If had the choice..

Travis John

Travis John

Well-Known Member
If you had the choice between 3 Alaska operators, (Pen Air, Alaska Seaplanes, & Alaska Central Express) which would you chose and why?
 
Pen Air. About a decade and a half ago I was in a meeting between the Alaska 135 and 121 operators and the FAA. Of all the operations represented there, Daniel Seybert (son of the guy who started Pen Air, and now CEO of Pen Air) was the only one who kept hammering the FAA on aviation safety in Alaska. When the FAA would say that they would look into such and such as a possibility, Mr. Seybert was asking for a timeline and specifics, not settling for "oh, ok the FAA said they would do something". I was impressed that an owner / operator would be so concerned with safety and hold the FAA accountable for what they were saying as opposed to just accepting what the FAA was saying.
 
Agreed. Now granted, these are all very different options, but I believe PenAir would be the best place to work at and has the best safety record as well. Lots of stuff going on there right now so movement might be a lot quicker than it has been in the past.
 
Roger Roger said:
Interestingly, I just read an article about mister seybert in ADN.
http://www.adn.com/article/20150221...g-penair-ceo-speaks-frankly-about-drugs-fares
TL;DR: operating twin turbine aircraft is expensive especially when they're half empty most of the time. Deal with it.
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Interesting article. Particularly where he says that he is the states largest drug runner, and wants the state to pay for the drug sniffing dogs because TSA wont be bothered by it.

It's funny how folks will complain about the ticket prices with out understanding all of the costs involved. If they think they can provide cheaper fares, then I am sure Dillingham will welcome the competition. My guess is most folks would be astonished at all of the costs involved with running an airline into the Alaska bush.
 
I dont know a whole lot about ACE, but i was just trying to get a little insight on them. Thanks for the replies!
 
At ACE you will fly a lot, roughly 100 hours/month. They fly pretty much around the clock in all weather. You will become a rock solid instrument pilot there. A captain there tells me the prevailing cockpit culture is one of captains being condescending and acting superior towards their FOs.

A friend who is an FO at PenAir is very happy there. He feels the 121 world is much better than the 135 world, likes the flight benefits, likes the schedule, and seems quite content.
 
Plata said:
At ACE you will fly a lot, roughly 100 hours/month. They fly pretty much around the clock in all weather. You will become a rock solid instrument pilot there. A captain there tells me the prevailing cockpit culture is one of captains being condescending and acting superior towards their FOs.

A friend who is an FO at PenAir is very happy there. He feels the 121 world is much better than the 135 world, likes the flight benefits, likes the schedule, and seems quite content.
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From my friend that is an FO at little ACE right now, they have hired so many FOs that he's only flying about 50 hours a month. Just not enough to go around with the glut of FOs. Horizon and PenAir would be my top choices in 121 Regional Alaska flying.
 
Travis John said:
If you had the choice between 3 Alaska operators, (Pen Air, Alaska Seaplanes, & Alaska Central Express) which would you chose and why?
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I am at Penair and I really enjoy it here. There is going to be a lot of movement happening before long with the SAAB 2000s showing up.
ppragman said:
Well, little ACE pays better than GLA and is on the mend in recent years from what I've been told.
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thevideographer said:
Does it? The only pay info I could find was $30 an hour (which wouldn't go far in ANC), with no mention of minimum hours, and no benefits.
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The pay is $30/hr, and it sounds like they are flying quite a bit there. It sounds like maybe 90 hours per month. I make more at Penair. My rate is $30/hr also. But I generally credit 100 hours per month. It was 130 in January. It may be about 100 hours this month, but only flew about 45 hours. Lots of reserve helps.
Plata said:
At ACE you will fly a lot, roughly 100 hours/month. They fly pretty much around the clock in all weather. You will become a rock solid instrument pilot there. A captain there tells me the prevailing cockpit culture is one of captains being condescending and acting superior towards their FOs.

A friend who is an FO at PenAir is very happy there. He feels the 121 world is much better than the 135 world, likes the flight benefits, likes the schedule, and seems quite content.
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I havent heard that about ACE. My friend over there seems to be happy and havent mentioned having problems with Captains.
 
Sapper said:
Interesting article. Particularly where he says that he is the states largest drug runner, and wants the state to pay for the drug sniffing dogs because TSA wont be bothered by it.

It's funny how folks will complain about the ticket prices with out understanding all of the costs involved. If they think they can provide cheaper fares, then I am sure Dillingham will welcome the competition. My guess is most folks would be astonished at all of the costs involved with running an airline into the Alaska bush.
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I'm pretty familiar with the costs involved just in running an mx department and most of the folks whining about $600 round trips would be floored if they found out what it costs just in parts and labor to keep, say, a 207 in decent shape when it's flying 1000 hours a year much less a machine as complex as a Saab.

If they want cheap, they can go back to run out caravans and 207s flown VFR by a company that puts one into a mountainside every few years.
 
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