Seeking info about this operation...
Does it have legs?
Where does it stand v. competition?
Is it growing?
Is it capitalized sufficiently to grow/remain competitive?
Any other general info if you happen to work there... QOL, Pay, quality of operation, equipment, maintenance, etc, etc?
Thanks.
Sorry for the slow reply, I don't check JC much. I've been here four and a half years, two and a half of that as a captain. Management here is very quiet and terrible about communication, but the few things they do tell us is that United is very happy with us, even though we occasionally have our VERY bad reliability days. We have been getting better, though, and last month we hit our performance goals of 99% completion and 83% on time, the first time in two years. CLE MX closing was a disaster for us, and we lost a lot of talented and dedicated employees. Growth is the carrot leading the donkey and has been for a long time. Rumors are infinite, fueled by pilots, station managers, the owner, mechanics, gate agents, etc. Everyone says were getting E145s, a flow, big pay raises, E175s, etc. They are never ending and have yet to be fruitful. Are we capitalized sufficiently? Who knows, private company with very private management. I'd wager yes, though. The plane is dirt cheap to run, and I imagine we have a very, very low load factor to break even. We just spent 100k before tax on two crew room printers, so I imagine money isn't extremely tight.
I've overall have enjoyed my time here. Reserve is abysmal. It really is. I spent longer than almost all on reserve, save a few captains. 8 months as an FO, and 27 months as a Captain. I do live in base, and sat reserve at home most of my time. I flew 3.5 to 40 hours a month on reserve, and probably averaged around 25 or so. It took me just shy of 2.5 years as a captain to get 1000 121 multi turbine PIC. The employees, for the most part, are great people. Our FO's and Captains are incredible people to fly with. Some of the new guys hitting the line are in need of a lot of help, possibly caused by the lack of candidates willing to come here, we're not getting the best? The Dash demands you to fly it and know your flows. This has been an extremely weak area in a select few new pilots. If you don't want to actually fly, go to an E175. You will work a lot more than a RJ pilot. Some of our FA's think they run the show and have no problem running over new captains or FOs. It'll become clear very quickly who they are. Some will try to cheat you into paying for their meals, some will come turn the seatbelt sign on themselves during preflight, others will tell you what to do. Sometimes they need a professional, friendly reminder that this is the Captains and the FOs airplane, then the FAs.
I can't speak to FO pay, but I guess it's $30/hr now? Some guys credit 100+ hours a month. Captain pay is livable, expect just shy of 50k a year before taxes on reserve. A bit higher once you get a line. Maintenance is a rollercoaster. I've done a month of line flying where I had zero delays and zero write ups, but then I did a three day this week where every flight was 2 hours late and had a write up. Winter is a MX nightmare, these planes do not like the cold. Engines run away, boots break, the cabin falls apart, avionics fail, etc. The heat works great, the AC is abysmal.
Would I recommend coming here? If you live around EWR or IAD, yes. Definitely. Commuting? Eh, see what your more local options are. My QoL has been pretty good since I live in base. 16 off is great, some weekends, most holidays, but take a week away for commuting and that's pretty rough on the home life.
It's a very fun plane to fly, and you'll have the rest of your career to fly jets. The Q200 will do anything you want it to, and the Q300 is pretty much the same, just a bit slower in the climb. The training department is great, and they want you to succeed. Our new contract is supposedly going to be out in November. I have high hopes for it, because the company is in dire need for new pilots, which I hope gives our negotiating committee the power play when coming to new terms.
Any other questions, let me know.
), the 200 drove like a sports car in comparison.
