Great Lakes

J

JK7177

Well-Known Member
I have a friend who will walk my resume into the chief pilot at Great Lakes, I have been doing a lot of research on the company for the past two days but would like the input of current airline pilots or GLA employees for some additional information. Is it a good company to work for regarding safety, and will the majors (in the future) regard it as a quality job? Thanks for your time and consideration.


JK7177
 
In addition to my first post I would also like to ask, "if you have 600/100 would you take the job if offered?".
 
How anyone can consider working there after looking at the payscale is beyond me.

Don't ever work for a company you can't see yourself retiring at - because you just might. Keep that in mind

YMMV
 
I would be starting a thread asking...if a friend walks my resume into GLA, is he really a friend?

j/k. I don't know a thing about the place.
 
I think they get on to major airlines just like everybody else. QOL is probably a bigger issue than at many regionals and there is no getting around the fact that the pay is stinky. But I believe the upgrade is quick and personally I think most those guys walk away with some crazy stick skills from flying the 1900 w/no autopilot into all kinds of small airports and WX around the Mid-West.

Plus you get to make “meowing” sounds on ops frequencies and ALL of the Denver controllers will reply in kind to your very boisterous “SEE YA!!” when you get a frequency change. :D
 
Lee D said:
I think they get on to major airlines just like everybody else. QOL is probably a bigger issue than at many regionals and there is no getting around the fact that the pay is stinky. But I believe the upgrade is quick and personally I think most those guys walk away with some crazy stick skills from flying the 1900 w/no autopilot into all kinds of small airports and WX around the Mid-West.

Plus you get to make “meowing” sounds on ops frequencies and ALL of the Denver controllers will reply in kind to your very boisterous “SEE YA!!” when you get a frequency change. :D
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I have a few buddies that fly for Lakes. QOL probably leaves a little bit to be desired. They love the flying and I get the impression the pilot group is outstanding. A few of my friends that have moved on have all landed fantastic jobs. They could be the minority though, I just don't know enough about the big picture to give an accurate view. I can only say what I've seen with a small group.
 
The upgrade time is pretty quick.

I dont work there, but I know people who do. They upgraded in just over a year.

Pay is low, but you know that going in. I dont know how the scheduling works there so I cannot comment on that.
 
I think you have the right idea seeking information from current or past employees of Great Lakes, its easy to be drawn to some of the comments of those who may have never even met someone who has worked there themselves. As with any regional airline Lakes has its own set of disclaimers that come with the job, many of them the same as what you would find elsewhere however none of which that would ruin or endanger your career.
Coming into Lakes you should really know what you want to get out of it as well as have a reasonable idea of where you would like to go next. There have been pilots that have moved onto just about every flying job imaginable, however there is a significant amount of timing and networking involved with some of those moves.
There have been plenty of changes over the last couple years and from what It looks like there will be even more around the corner. IBT used to represent the pilot group but unfortunately didn’t live up to most expectations (except probably managements) UTU was voted in last year and contract negotiations have been ongoing and things are looking up.
If you have the chance to meet up with your friend in person I would say that would be your best bet in getting an idea of what you would be getting into. You will work pretty hard but get time fast if that’s what you are after, there is no telling how fast upgrades may be so don’t count on anything your first year.
Lakes is easy to make some good jokes of but when it comes to push/shove the pilot group there is pretty close and some of the best people I have ever met personally.
 
Milesar said:
when it comes to push/shove the pilot group there is pretty close and some of the best people I have ever met personally.
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Clearly you forgot meeting me...

Lakes is what it is. There are lots of Lakers all over the industry at majors, other regionals, cargo outfits, corporate, fractional, you name it. I know a lot of times when I jumpseat, the guys I chat with up front have lots of time in the 1900 and there are plenty of stories to be shared. I think some people respect the flying we do and there are a few who might look down on it because they have never been there. I have zero respect for the company itself and the way it does business but that's another story. The people are mostly awesome. The work rules are some of the worst out there. The QOL is not great and I'd definitely recommend living in base. The pay is horrendous. The flying is very tiring and for at least a few more months, we are still allowed to fly more than most other 121 outfits because our airplanes have less seats (for example, we fly 34 in 7, 120hrs/month, 1200/yr instead of the regular 30/7, 100/mo., and 1000/yr). This should all change with the new rest rules.

Additionally, the way Lakes is set up, we have very early departures from outstations to get our flights into the hubs before the major airline flights leave. You will be waking up super early and will frequently work 14 hour, 8-10 leg days. For example, I have a 0424 show time day after tomorrow. This is not particularly unusual. We have no APU and winters are miserable in northern Montana, and many other places we fly. Doing a preflight, paperwork, runup, loading your bags in the back, crunching performance numbers, etc while it is -30C and 35kts of wind is not even close to fun. The upgrade times are unpredictable but I have been here over a year and a half now and am inching closer to upgrade but it could still be another year or more. It could also be just a few months. It's hard to predict but people are steadily leaving for other jobs.

Hard to tell you what to do but this sounds like your first airline job so it might be ok. Coming to Lakes from another regional, even if it's a bad one, is a tough pill to swallow. On the flip side, go to another airline from Lakes and you should be insanely happy with your life at that point. Good luck!
 
JK7177 said:
I have a friend who will walk my resume into the chief pilot at Great Lakes, I have been doing a lot of research on the company for the past two days but would like the input of current airline pilots or GLA employees for some additional information. Is it a good company to work for regarding safety, and will the majors (in the future) regard it as a quality job? Thanks for your time and consideration.
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So you have a friend at Great Lakes, have been searching around the past two years but you still don't have a general idea of the company on saftey and career outlook?

If you have no other option then obviously Great Lakes is your only option. A lot of pilots that go to Great Lakes know how bad it was going to be but they still have to complain for the sake of complaining. Great Lakes is pretty much the lowest you can go. It's just experience, nothing more. And really it's one of the best options if you want to get to a major in less than 5 years. And over time you will actually make MORE money by going to Lakes than any other regional because by the time you're thinking about upgrading from at an RJ you're already applying at the majors.
 
Thanks for the input everyone, I appreciate the honest responses and the fact it didn't turn into one of the "everone hate on Great Lakes" threads I have read. I'm glad to hear that the pilot group is a good group of folks, I have to many friends that hate their regionals and complain non stop. I'll let ya'll know what happens if and when it does.

JK7177
 
I flew at Lakes from late '00 to late '02. Granted it has been a while since I have worked there, but I can't imagine much has changed.

I was hired there as an intern and had very low time. I knew it was not a place to retire at, but I knew it would be great experience. Yes the pay, QOL, schedules, and most everything else sucked about working there. However, the crews (both flight and ground crews) were all awesome and there was no better experience than flying a turbo prop with no auto pilot or flight director in the midwest, especially in the winter and IMC. I can honestly say my hand flying skill after flying an RJ for the past 8 years are no where near what they were when I was flying at Lakes.

Regarding moving on to another major, back in the early 2000's we had plenty of guys go to UPS, FedEX, UA, and every other major out there. I'm not sure how BE1900 PIC time is viewed these days wth all the RJs, but I imagine it doesn't hurt.

If you have low time and your only other option is flight instructing, I'd open your mouth for a poop sandwich and go to Lakes for some good turbine time. If you can't hack it long enough to upgrade, you will have good experience to go to another regional.
 
sandstorm said:
I flew at Lakes from late '00 to late '02. Granted it has been a while since I have worked there, but I can't imagine much has changed.

I was hired there as an intern and had very low time. I knew it was not a place to retire at, but I knew it would be great experience. Yes the pay, QOL, schedules, and most everything else sucked about working there. However, the crews (both flight and ground crews) were all awesome and there was no better experience than flying a turbo prop with no auto pilot or flight director in the midwest, especially in the winter and IMC. I can honestly say my hand flying skill after flying an RJ for the past 8 years are no where near what they were when I was flying at Lakes.

Regarding moving on to another major, back in the early 2000's we had plenty of guys go to UPS, FedEX, UA, and every other major out there. I'm not sure how BE1900 PIC time is viewed these days wth all the RJs, but I imagine it doesn't hurt.

If you have low time and your only other option is flight instructing, I'd open your mouth for a poop sandwich and go to Lakes for some good turbine time. If you can't hack it long enough to upgrade, you will have good experience to go to another regional.
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I'm not a Laker, nor have I ever been one, but...

If I got hired on at a company flying Boeings with a handful of RJ SIC time and a ton of C402 (read: piston twin) PIC time, I highly HIGHLY doubt anyone who's got hardball 1900 PIC experience is going to get passed up. Any company worth working for is going to respect the hell out of someone who's done that type of flying.
 
In my experience getting hired anywhere has a lot less to do with your logbook than with your phonebook. Yeah, you have to check the boxes, but once they're checked, it's generally who you know.

Now, if you can live on Lakes pay, by all means go for it. I've never met a Laker who didn't seem cool, and I hear they have some great times. That said, there are lots of ways to get turbine PIC. Freight and 135 charter spring to mind. And you'll get paid a (semi) living wage from day 1. For purposes of comparison, I hit 1000 multi turbine PIC around 3 years from signing on at FLX. I started at somewhat over double Lakes (1st year) pay and in my best year, I just about quadrupled it. Again, no knock against Lakers...but be realistic not just about how you're going to eat but what your QOL will be like. Good luck in whatever you decide to do.
 
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