Allegiant

TexasFlyer

TexasFlyer

Living the Dream (well at least trying to)
Can anyone shed some light about Allegiant right now? Having trouble finding the current news there and the posts I come across here and elsewhere are dated.

Is the LAS base possible?
What equipment are they hiring into?
Do they still do ridiculously long TDY's?
How long are people on reserve? (assuming there is reserve)
Looking for Quality of Life?
How does the schedule tend to look weekly/ monthly?
Are 3 or 4 days off consecutive rare? Is it usually just 1 or 2 days off in a row?
What is happening with all the current issues and possible strike (what are the key issues)?
Any concerns someone that is considering going there should have?
Is it true you pay for your own hotel in training?
What other things should a person know about if considering Allegiant? (good and bad)

Thanks.
 
z987k said:
Probably the highest chance you'll die in the cockpit of any 121 pax carrier. So they've got that going for them.
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Gonna play the devil's advocate here from the comfy cozy chair of Day 3 or 5 (what am I on?)... Other than the MD's, I can't say I've heard anything spectacular in the news with Allegiant's Airbus fleet. There could be worse places to build time, but I'm interested in any replies @TexasFlyer gets.

Did they end up dumping the 757s / Hawaii service? I see 5 active according to planespotters.net - and service to HNL - but I had thought AAY (lmao) was done with HI.
 
Burrito said:
Gonna play the devil's advocate here from the comfy cozy chair of Day 3 or 5 (what am I on?)... Other than the MD's, I can't say I've heard anything spectacular in the news with Allegiant's Airbus fleet. There could be worse places to build time, but I'm interested in any replies @TexasFlyer gets.

Did they end up dumping the 757s / Hawaii service? I see 5 active according to planespotters.net - and service to HNL - but I had thought AAY (lmao) was done with HI.
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It's not the type of aircraft that will cause allegiant to crash an airplane, it's the terrible safety culture.
 
jtrain609 said:
It's not the type of aircraft that will cause allegiant to crash an airplane, it's the terrible safety culture.
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I should know better, I just wanted to try and play DA I guess. It's come up in every thread with these guys though...nothing will change until a smoking hole in the ground makes the news.
 
TexasFlyer said:
Any concerns someone that is considering going there should have?
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There are plenty of people here that will disagree with me because their personal experience has been fine. And yours may be too. However, I have multiple friends that have gone to allegiant and had horrible experiences, and I feel obligated to at least mention them to save someone else the trouble. A few to list:

-Basing: If you don't live in a base you're going to have a horrible QOL. Absolutely not commutable. And even if you do live in a base, allegiant's way of taking care of seasonal staffing is to involuntarily TDY people to other bases. If you do this you won't have a schedule good enough to go home more than once or twice in the month.

-Training: without question the worst I've ever heard of. I believe the MD80 program is OK but I've heard multiple horror stories of highly experienced pilots transitioning to the airbus and struggling and being fired when they needed a little help. Again, I said transitioning guys so these are pilots that have been at the company for several years.

-Maintenance: Most of my friends at allegiant thankfully got out of there within the last year so I'm not fully up on this. However, in my UAL class there was a pilot from allegiant who said the maintenance is the worst it's ever been and they were very concerned about the possibility of a crash because of it. Multiple inflight returns per week for serious maintenance issues.

-Safety culture: you can read about this on your own. There are multiple news articles about the captain that ordered an evacuation and was subsequently fired. There is no "other side" to this story, allegiant was absolutely in the wrong for this. They are being sued and I hope they have to pay this guy a lot of money or give him his job back. The gist of it is that there are many, many examples of allegiant pushing people to do unsafe things, and making examples of the ones that refuse to. Like it or not that will ruin your career.

The point of all this is that the benefits of going here do not outweigh getting out of where you are at. It's not a good option for getting 121 time and a type rating. I don't believe that sacrificing QOL in a huge way, risking your reputation with PRIA training records, and putting safety aside in the maintenance department and company culture, are worth moving on from any regional or part 135/91 gig. There are lots of other better operators out there and with the current environment if you can get hired at allegiant there are better options for you that you are qualified for.
 
TexasFlyer said:
Can anyone shed some light about Allegiant right now? Having trouble finding the current news there and the posts I come across here and elsewhere are dated.

Is the LAS base possible? Yes.
What equipment are they hiring into? MD80 and A320
Do they still do ridiculously long TDY's? Depends on your definition of ridiculous.
How long are people on reserve? (assuming there is reserve) A few months to a year or so.
Looking for Quality of Life? Depends on where you are coming from... Could be better could be worse.
How does the schedule tend to look weekly/ monthly? 11 days off for line holders and 10 for reserve.
Are 3 or 4 days off consecutive rare? Is it usually just 1 or 2 days off in a row? If you are on the MD80 expect Tues/Weds/Sat off every week... Can't speak for the 320 folks.
What is happening with all the current issues and possible strike (what are the key issues)? Not going to address this.
Any concerns someone that is considering going there should have? Make sure you have realistic expectations if you come here. This isn't United, American, or Delta.... It's Allegiant.
Is it true you pay for your own hotel in training? No. Min guarantee from day one as well.
What other things should a person know about if considering Allegiant? (good and bad) Do your research... If you like what you see come on over and if you don't I wish you the best of luck in the future.

Thanks.
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Is it Frontier, Spirit, jetBlue or Southwest though? I've seen zero difference from each pilot group between them and the legacies. Each is hiring what they are, but non is any better than the other from what I've seen. Riding on a regional there are OBVIOUS differences depending on that particular crew, but I've noticed nothing of the sort riding on any mainline carrier. Haven't sat upfront on Allegiant yet.

Main thing for me. If the FO says something the Captain thinks might be stupid at the time, what happens? That is my end all, be all, question for any company/captain. Might be stupid, but if I don't like the answer, yeah, not going to work there... :)
 
Just seems like most the people who bash the place don't work there. Those that go there informed appear to be happy with some aspects of working there, be it the quick upgrade or being based near home. I come across plenty of guys commuting to the "dream job" who appear to be miserable.

Contracts come and go....So do management teams. Allegiant has a successful model and it might be worth a gamble of going there.
 
Baronman said:
Just seems like most the people who bash the place don't work there. Those that go there informed appear to be happy with some aspects of working there, be it the quick upgrade or being based near home. I come across plenty of guys commuting to the "dream job" who appear to be miserable.

Contracts come and go....So do management teams. Allegiant has a successful model and it might be worth a gamble of going there.
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That's a pretty big gamble.
 
Baronman said:
Contracts come and go....So do management teams. Allegiant has a successful model and it might be worth a gamble of going there.
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It's like you didn't read my post at all. It's not about contracts. And the management team is pretty much one guy that owns it, not likely to change soon. What it's about is safety and your willingness to risk your ticket and career with the maintenance and training issues.
 
What's the average age of Americans/ Delta's MD80/90/B717 fleet?
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Don't really know, but they could be in my age. The question is, how is the maintenance quality at Allegiant compared to Delta or AA. The european LCC model is mainly based on new aircraft to avoid maintenance issues. On my current Company we have a fleet age below 4 years. Maintenance is outsourced due to cost cutting.
 
Avalon781ML said:
It all depends on what different people want and what they're willing to risk to get to their respective happy spots. For more than a few Allegiant is less risky than their previous employer.
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I disagree in the current market. To much opportunity to risk getting fired, or worse, for career advancement. EVERYONE is hiring right now. 5 years ago, maybe, maaaaaybe. Right now, not a chance.
 
Der rote Baron said:
Don't really know, but they could be in my age. The question is, how is the maintenance quality at Allegiant compared to Delta or AA. The european LCC model is mainly based on new aircraft to avoid maintenance issues. On my current Company we have a fleet age below 4 years. Maintenance is outsourced due to cost cutting.
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I reckon the MX quality meets the FAA requirements for Allegiant to have a MX department... Otherwise it wouldn't exist.
 
mshunter said:
I disagree in the current market. To much opportunity to risk getting fired, or worse, for career advancement. EVERYONE is hiring right now. 5 years ago, maybe, maaaaaybe. Right now, not a chance.
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That's just like... Your opinion man...

Edit; Also... While a lot of hiring may be occurring at the present that is by no means a guarantee that anyone will be hired at any particular company. There are a great number of people who use Allegiant as a stepping stone, resume enhancer, or a transition point from the military to civilian flying.
 
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