Question for Ex-Indy Air Pilots - How do you like current position?

[johnsonrod]

I know that Indy Air pilots scattered to other regionals, fractionals, corporate, cargo and LCCs when Independence Air met its untimely demise. I had many friends at Indy and they really enjoyed their time there (until the bitter end). For those pilots who remained in aviation (I am sure a few exited permanently), how would you compare your new position (fractional, corporate, LCC, etc.) to your former Indy position and what do you like/dislike about it relative to Indy? I have heard positives and negatives from a few ex-Indy pilots out there.

I am posting this on a few boards in case ex-Indy pilots don't view this board.

 

[flatspin7]

In my April new hire class at Continental there were 3 FlyI guys, all really great guys... They had been through the ringer with the slow painful death of Indy Air, but they were all great guys with great attitudes.

In all reality it seems they did pretty well, the first year is tough but it beats unemployment.

 

[johnsonrod]

In my April new hire class at Continental there were 3 FlyI guys, all really great guys... They had been through the ringer with the slow painful death of Indy Air, but they were all great guys with great attitudes.

In all reality it seems they did pretty well, the first year is tough but it beats unemployment.

I know a FlyI guy who also got on with Continental - he is quite happy there (no big surprise) despite the low first-year pay. I had heard that a bunch were also hired by JetBlue and Southwest. The fractionals (Netjets and Flexjet) apparently also picked up quite a few. Happy to hear that many have found better opportunities elsewhere. Anyone else out there?

 

[Flyforyou]

ACA was a great experience and I had alot of fun while I was there(April 99-July 05). There were highs(first Capt. upgrade) and lows(9/11) along the way. I was lucky to get out before Indy went under, but I was sad to see so many of my former co-workers be out on the street. It's a crazy business. I'm with another airline now; flying higher, faster, and farther then ever before, but I will never forget my "first".

Fly

 

[SWAdude]

Without any exception, the ACA guys I have flown with or met have been class acts. Not one exception.

 

[ClubORD]

Thank you all for the kind words. Independence Air was an unbelievable experience, if I had the opportunity I would do it again.

After we went belly up, our union reps did a good job putting tegether job fairs specifically for our pilots and flight attendants. It seems mostly everyone found other jobs relatively quickly in both corporate and 121 flight departments.

 

[aa73]

Ditto! ACA was a blast and I had the honor of meeting and working with some of the finest people in the industry. I was there from '98-'00 at the peak of our growth, when CA upgrade to the J32 was almost one year.... great contract by regional airline standards...fun crews and layovers.... what great memories! I was sad to see them go but I know the spirit lives on in the ex ACAers out there. Glad to see so many of us found greener pastures!

If you happen to have an ex ACA/Indy pilot with you in the cockpit, have fun and relax. You can be assured of having a pleasant trip with some good stories. P.S. Ask him/her about the standard "Jetstream greeting" on the ramp!

aa73
Blue Ridger Jun '98-Feb '00

 

[Murphy]

I've met some ex ACA/Indy pilots at AirTran and they seem to be great people with great attitudes and enjoy working for AirTran.

 

[On Your Six]

I find most former FLYI pilots I speak with have really fond memories of the place. It is interesting to hear about the differences between their current job and flying for ACA/FLYI.

 

[backfill]

ACA was far and away the best airline experience I had! Best of luck to all former ACA/flyI pilots.

 

[skiandsurf]

Ditto! ACA was a blast

P.S. Ask him/her about the standard "Jetstream greeting" on the ramp!

aa73
Blue Ridger Jun '98-Feb '00

Thanks to everyone for the compliments about our pilot group. We did have a great group of people ( pilots, FAs, rampers, and of course were not flying without the mechanics). I always heard that we had the best group, maybe it was true.

It is also amazing how many people have bounced back and found flying jobs. This was like a swift kick in the a## to get a new ( better) job. Thanks to JB, Airtran, NJ, FLexjet and CAL, those that wanted to continue flying, are flying.

The "jetstream greeting".....is that the "jetstream salute".....(fingers in ears).

 

[LetsGoBuffs]

i miss it. july '99 hire and was there till the end. i met my wife there as well. it was a fun ride.

bottom of the pile at a regional again trying to stay in the game so i can move on to bigger and better things.

i must say however, that everyone at my new job has been great. very nice people and fun to work with. i have no complaints about the people i have gotten to fly with. now, the company/work rules/policies ect..... i will just say we had it fairly good at aca/indy.

 

[skiandsurf]

now, the company/work rules/policies ect..... i will just say we had it fairly good at aca/indy.

I will also say that our Pilot group (ALPA) had a pretty strong hold on the company. The company, as most airlines do, tried to treat everyone bad, but our union leadership was quick to jump on them. The example that comes to mind was when the company tried to change our "unlimited jumpseat" policy. There was a revision in our Ops Manual saying only 1 jumpseater per plane. We screamed and yelled, and had it changed within the week.

 

[NYFlyer]

I got on with North American Airlines in June of '05. There are currently 5 of us ex-ACA/Indy pilots there. So far we enjoy the variety of flying that NAA does, but I still miss the folks at Indy and Club ORD. It was just a fun time, even if a lot of it was spent in the penalty box or on Mike taxiway waiting for one of the F gates. It does seem most of the pilots managed to find other employment elsewhere. I guess its a testement to the quality of that pilot group.

 

[Bringupthebird]

Where did the A-319's end up?

 

[McNugget]

ACA/IDE CRJ FO, to DC10 freight; now 757 FO flying pax again. Good times all around. Some awesome ACA people are here at my current job.

 

[CRJ_Driver]

Full Pay to the Last Day

I am still a ACA/FlyI guy in my heart. . . like most everyone else. Wouldn't give up that experience for anything. When ACA announed the FlyI venture...pretty much every pilot was on board with the idea which was an AWESOME experience.

I mean we went through alot, such the MESA hostile takeover bid. We all rallied and thanks to a few guys such as AJ (now a real estate tycoon), we had anti MESA stickers, website and all formed. That site was aero2003.org

It was a great ride and would do it again anyday.

 

[On Your Six]

Where did the A-319's end up?

A few went to Air Berlin.

 

[dojetdriver]

Where did the A-319's end up?

I believe some went ot Spain as well. AirEuropa or AirMadrid. I also heard the oreint. China or Japan.

 

[Patriot328]

Well my response is more of the same. Workin at CAL now and loving it (the job, the first year pay blows), but I reallllly miss the crews and coworkers from ACA(/Jet)/Indy.

Especially loved our beloved dojet side. Had a blast flying out of NYC (expressway visual, turn inside the stadium, anyone?) and BOS til LGA closed down and was shipped out to CVG. That became a party unto itself. Everyone knew practically everybody and it was almost always a good time going to work, even if flying 6 legs a day might be a pain in the arse. When CVG closed down, our goodbye party was about a month long. It was probably best it closed down, though. I was getting a little concerned about how many times "Deliverance" was being played on the crew room TV.

Flying on the Indy side was a total blast and it felt good carrying your "own" passengers for a change. People took a lot of pride knowing that, even as we knew the end would be approaching. I lucked out and got out a couple months before the shutdown.

6.5 years and a hell of a ride..

 

[skyaddict]

I loved flying at ACA/Indy- especially the cameraderie of flying the Dorkjet on overnights to places like YUL... those were good ol' days. However, I am VERY happy at the superior QOL, variety, and far more professional way that I'm treated by the company at NetJets. For me, a huge bonus is no more commuting.

Because I had no corporate flying experience, I was nervous at first about no longer being able to shut the cockpit door and "just fly"... but now I enjoy the extra human side of the job. Cleaning and stocking? That is a dull chore, but I find that during turns, it's aLOT easier than the shlepping of crew bags across terminals and up and down stairs every other turn the way it is done at the regionals. Besides, every other leg on average is an empty repo flight. Many a 7 day-tour I don't ever swap an airplane anymore.

On balance, I prefer frac life, but will never forget the good ol' days at ACA/Indy, mostly because of the great crews.

 

[CJA]

The ex-Indy pilots who came to ASA were a great bunch. Wish all new hires were that easy to train!

 

[smellthejeta]

There's an absolute ton of ex-Indy guys flying for NetJets. It's funny how many familiar faces I see (or know guys I know...) and I'm a friggin' rampie on the west coast.

 

[overseas boy]

There's a FlyI RJ (644BR I think) parked on the ramp in Dubai at the moment! Went past it this morning!! Still got the FlyI paint job minus the tail logo!! Funny to see all the way out here!!

 

[House_X]

Seems like most FO's (and some CA's) from ACA/Indy are at other regionals...and oh boy!!!...life is grand...low pay, getting shafted by scheduling, waiting for upgrades, so-on-and-so-forth...

Oh well, at least I'm not alone in the terminal when I see all the Fly-I stickers on flight kits. Someone usually stops me once a week. Trading sob stories seems to be the norm...

 

[Drill Sgt. Dad]

I was at ACA/IDE from Sept 2000-Nov 2005. I never flew with such a great bunch. I miss it. However, I have no regrets trying to hang on as long as I did. I truly enjoyed it. I will only not miss the training dept. fiascos and certain hatchetmen (woman) in the training dept.

 

[Drill Sgt. Dad]

To find FLYI/ACA alumni www.ipilots.org

if they registered you'll find them

 

[McNugget]

Seems like most FO's (and some CA's) from ACA/Indy are at other regionals...and oh boy!!!...life is grand...low pay, getting shafted by scheduling, waiting for upgrades, so-on-and-so-forth...

Oh well, at least I'm not alone in the terminal when I see all the Fly-I stickers on flight kits. Someone usually stops me once a week. Trading sob stories seems to be the norm...

Those regionals are lucky to have them, although they will never realize it.

 

[federico]

We got stuck with one who came of the street flew f o a month and jumped the whole seniıorıty list and upgraded. Looks lıke with the last layoff he might be hanging in there close. Dıdnt ACA have a union what would have happened if you jumped the entıre seniorıty system and upgraded. i thought they preached integrity but iguess not.

 

[NYFlyer]

It sounds like you have a justifiable complaint with your current company, not ACA. The union at ACA would not have allowed someone to upgrade out of seniority there. Your current company must now allow that practice. I assume you don't have a union to fight this policy, but how is that ACA's fault?