Priority Air Charter
- Thread starter A150K
- Start date
cezzna618
yyhhaaaarrr
They helped us MRA guys out over Christmas peak with one caravan. Talked to the pilot fairly routinely, seemed to be on par with all the other 135 feeder freight ops flying caravans pay wise ( 30ish, not including fedex feeders). He seemed to like it. Their name has the word charter in it so....seemed like they mostly go to dif. Places for several weeks at a time with the assigned plane. Odd/funny side note: the caravan, while it looked very nice had no cargo pod. Weird, lol.
JeppUpdater
Well-Known Member
Ran trips with/met several of their guys when we were doing ad-hoc stuff. Didn't talk to them too detailed about it but the Pilatipi seemed to stay pretty busy doing ad-hoc (I think they'd haul three skids with good range and speed). I just remember them having a very cool setup for chart storage in their Pilatipus that made me a little jealous.
From what I remember, the guy @cezzna618 is referring to was supposedly crashing at the FBO during Peak. I don't know if that was by his choice or company-encouraged, but something to be aware of.
Paint jobs are bright and you have to live in Amish country, Ohio.
Not a ton of info, but here's something: http://forums.jetcareers.com/threads/priority-air-charter.183752/
From what I remember, the guy @cezzna618 is referring to was supposedly crashing at the FBO during Peak. I don't know if that was by his choice or company-encouraged, but something to be aware of.
Paint jobs are bright and you have to live in Amish country, Ohio.
Not a ton of info, but here's something: http://forums.jetcareers.com/threads/priority-air-charter.183752/
SmOoThAv8R
New Member
It's a sketchball place to work for....but then again, what 135 operation isn't. They will bend & manipulate the FDP/Duty periods and required rest periods to serve their needs however they please.
You will work/be on call 6 days a week, w/ every 3rd wknd off. So, you are on call from 0400 Monday - 0200 Sunday....they give you 0200-2100 on Sunday's off, because it's the lords day, and after all you are stuck in Amish Country. However, if they need you, they will use you.
When finishing a trip at 0500, after working a 16+ hr duty day, hurry home to attempt to get some sleep as the sun is coming up, because in 10hrs you WILL be back out, so hopefully by 1500 that same day you will be sufficiently rested to operate single pilot IMC for another 16+ hr duty period through the night. Don't DARE think about calling in fatigued, you will be harassed by phone from the Director of Operations and then reprimanded the following day by the owner, DO, and HR. What is safer? A fatigue call, or augering a plane into the ground solo.
When you try to get out of this place, make sure you have your letter of resignation ready to go, because if they get wind of you trying to leave they will mount a full on assault against you. Creating made up violations accusing you of breaking policy/procedure. And, if they receive a PRIA request while you are still there, well you will quickly be "terminated" leading to them crucifying you on the PRIA submission.
Working here was the worst experience of my life and I wish I could express the awfulness of working for this company and living in the terrible town of Wooster, OH. The DO, owner, and HR guys run the show, making everyone's lives miserable.....shady, and two-faced.
PM me if you have any specific questions or want details.
You will work/be on call 6 days a week, w/ every 3rd wknd off. So, you are on call from 0400 Monday - 0200 Sunday....they give you 0200-2100 on Sunday's off, because it's the lords day, and after all you are stuck in Amish Country. However, if they need you, they will use you.
When finishing a trip at 0500, after working a 16+ hr duty day, hurry home to attempt to get some sleep as the sun is coming up, because in 10hrs you WILL be back out, so hopefully by 1500 that same day you will be sufficiently rested to operate single pilot IMC for another 16+ hr duty period through the night. Don't DARE think about calling in fatigued, you will be harassed by phone from the Director of Operations and then reprimanded the following day by the owner, DO, and HR. What is safer? A fatigue call, or augering a plane into the ground solo.
When you try to get out of this place, make sure you have your letter of resignation ready to go, because if they get wind of you trying to leave they will mount a full on assault against you. Creating made up violations accusing you of breaking policy/procedure. And, if they receive a PRIA request while you are still there, well you will quickly be "terminated" leading to them crucifying you on the PRIA submission.
Working here was the worst experience of my life and I wish I could express the awfulness of working for this company and living in the terrible town of Wooster, OH. The DO, owner, and HR guys run the show, making everyone's lives miserable.....shady, and two-faced.
PM me if you have any specific questions or want details.
Last edited:
Bamaaviator
Well-Known Member
Wow
Bamaaviator
Well-Known Member
That's unfortunate to hear
@SmOoThAv8R, : Thats a pretty good load of bs there. I have a pretty good idea of who you are and why you no longer work there... I remember SOPs not meaning much to you... I also remember that you hated wooster ohio and were more of a city boy. Well thats your own fault for not looking into what is in the area before you took the job. Wooster Ohio was just named one of the top 5 small to mid size towns to live in. It has a low cost of living and lots of things to do all year long. There is not much of a night life scene, so if that is your thing then Wooster is not the place for you (it is the best of the areas that are within the required call out time though) It is 45 min from Akron and Canton, 1 hr to downtown Cleveland and 1:20 from Columbus.
@Bamaaviator: Let me try to clear a few things up...
I no longer work for the company but left on ok terms. Most of what Smoothav8r said was way, way exaggerated. The schedule part he did get correct, it is rough but when I left they were making some changes that would make it more pilot friendly. They will work you pretty hard, you will be doing lots of hard single pilot flying. I never once had an issue with calling in fatigued, they never questioned it. The schedule did make things tough for sleep but you get used to it. The hard part is coming home after a long day then trying to sleep in the middle of the afternoon then heading back out for a long night. You had to get some sleep when you got done. You cant just stay up doing stuff and not sleeping and then when called again to fly say your fatigued cuz you didnt sleep. There were a few problem pilots that made a habit out of that, they would then tell people they went and did stuff after work instead of sleep and then complain they were tired. Well they were tired because they didnt go to bed after work...
When it comes time to leave all you have to do is give them 2 weeks (after your 1 year training contract is up, they do go after people for that). What you dont do take a sick day and go to an interview and not tell anyone about it and the 1st they hear of it is when they get the PRIA request... All they ask is that you are honest with them. They know they are only a stepping stone and not a career company for most people.
As for the DO. I did not really like working for him all that much. He seems like a nice guy outside of work but as a boss I did have a few issues with him. He has a direct line to the 2 owners and hr and I feel he is often the reason that pilots feel heat from them. The owners hear stuff from him which is often not the whole story and they go with it. In talking directly with the one owner I was able to clarify the issue I had with the DO and things ended up being ok. As for the owners they are good people and I have nothing bad to say about them at all. They take really good care of the pilot group. They offer profit sharing for the pilots if the company meets certain flying goals for a month. They always throw a nice Christmas party every year and give out really nice gifts.
No matter what @SmOoThAv8R has to say about the company I think even he can agree that you will not find better equipment in the 135 world, especially from a small operation like theirs.
So that was a quick run down of my thoughts of working there. Now you have at least 2 peoples opinions, please feel free to pm me with any questions.
Runner
@Bamaaviator: Let me try to clear a few things up...
I no longer work for the company but left on ok terms. Most of what Smoothav8r said was way, way exaggerated. The schedule part he did get correct, it is rough but when I left they were making some changes that would make it more pilot friendly. They will work you pretty hard, you will be doing lots of hard single pilot flying. I never once had an issue with calling in fatigued, they never questioned it. The schedule did make things tough for sleep but you get used to it. The hard part is coming home after a long day then trying to sleep in the middle of the afternoon then heading back out for a long night. You had to get some sleep when you got done. You cant just stay up doing stuff and not sleeping and then when called again to fly say your fatigued cuz you didnt sleep. There were a few problem pilots that made a habit out of that, they would then tell people they went and did stuff after work instead of sleep and then complain they were tired. Well they were tired because they didnt go to bed after work...
When it comes time to leave all you have to do is give them 2 weeks (after your 1 year training contract is up, they do go after people for that). What you dont do take a sick day and go to an interview and not tell anyone about it and the 1st they hear of it is when they get the PRIA request... All they ask is that you are honest with them. They know they are only a stepping stone and not a career company for most people.
As for the DO. I did not really like working for him all that much. He seems like a nice guy outside of work but as a boss I did have a few issues with him. He has a direct line to the 2 owners and hr and I feel he is often the reason that pilots feel heat from them. The owners hear stuff from him which is often not the whole story and they go with it. In talking directly with the one owner I was able to clarify the issue I had with the DO and things ended up being ok. As for the owners they are good people and I have nothing bad to say about them at all. They take really good care of the pilot group. They offer profit sharing for the pilots if the company meets certain flying goals for a month. They always throw a nice Christmas party every year and give out really nice gifts.
No matter what @SmOoThAv8R has to say about the company I think even he can agree that you will not find better equipment in the 135 world, especially from a small operation like theirs.
So that was a quick run down of my thoughts of working there. Now you have at least 2 peoples opinions, please feel free to pm me with any questions.
Runner
KSCessnaDriver
Well-Known Member
Why on Earth would anyone go to a 208 carrier that is low paying and requires a training contract in today's pilot market?
@KSCessnaDriver : That is a good question lol. I wouldnt consider their pay low though, still much better than regional fo pay. The training contract thing does suck, though I can understand why a company would put one it place. They aren't the only company out there with training contracts. As to why someone would want to work there as opposed to going somewhere else is up to the individual. I very much enjoyed the flying even if I didnt really care for the schedule or the DO. The equipment was solid, the experience was good (single pilot, night, imc, turbine pic) and company as a whole was good to work for. There are much much worse places to work.
Runner
Runner
A150K
Well-Known Member
For what it's worth, back when I applied, the pay seemed higher than most 135 freight operators, which would make sense. The schedule sounded awful which is the main reason I didn't end up taking the job, so I imagine they have to pay slightly above industry average to get people to consent to a schedule like that.
Boeingboy27
Active Member
its definitely not a company you want to work for. 24 hour on calls 20 days per month, low pay, unsafe home airport, long duty days and you wouldn’t know it’s a Christian company unless they told you so.
SIC pilots hardly get any training and are expected to learn flying right seat in the pc12 then transition into the caravan as a captain after hardly flying it.
Most days are 12+ hours and can start at any time of night even if you’re not rested before the flight and they’ll fly you over 14 hours regulation under part 91 to bring the airplane back to base. You have 45 minutes to get the plane in the air after receiving a call to fly while you are still at home
Stoltzfus airport is dangerous even in a small aircraft like a caravan. You will be flying over trees and power lines on a steep glidepath in the middle of the night landing on a short and narrow runway with lights that shut off at random times.
The employment contract/ training agreement is $10,000 non prorated for captains and can be an insane amount for SIC pilots if they start at low flight time (Up to around $40,000+ to fly a caravan). They will also come after you for the money if you decide you want to leave early, which most people do because of the horrible QOL is hard to maintain for longer than a few months.
There’s a reason they’ll hire you or that you have been hired so easily at this company. They are desperate for pilots that are ready for their first job as a pilot or to get out of flight instructing but there are far better options.
SIC pilots hardly get any training and are expected to learn flying right seat in the pc12 then transition into the caravan as a captain after hardly flying it.
Most days are 12+ hours and can start at any time of night even if you’re not rested before the flight and they’ll fly you over 14 hours regulation under part 91 to bring the airplane back to base. You have 45 minutes to get the plane in the air after receiving a call to fly while you are still at home
Stoltzfus airport is dangerous even in a small aircraft like a caravan. You will be flying over trees and power lines on a steep glidepath in the middle of the night landing on a short and narrow runway with lights that shut off at random times.
The employment contract/ training agreement is $10,000 non prorated for captains and can be an insane amount for SIC pilots if they start at low flight time (Up to around $40,000+ to fly a caravan). They will also come after you for the money if you decide you want to leave early, which most people do because of the horrible QOL is hard to maintain for longer than a few months.
There’s a reason they’ll hire you or that you have been hired so easily at this company. They are desperate for pilots that are ready for their first job as a pilot or to get out of flight instructing but there are far better options.
Boeingboy27
Active Member
Honestly, I’m Just warning people about flying there. The place did me dirty so hoping no one else makes the same mistake going as I did.I don’t think there’s any other website with reviews on this company
Boeingboy27
Active Member
I can confirm nothing has changed to this day