Help!!! Need 1900 Sim

OldTownPilot said:
After the ALPA vote...

There are two scenarios for the Colgan pilots depending on the results of the PCL scope grievance...
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Ok, obviously, I missed something.... First of all, what the hell is this ALPA vote about?!?! I've been reading the past threads about it but maybe Im missing that one that actually says what it is!!! Im new to all this so someone please educate me... preferrably BEFORE I sign a 1-year contract perhaps with the devil. :laff:

PCL scope grievance.... again - Please educate!!! :confused:

Sorry for what might be dumb questions!
 
Colgan was sold to Pinnacle at the beginning of the year, at which point a drive was started by some of the Colgan pilots to bring ALPA on property, because they don't fly for a "family run" airline anymore. Well that ALPA drive failed by 4 votes because more than half of the pilots did not care about their future.

Part of pinnacle's ALPA contract is a scope clause that said all flying by pinnacle must be done by Pinnacle pilots. I believe the grievance is over weather it means Pinnacle Airlines (flies CRJS for NWA) or Pinnacle holdings (P.H owns Colgan and Pinnacle airlines). The PCL MEC held back on the grievance until the representation vote was announced. They are now pushing full force now.

At Colgan you will have ZERO protection as a pilot there. ALPA is Career insurance, you have insurance for you car and home, why not have insurance for your career?

I see you live in Maryland. AWAC has a DCA and PHL base and a really great contract. XJET has some quick(er) upgrades (for now) and EWR is close (but most new hires spend a monthe or 2 in ONT or LAX). There are just sooooo many other options out there than the dark future of Colgan.

Like I said earlier, I was looking forward to a potentially flying for Colgan in the future, but that all changed abruptly on the 21st. If I had a few hundered hours more than I have now, I would have fully pursued a job at Colgan, and be where you are at in the interview process, but I would have called it all off after Tuesday.

You seem like a smart girl, and we here at JC want the best for our fellow members. Research the background of the companies that you want to work for, and make the best decision, whatever it is, that is right for you, your fellow pilots, and the piloting profession.
 
Loflyn said:
Yeah I finally heard back this past monday. Sorry I didnt post earlier but Ive been outa town all week. Long story short I passed the written exam and the initial interview and I received an email yesterday including my ticket to the sim ride at LGA. Im excited but cant wait to get this over with. And Im still slightly pissed at the lack of communication on Colgans behalf - really just because I stared, literally stared at my cell phone all week thinking that I might have missed the call or turned my volume off or something.... Saying I will receive a call in a day or two to me means at the latest, DAY 2!!!!!!! When I called the friday after the interview (Monday) I was put through to voice mail because "everyone was out of town most of the week for recruiting" - so there was absolutely NO intention of calling me back that week. But Im over it and look forward to my sim time on Sept 5th!!!! I'm a bit nervous just because of the lack of flying Ive done in the past 2 months. I went from flying 35 hours a week to .8 in the last 2 months. Guess I will have to get some help from VISA and go fly IFR before the sim!!! :rolleyes:

Thanks for inquiring and sorry for the delayed response.
Erin
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HA......that's the funniest thing I've heard all week.
You're gonna need to get used to that if you want to fly around here. There is nothing but a lack of communication at this company. I say that despite the fact I do enjoy working here (most of the time). Colgan has been good to me and my career and I'm not trying to sway you against becoming Colgan's newest FO....rather just to give you more information to aid in your decision process. Although, like OTP said, things just aren't what they used to be. This ISN'T a family run business like management would have you believe. I really don't have good expectations of our future at the moment.....but am hoping for the best. We really needed ALPA on property and thanks to many who drink the Kool-Aid....it's gonna be another year before that happens.

An example: Maintanence, Dispatch, and Scheduling....are all located in rooms right next to one another. They're connected by sliding windows. Yet, when things are changing because of Mx, crew issues, weather, etc......there is rarely any communication between the groups. It's up to the pilots to call the groups to coordinate and burn cell phone minutes. :(

Another example: I had a reserve day a couple weeks ago. I got activated the night before to go to our Mx base the next day to conduct Mx test flights. Ok, no problem...off I go. Well, after 6 hours of travel, I arrive at our Mx facility only to get a voice mail stating that the FO I was supposed to fly with got sent elsewhere and I was no longer needed....I should just return to my base. So, I proceeded to sit at the airport for 5 hours until scheduling sets me up on a flight home. To make a long story longer......I wound up with a 15:30 duty day and didn't do a damn thing except travel and sit in airports......all because of A GROSS LACK OF COMMUNICATION. FUN FUN FUN! :crazy:


Just a couple examples for you........:tmyk:


So, I guess my point is this......Colgan is horribly disorganized at the moment. They really have no clue at times. Some of it has to do with the under-staffing of dispatch/ scheduling.....but most of the problems are because of inept management & policies due to rapid growth in the past few years. Management threatens they are aware of the problems and are working on correcting them.....but, they've been singing the same tune for a long long time with few (if any) positive results :buck:
 
Glad I could make you laugh re communication issues. I strive to do something nice for someone everyday and now my day is complete!
:banghead: Ok.... Im up for flying frieght!!!:yeahthat:

So, what could happen within the year prior to another vote? Is there even going to be another vote? As a new FO who isnt sure what the hecht I want to do, is there any harm in staying at Colgan for a year or until Cptn upgrade (I was told 15 months) and just putting up with whatever crap is handed to me? My hopes of being snug like a bug in a rug at Colgan should be dashed?!? Damn! Thanks nay-sayers/non-voters for screwing the newcomers!

:nana2: At least the pressure is off for the upcoming sim ride! If I happen to screw up, it might be a good thing, eh?!

I hate to reschedule my other interview with ASA now... but I hope they give me another date so I have options.

Oh well. Im learning. Thanks for the advice!!!
 
Loflyn said:
Glad I could make you laugh re communication issues. I strive to do something nice for someone everyday and now my day is complete!
:banghead: Ok.... Im up for flying frieght!!!:yeahthat:

So, what could happen within the year prior to another vote? Is there even going to be another vote? As a new FO who isnt sure what the hecht I want to do, is there any harm in staying at Colgan for a year or until Cptn upgrade (I was told 15 months) and just putting up with whatever crap is handed to me? My hopes of being snug like a bug in a rug at Colgan should be dashed?!? Damn! Thanks nay-sayers/non-voters for screwing the newcomers!

:nana2: At least the pressure is off for the upcoming sim ride! If I happen to screw up, it might be a good thing, eh?!

I hate to reschedule my other interview with ASA now... but I hope they give me another date so I have options.

Oh well. Im learning. Thanks for the advice!!!
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Well, I really don't think things are going to go south immediately. Although, this is an airline and as soon as you think you understand what's going on with the company....they pull the rug out and change things. I do believe this was (could still be) a good place to work. Yes, upgrade times are getting lower again....if you have a good amount of time....you should upgrade relatively quickly (subject to change at a moments notice).


Unfortunately, the Kool-Aid Klan has set us up to be used/ abused with no say in our future. Don't ask me how it could happen....because, I really have no clue...but, unfortunately, it is our immediate future. :panic: Yes, I think the vote will pass next year. By that time, Phil and Co. will have shown their true colors/ intentions and the Kool-Aid will have been proven false.

My opinion......do the sim ride here. Get the interview at ASA (and anywhere else you might want to work), it never hurts to have options. Once you've got a couple......you can do whatever you want. If you have only one option......well, by definition......it's not an option! :)

Good luck and keep us informed!
 
Loflyn said:
:banghead: Ok.... Im up for flying frieght!!!:yeahthat:
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Come to the dark side! A fifth of the BS, hella fun, great experience, and my friends who started flying for regionals around the time I started flying freight are just now seeing the possibility of upgrade. I hit 1000 turbine PIC earlier this year. Oh yeah, and with a little luck, I'm going to clear $50k this year.
 
mtsu_av8er said:
And just what is so bad about flying freight?:p
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I wasnt kidding! Nothing wrong with freight. I like the idea of having pax but I could get over that real quick. :) However, I dont know much about the freight flying industry, companies, etc. Wouldnt know where to start applying... I'm going to start looking into it though.
 
EatSleepFly said:
Come to the dark side! A fifth of the BS, hella fun, and my friends who started flying for regionals around the time I started flying freight are just now seeing the possibility of upgrade. I hit 1000 turbine PIC months ago.
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Im interested. For whom do you fly?! Mins? Im starting to think airlines is the dark side. :rolleyes:
 
Loflyn said:
I wasnt kidding! Nothing wrong with freight. I like the idea of having pax but I could get over that real quick. :) However, I dont know much about the freight flying industry, companies, etc. Wouldnt know where to start applying... I'm going to start looking into it though.
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Do you have 1200TT? I know a place that can start you right now, and you could make over $40,000/year!
 
Loflyn said:
Negative. Only 1000TT. Why'd they put that "2" in there?!?! :banghead:
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Because a heartbeat isn't quite good enough! ;)

Go instruct for 2 or 3 months . . . . it'll be worth it!

For the entire time that I worked as a CFI, I had friends try to "talk me in" to going to Colgan and Regions. I almost caved a few times.

While I flew freight, I had several friends try to "talk me into" leaving and going to "The first place that'll hire you, man!!!".

I stood my ground, and eventually got to choose the exact regional that I wanted to work for.

There's no hurry, contrary to what everybody is telling you . . . we won't run out of sky next month!
 
EatSleepFly said:
Come to the dark side! A fifth of the BS, hella fun, great experience, and my friends who started flying for regionals around the time I started flying freight are just now seeing the possibility of upgrade. I hit 1000 turbine PIC earlier this year. Oh yeah, and with a little luck, I'm going to clear $50k this year.
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Holy cow! Don't I know you from somewhere?
 
Loflyn said:
Yeah I finally heard back this past monday. Sorry I didnt post earlier but Ive been outa town all week. Long story short I passed the written exam and the initial interview and I received an email yesterday including my ticket to the sim ride at LGA. Im excited but cant wait to get this over with. And Im still slightly pissed at the lack of communication on Colgans behalf - really just because I stared, literally stared at my cell phone all week thinking that I might have missed the call or turned my volume off or something.... Saying I will receive a call in a day or two to me means at the latest, DAY 2!!!!!!! When I called the friday after the interview (Monday) I was put through to voice mail because "everyone was out of town most of the week for recruiting" - so there was absolutely NO intention of calling me back that week. But Im over it and look forward to my sim time on Sept 5th!!!! I'm a bit nervous just because of the lack of flying Ive done in the past 2 months. I went from flying 35 hours a week to .8 in the last 2 months. Guess I will have to get some help from VISA and go fly IFR before the sim!!! :rolleyes:

Thanks for inquiring and sorry for the delayed response.
Erin
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Good Luck Today
 
Old Pete said:
Good Luck Today
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Thanks.... Last wed I had my sim evaluation. I was SO nervous and was rather sloppy on the sim. Mr Colgan took me aside afterwards and told me I didnt do as well as he hoped BUT that not many of the others that day did any better. I'm being given a second sim opportunity this Friday the 14th in NY again. The sim instructor/ evaluator was a really cool, down-to-earth guy and I hope I get him again. The other 2 applicants in the sim with me seemed like pretty cool guys and the one made a good FO while I was in the hot seat.

Sorry for not responding sooner.... did not realize this thread was still alive. Thanks again for the "Good luck"s and keep them comin' for Friday. Not that Im pessimistic, but I am putting in my application with Airnet tomorrow. Sounds more like my style of flying and about 1/3 of my hours are at night. Im a night owl!!! What is the dress code at Airnet? Casual?? Jeans? If so, I might pass Colgan up even if they offer me the job!!! lol
 
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