I am a "Laker" and having read this thread I'm more than a little frustrated at the opinion Great Lakes has on this forum. Here's the truth, Great Lakes is a regional airline just like any other. It has positives and negatives. Now I made my decision and I'm obviously going to have bias. Great Lakes isn't for everyone. If you're a little older, have family, etc. You should instruct a little longer and get on at a more "upscale regional" like SkyWest or Horizon. If you are enamored by Jets and need to compensate for something, you shouldn't come here. But, if you have a good contact and a desire to get to the Major Airline of your choice (aside from the ones that want Jet time, i.e. Continental, don't get me started on that argument) Great Lakes is a fantastic place to work your hide off, upgrade, get your PIC time, make a few great friends, and get on with your career.
Positives are:
Quick upgrade: 300 hrs at GLA is the only limiting factor aside from the FAA ATP mins of 23 yrs old and 1500 TT.
Great base: I'm sorry but some of us don't like the east coast, and would loathe to live in places like Memphis or Detroit.
Great coworkers: Nearly everyone at lakes has the right attitude, is here for the right reasons, and knew what they were getting into. Lakes is more of a brotherhood than any 121 carrier I've heard of and for more on our sense of humor and attitude feel free to check our own forum www.readytocopy.com.
Great experiences: Most crusty old Captains will tell you that flying a turboprop for a few years is a valuable experience. We are allowed to arrive/depart VFR and we use that to take a few "scenic tours" near airports like Page, AZ right on Lake Powell near the Grand Canyon.
Great Industry recognition: We fly without autopilot, flight attendant, or APU (in the beech) and 7-9 leg days are typical, the company screws with us just like every other airline but for the most part Lakers keep a decent attitude. Major airlines recognize that we're hard workers and it shows when each month about 3-5 of our Captains are hired at Frontier, 1-2 at Alaska or Southwest, and 1-2 at a Corporate/Fractional. Thats with a total pilot group of just over 200. Frontier recently hired one of my pals with under 1000 PIC (he finished flying the month and ended up with 1000.)
Negatives:
Low Pay: this one is the most glaring, 16/hr 1st year FO, 26/hr 2nd year CA. Also they don't pay through initial training. I think this is a huge problem from Lakes and it shows when we have trouble hiring. I think the company is going to have to make some changes in order to get pilots (supply/demand) and that's okay. If you can survive a few years at Lakes it pays off when you're working at a Legacy at the age of 24 and building precious job security in the way of seniority.
No Jets: I'm sorry, and maybe this is jealousy speaking. But i'll fly a Jet for the rest of my career. I'm happy to be a turboprop guy for now. Not having certain luxuries (FA or Autopilot) just makes the next job that much sweeter. Oh and for those of you harping about the knowledge you gain from using FMS and how Jets are more complex so it's valuable experience, I've done the CRJ course at a major University so I know how hard an FMS is (3-4 hours of tinkering to learn) and anyone who knows basic Jet theory knows that a Turbofan is a simple engine while a Turboprop has a few more complexities, and both are turbine engines.
Flying to less than exciting places: This is a two-edged sword, because while I hate overnighting in Farmington, NM I love canceling about 25 miles from Telluride, CO and dropping in over the rocks into a crazy sloped strip at 9078' MSA that is 6870' long.
Lastly, for those of you that think we're any kind of detriment to the industry for flying at low wages. Remember, we're going into communities of 5-10k people and exploiting a failed government system called EAS (i.e. Garden City and Dodge City getting separate flights when they are 37nm apart.) While CRJ's are flying with upwards of 90 seats between MSP and ATL, and similar routes. Routes which used to be done by DC-9's or 737's by the mainliners.
Back to my initial point, Lakes is not for everyone and I applaud my friends at Mesaba, Horizon, Pinnacle, and Air Whiskey. I even have some jealousy issues with them about Jetways and cupholders. But for those of us who chose to work here understand why we did and what we're trying to accomplish.
Positives are:
Quick upgrade: 300 hrs at GLA is the only limiting factor aside from the FAA ATP mins of 23 yrs old and 1500 TT.
Great base: I'm sorry but some of us don't like the east coast, and would loathe to live in places like Memphis or Detroit.
Great coworkers: Nearly everyone at lakes has the right attitude, is here for the right reasons, and knew what they were getting into. Lakes is more of a brotherhood than any 121 carrier I've heard of and for more on our sense of humor and attitude feel free to check our own forum www.readytocopy.com.
Great experiences: Most crusty old Captains will tell you that flying a turboprop for a few years is a valuable experience. We are allowed to arrive/depart VFR and we use that to take a few "scenic tours" near airports like Page, AZ right on Lake Powell near the Grand Canyon.
Great Industry recognition: We fly without autopilot, flight attendant, or APU (in the beech) and 7-9 leg days are typical, the company screws with us just like every other airline but for the most part Lakers keep a decent attitude. Major airlines recognize that we're hard workers and it shows when each month about 3-5 of our Captains are hired at Frontier, 1-2 at Alaska or Southwest, and 1-2 at a Corporate/Fractional. Thats with a total pilot group of just over 200. Frontier recently hired one of my pals with under 1000 PIC (he finished flying the month and ended up with 1000.)
Negatives:
Low Pay: this one is the most glaring, 16/hr 1st year FO, 26/hr 2nd year CA. Also they don't pay through initial training. I think this is a huge problem from Lakes and it shows when we have trouble hiring. I think the company is going to have to make some changes in order to get pilots (supply/demand) and that's okay. If you can survive a few years at Lakes it pays off when you're working at a Legacy at the age of 24 and building precious job security in the way of seniority.
No Jets: I'm sorry, and maybe this is jealousy speaking. But i'll fly a Jet for the rest of my career. I'm happy to be a turboprop guy for now. Not having certain luxuries (FA or Autopilot) just makes the next job that much sweeter. Oh and for those of you harping about the knowledge you gain from using FMS and how Jets are more complex so it's valuable experience, I've done the CRJ course at a major University so I know how hard an FMS is (3-4 hours of tinkering to learn) and anyone who knows basic Jet theory knows that a Turbofan is a simple engine while a Turboprop has a few more complexities, and both are turbine engines.
Flying to less than exciting places: This is a two-edged sword, because while I hate overnighting in Farmington, NM I love canceling about 25 miles from Telluride, CO and dropping in over the rocks into a crazy sloped strip at 9078' MSA that is 6870' long.
Lastly, for those of you that think we're any kind of detriment to the industry for flying at low wages. Remember, we're going into communities of 5-10k people and exploiting a failed government system called EAS (i.e. Garden City and Dodge City getting separate flights when they are 37nm apart.) While CRJ's are flying with upwards of 90 seats between MSP and ATL, and similar routes. Routes which used to be done by DC-9's or 737's by the mainliners.
Back to my initial point, Lakes is not for everyone and I applaud my friends at Mesaba, Horizon, Pinnacle, and Air Whiskey. I even have some jealousy issues with them about Jetways and cupholders. But for those of us who chose to work here understand why we did and what we're trying to accomplish.
