New Here, Many Questions

[womanpilot73]

That would be cool. Are the people there not too political with their beliefs, I consider myself a bit liberal and don't know if I'll fit in well. What about enovy? I love Texas and would love stay near Dallas or Austin

A liberal in Texas? ;-)

In regards to your questions, I'll have to defer to those who have more of a grasp on the regional industry, as well as the experience.

I'll caution you that there are some pretty strong opinions from some on living in St George, but it comes down to what your lifestyle is. I personally love the landscape and all the outdoor activities available, so I could have been very happy there.

One thing I know for sure is that if you limit yourself to one airline or one area, you could be waiting a long time for a job. In my opinion, it's best to be open to moving, especially to obtain that first job - which is the hardest to get. Once you have gotten some experience under your belt, it's more doable to be pickier about where you go.

 

[bushpilot87]

I may as well jump in on this! I just finished my oral and practical and got my license just two weeks ago. I currently live in Anchorage and got my license through Alaska Career College. Now I am on the job hunt. Does anyone have any information as far as Ravn (formerly Era) or PenAir? Any information is appreciated. I would also like to thank everyone for all their tips and knowledge as it has helped me get to this point.

 

[Luigi]

That would be cool. Are the people there not too political with their beliefs, I consider myself a bit liberal and don't know if I'll fit in well.
What about enovy? I love Texas and would love stay near Dallas or Austin

There's a few of us liberals here at Skywest, but you will always be out numbered. Then again it doesn't come up often and when it does, I just turn up the music.

 

[Kev]

I have a permanent set of teeth marks on my knuckles trying to keep quiet. Of course, I work mostly with southern white guys over 50 making six figures.

So, you can try and keep quiet and not let it eat you up inside or speak up and be marginalized. It's a hoot.

 

[CRJInTheHeartOfTexas]

I have a permanent set of teeth marks on my knuckles trying to keep quiet. Of course, I work mostly with southern white guys over 50 making six figures.

So, you can try and keep quiet and not let it eat you up inside or speak up and be marginalized. It's a hoot.

well I'm not sure I really want to work in a negative and destructive environment, this is good information. I'm really hoping Envoy hires me.

 

[PlaneFan82]

well I'm not sure I really want to work in a negative and destructive environment, this is good information. I'm really hoping Envoy hires me.

If you want to work in this industry, you need to have tough skin. We put up with a lot of BS, and through gentle ball-busting and quoting of "OfficeSpace" and "Airplane" (among others) we get through the day. As others have said, don't limit yourself or put all of your eggs in one basket holding out for Envoy. If you are concerned with money and keeping yourself in the metroplex, you may not want to pursue this career path.


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[CRJInTheHeartOfTexas]

If you want to work in this industry, you need to have tough skin. We put up with a lot of BS, and through gentle ball-busting and quoting of "OfficeSpace" and "Airplane" (among others) we get through the day. As others have said, don't limit yourself or put all of your eggs in one basket holding out for Envoy. If you are concerned with money and keeping yourself in the metroplex, you may not want to pursue this career path.


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is Envoy not hiring? Someone told me most of the regionals are hiring right now.

 

[PlaneFan82]

is Envoy not hiring? Someone told me most of the regionals are hiring right now.

Not if you don't have a license.


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[Reek]

is Envoy not hiring? Someone told me most of the regionals are hiring right now.

Enovy is jacked. PSA is stealing all their CRJs which you apparently love based on your name. If anything Envoy will be furloughing a few dispatchers. You want a job PSA is ALWAYS hiring. Maybe dispatching a few former CRJs from Enovy will make you feel better? Its got the AE tails, you can always pretend! LOL

 

[Kev]

well I'm not sure I really want to work in a negative and destructive environment, this is good information. I'm really hoping Envoy hires me.

I'm at another airline, but Luigi seems to be right in saying that you might always be in the minority. Plus, there's nothing wrong with people having different political opinions. Wouldn't classify them negative and destructive, but would define some comments heard in the office as bat guano crazy and uninformed. They might well consider the same from me if I piped up. But I'm just a tree-hugging elitist. Good luck!

 

[PlaneFan82]

I'm at another airline, but Luigi seems to be right in saying that you might always be in the minority. Plus, there's nothing wrong with people having different political opinions. Wouldn't classify them negative and destructive, but would define some comments heard in the office as bat guano crazy and uninformed. They might well consider the same from me if I piped up. But I'm just a tree-hugging elitist. Good luck!

::cough cough Canada Lover cough cough::


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[PlaneFan82]

I'm at another airline, but Luigi seems to be right in saying that you might always be in the minority. Plus, there's nothing wrong with people having different political opinions. Wouldn't classify them negative and destructive, but would define some comments heard in the office as bat guano crazy and uninformed. They might well consider the same from me if I piped up. But I'm just a tree-hugging elitist. Good luck!

::cough cough Canada Lover cough cough::


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[Russ25]

While I don't have direct experience with Universal myself, we have a lot of dispatchers here (One of the big 4) that came from universal (dispatch, or flight support) and they are extremely competent dispatchers capable of doing the job. I wouldn't worry about recruiters, or hiring managers "skipping over you" because you're from universal. Networking is key and I cannot stress that enough. Get your time at a regional or supplemental then move on to a major if you so choose. NEVER BURN YOUR BRIDGES in this industry. I cannot count how many times a hiring manager showed me a resume asking about said person only for me to give the gladiator thumbs down. No call, no interview. Thats just how it works.

Thanks for the insight! I'm glad to hear UWA's cranking out some quality dispatchers. I think no matter where you work, even if it's outside of aviation, you're going to be working with others with different political views. As long as you are respectful of everyone in the office and don't try to pick fights, you'll be fine. Anyone have experience with Silver Airways? Or Expressjet? Both are really appealing to me

 

[Flagship_dxer]

I'm really hoping Envoy hires me.

Envoy is a really good regional to work for. Pay is typical regional pay but the people and work rules are very good compared to most of the other regionals. They have 60 dispatchers and equipment coordinators. Of those 60, over 40 have more then 10 years dispatching at Envoy. There is very little movement at Envoy except at the bottom of the list. If they hire next year it will be due to people mostly at the bottom leaving for American and Southwest. Thus you will probably be getting a sh1tty schedule with little hope for improvement in your time at Envoy because you won't be likely to replace a lot of senior people but rather people in the bottom 10-15 dispatchers.

The flip side is that most L-AA and a few L-US hires the last three years have come from Envoy so if you can stick out a bad schedule for a year or two then you can likely see yourself at AA. The only caveat to that is that top out pay at Eagle is better than AA starting pay right now which is partly why so many haven't ever made the move. With the JCBA talks possibly about to finish in the next few weeks or few months, the expected improvement in first year rates could entice some who never applied before to apply to AA. This could help your Envoy seniority but also could hurt your chances at getting to AA as quickly as others have in recent years. Its a gamble.

If you get hired by Envoy, you will be learning from people with lots of experience. It is not a Skywest, Republic, Endeavor, ExpressJet or PSA where most dispatchers are younger and have five years or less experience. You are going to a place where the majority of dispatchers have 15-30 years experience dispatching at Envoy. There is no blind leading the blind at Envoy like there is at other regionals. It is a whole different environment in terms of where people are in their lives and with the group being older than your typical regional work group you will learn a lot of from their overall experiences. It feels much more like a mainline dispatch group albeit on a smaller scale.

 

[BayouMLU]

What regional is good?

I work at Mesa. I mentioned applying at Mesa on this forum and received very little positive feedback. I pushed ahead anyway because 1) I tend to make the best of any situation, 2) I have picked up on who is generally negative here and 3) I needed a job.

I don't regret it. The Phoenix area is affordable and the family loves it. I love the people I work with and we look out for one another in the SOC. The company is growing and healthy.

Any negatives at Mesa could easily be said at every regional.

Keep that in mind when you ask opinions on certain companies. I do understand that many here have had bad experiences, but at the end if the day it all falls on you and what you make of it. There is no regional airline SOC with great weather, good pay, great training, good culture, a pipeline to a legacy carrier, good team members, sweet scheduling, good leadership, etc.

Pick one and be flexible...

 

[Burrito]

Any negatives at Mesa could easily be said at every regional.

Keep that in mind when you ask opinions on certain companies. I do understand that many here have had bad experiences, but at the end if the day it all falls on you and what you make of it. There is no regional airline SOC with great weather, good pay, great training, good culture, a pipeline to a legacy carrier, good team members, sweet scheduling, good leadership, etc.

Pick one and be flexible...

Schedule, pay, commute, training, pay, management, culture........Pick three.

 

[CRJInTheHeartOfTexas]

Envoy is a really good regional to work for. Pay is typical regional pay but the people and work rules are very good compared to most of the other regionals. They have 60 dispatchers and equipment coordinators. Of those 60, over 40 have more then 10 years dispatching at Envoy. There is very little movement at Envoy except at the bottom of the list. If they hire next year it will be due to people mostly at the bottom leaving for American and Southwest. Thus you will probably be getting a sh1tty schedule with little hope for improvement in your time at Envoy because you won't be likely to replace a lot of senior people but rather people in the bottom 10-15 dispatchers.

The flip side is that most L-AA and a few L-US hires the last three years have come from Envoy so if you can stick out a bad schedule for a year or two then you can likely see yourself at AA. The only caveat to that is that top out pay at Eagle is better than AA starting pay right now which is partly why so many haven't ever made the move. With the JCBA talks possibly about to finish in the next few weeks or few months, the expected improvement in first year rates could entice some who never applied before to apply to AA. This could help your Envoy seniority but also could hurt your chances at getting to AA as quickly as others have in recent years. Its a gamble.

If you get hired by Envoy, you will be learning from people with lots of experience. It is not a Skywest, Republic, Endeavor, ExpressJet or PSA where most dispatchers are younger and have five years or less experience. You are going to a place where the majority of dispatchers have 15-30 years experience dispatching at Envoy. There is no blind leading the blind at Envoy like there is at other regionals. It is a whole different environment in terms of where people are in their lives and with the group being older than your typical regional work group you will learn a lot of from their overall experiences. It feels much more like a mainline dispatch group albeit on a smaller scale.

thank you so much. I'm hoping the pipeline effect works for me in an expeditious manner.

 

[bushpilot87]

so back on track.. as stated previously, just got my license and currently in ANC. Any information as far as Ravn (formerly Era) or PenAir goes? I would like to stay here in Alaska but willing to move.

 

[PlaneFan82]

so back on track.. as stated previously, just got my license and currently in ANC. Any information as far as Ravn (formerly Era) or PenAir goes? I would like to stay here in Alaska but willing to move.

I thought a lot of those were 135 operators up there. I know PenAir is a 121 but their pay is terrible. Check out Corvallis, they presented at a safety conference this past summer and it seems like a good operation.


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[alaskadrifter]

I may as well jump in on this! I just finished my oral and practical and got my license just two weeks ago. I currently live in Anchorage and got my license through Alaska Career College. Now I am on the job hunt. Does anyone have any information as far as Ravn (formerly Era) or PenAir? Any information is appreciated. I would also like to thank everyone for all their tips and knowledge as it has helped me get to this point.

http://www.flyravn.com/employment/current-positions/