJets. Personally, the day trips and being back within driving distance of my immediate family and having somewhat of a life beats my AMF days by a long shot and far outweighs the con's that AAY definitely has. Hopefully I'm one of many who can help mold it into a place more will want to hang their hat at.
KLB
Well-Known Member
Well I've argued this before when people were bashing kelwolf for showing interest in Allegiant. I'd rather have people like him and you work there than people who are just there to build some quick jet time. It takes guys like you to change that place for the better. So when it's my turn to go to a place like that, I'd be able to sit back with my feet kicked up and reap what you guys sewed.
I'm pretty sure it beats the life at your former place of employment by a couple of miles.
kellwolf
Piece of Trash
Thanks for the insight. Glad we've still got some Allegiant guys hanging around. Right now, I think the desire (bordering on a NEED) to move back to the Orlando area is top of the list. I wanna go back, and my wife is being driven slowly insane living in Memphis. All of our friends are back down there, and there's more to do on a day off than there is in Memphis.
ozziecat35
4 out of 5 great lakes prefer Michigan.
Is there actually a IWA base? Last place I'd expect to ever put a crew base....wow.
citabriapilot
Well-Known Member
Might be the last thing you'd expect, but it is doing very well. Allegiant management doesn't do things that everyone expects--they do things that make money.
SlumTodd_Millionaire
Most Hated Member
I'm looking forward to you guys joining ALPA. Hopefully we can help out with the organizing drive. With a little luck and some hard work, Allegiant can easily become a career airline.
Green Hall
New Member
Agreed. One of the things that makes AGT attractive is the lack of overnights. Being home every night...what a concept!
SmoothLanderJ
Well-Known Member
:laff: That my friend is a good one!
I heard the same thing too, we'll see what happens
Couldnt have said it better myself.
The thought of an MCO or SFB base for me would be perfect for me too. I have a friend here at XJ from Orlando who is in the pool at Allegiant. With them getting 18 more MD-88s, I'd expect him to get a call soon.
tykrtr
Well-Known Member
Sorry, I'm a couple days late on the fuel argument, but I just got back from my first AAY flight (pax, not up front), so here goes:
The very small airport from which I flew wanted airline service badly. So badly, in fact, that they are subsidising AAY's fuel bill (exact amount unknown, but enough that surrounding airports can't compete). If an airline can get the destination to pay for some of their fuel, they can afford to buy airframes for a whole lot less and buy a little more fuel.
As for their economics, they have always had staggeringly high load factors; the last time I saw them they were in the mid 90% when others were hoping for 75%. I paid about $230 for 2 round trips from the midwest to Florida. I hope that's below average because I don't see how that's sustainable, but they obviously are doing something right because it's working for them. I wholeheartedly support their efforts. They seem to get people who wouldn't ordinarily fly to board an airplane, and we should all be grateful that anyone is successful at accomplishing that. Next time, they will perhaps fly another airline and keep even more of us employed.
PS: Citabria, did you fly on Jan 5? Hope to be on one of your airplanes again soon.
The very small airport from which I flew wanted airline service badly. So badly, in fact, that they are subsidising AAY's fuel bill (exact amount unknown, but enough that surrounding airports can't compete). If an airline can get the destination to pay for some of their fuel, they can afford to buy airframes for a whole lot less and buy a little more fuel.
As for their economics, they have always had staggeringly high load factors; the last time I saw them they were in the mid 90% when others were hoping for 75%. I paid about $230 for 2 round trips from the midwest to Florida. I hope that's below average because I don't see how that's sustainable, but they obviously are doing something right because it's working for them. I wholeheartedly support their efforts. They seem to get people who wouldn't ordinarily fly to board an airplane, and we should all be grateful that anyone is successful at accomplishing that. Next time, they will perhaps fly another airline and keep even more of us employed.
PS: Citabria, did you fly on Jan 5? Hope to be on one of your airplanes again soon.