Psa

[Casper]

Does anyone have any information about PSA ? Are they a good company to work for ? I have an interview with them next week.

 

[Sawmill]

In the grand scheme of things, all the regionals are the same. And for anyone who stays in the airline industry as a career, the regionals are just a stepping stone so it dosent matter which one you fly for. I flew for 2 regionals (PSA one) and for both, the pay was ridicules, the hours worked vs. income, the volitility of the job, and the fact it got mundane real quick sealed my fate. I quit both after just 6 months each and 1) Dont miss all the BS, and 2) I couldnt be happier with my new career.
My .02 is just take whatever regional will hire you and build your time (and see if it is for you). The fact you can make $1 more an hour, .15 more per diem, or 1 more day off per month at one vs. another is inconsequential. And if you are wondering about upgrade time, that is just a crap shoot...it changes all the time.
I will say every now and then, I think back about how fun it was to fly sometimes...but then I remember how little the flying was as a part of the job.
I hope I dont sound cynical or too negative. Like I said, it was just not for me and it may very well be for you. As far as asking anyone on a BB about their opinion of a regional, prepare to get more "opinion" than you may have bargined for.
Good luck and when you see me taxiing in my little cherokee while you are in the right seat of the RJ, remember, I am paying for my gas so dont give me Sh*t. Kidding.

 

[ex j-41]

If you live in a house that has wheels then PSA is for you. The hotels are on par with the worst trailer parks in Alabama.
Of course our flight attendents think they are GREAT. Makes you wonder about the quality of F/A's they hire, don't you think?


Let me add...

If you sit reserve for 1.5 yrs. (very realistic). And get paid your guarentee you will make $19k the first year. And $25k the second. Remember this is 2007 and those wages were outdated 10 years ago.
If you come to PSA count on this being your realistic wage you will bring home. If you cannot live on this then consider airlines where you will get a line faster and then upgrade faster. Of course a great airline today may suck tomorrow but make your best decision. We have F/O's that have been here for over a year and a half and leaving to go to Chautauqua or Skywest. That is all that needs to be said.

I noticed that in March of 04, you had 1700hrs. Now March of 2007 you have 3800. So 2000 hrs in 3 years is not unreal but before you go to any interview make sure you can document this time.

 

[CoATP]

PSA = "Please Stay Away"

 

[Casper]

ex-J41

ex-J41 March of 04 I was in Ground school for another regional which will remain nameless I have flown my A-- off since almost 95 hrs per month on average however I want to leave because the QOL sucks and no upgrade in site not to mention my wife is getting a little tired of this whole thing but I heard that PSA is a pretty good outfit and I live in one of there bases I am just not sure that I want to continue flying or not but to fly 2000 hrs in three years for a regional is far from unrealistic.

 

[JetProp]

I flew Dash-8's at brand X and logged 1900+ hours in 2.5 years. We flew a lot there. I could have easily logged 2000+ hours in three years had I stayed. Good luck with your interview.

 

[Crzipilot]

if you live in base it's doable, the run ya hard, but living in base makes alot of difference. forget trying to commute. Hopefully in 9 months or so, there will be more movement as about 70 of us should be leaving.

TYS had new f/o's sitting reserve only 2 weeks. DAY don't know. And the Queen City CLT, well that's where the 1.5 yr wait is for lines.

but in a nutshell...find something else besides a regional to fly for.

 

[Melfly]

RUn

Run don't walk away from this place.

 

[embryflyboy]

aug 05 hire still RSV in CLT

 

[lindsaya99]

if you live in base it's doable, the run ya hard, but living in base makes alot of difference. forget trying to commute. Hopefully in 9 months or so, there will be more movement as about 70 of us should be leaving.

TYS had new f/o's sitting reserve only 2 weeks. DAY don't know. And the Queen City CLT, well that's where the 1.5 yr wait is for lines.

Reserve in TYS is running a bit longer than 2 weeks. I've been on reserve since January and was awarded a build up line for April. I live in CLT and have been awarded it for May. The rumor is that hiring and upgrades will continue indefinitely in preparation for the J4J pilots being recalled to mainline. Again, that is the word on the street not gospel. PSA is my third regional. Its not as bad as some say but that is only because I've worked for worse. If you live at one of the bases I would give it a shot. If you plan to commute I would look at other options. My $.02

 

[paulsalem]

I will be on reserve in DAY for about 9-12 months, now that the upgrades are starting.

 

[BcPilot99]

PSA = "Please Stay Away"

That is what one of my friends that flies there told me....

 

[Clipper_Aurora]

upgrades are coming now that J4J people are leaving, 6 - 12 a month with 500 pilots thats alot, we are actually going to return to a normal seniority airline, pay sucks but whos' don't, the people that b@tch and complain are still here collecting their paycheck, nobody is breaking their arm to stay...so what does that say for them.

 

[ex j-41]

upgrades are coming now that J4J people are leaving, 6 - 12 a month with 500 pilots thats alot, we are actually going to return to a normal seniority airline, pay sucks but whos' don't, the people that b@tch and complain are still here collecting their paycheck, nobody is breaking their arm to stay...so what does that say for them.

Clipper thinks it is great because he went from a seminole to a CRJ. SJS.

Pay is worse here because of the long amount of time on reserve.

Nobody is forcing us to stay, you are right! But as you should know, starting at the bottom again at another airline is a great tool management designed to keep employees hostage.

Go into the crew room at any time of day and you will always find someone looking for another job. Bottom line is that PSA management would trip over a quarter to save a dime. Our QOL is non existant.
How about going to work for 10 days straight. Well one day off in the middle of two, four days.
Day One---Commute Pay for first Hotel ($40)
Day Two---5 am start. 3 legs.
Day Three---5 am 4 legs
Day Four---430am 4 legs
Day Five---630 7 legs--Finish too late too commute home, Find Hotel (2nd)
Day Six---Sleep in...Pay for 3rd night in Hotel.
Day Seven---5am 7 legs
Day Eight---6am 5 legs
Day Nine--- 4:30am 5 legs
Day Ten---1130am 6 legs Finish at 8pm.....Hopefully get on last flight home.

$120 in hotels.
10 nights away.
$960 for going to work. Less of course your hotels and food starbucks etc...

But don't worry you have 2 days off next.
Need more proof that management doesn't care about our QOL?
And don't give me that i should live in base crap....Who in their right mind would move for a $20k a year job? No job security, no nothing. Not too mention PSA has a history of closing and moving bases. My luck would be i would move to TYS then 4 months later be transfered to Norfolk.

Regional airlines are hurting to get pilots right now. Pick one that is in your home town and has management that understands that happy employees make happy customers.

 

[Clipper_Aurora]

Hey buy what your telling me home slice (ex j-41) don't want to be on first year pay again, hell ********************aqua is giving you a 2500 signing bonus, mesa 5000, for your experience, by going on what you say about your pay, there shouldn't be any difference.

start packing

 

[ex j-41]

Hey buy what your telling me home slice (ex j-41) don't want to be on first year pay again, hell ********************aqua is giving you a 2500 signing bonus, mesa 5000, for your experience, by going on what you say about your pay, there shouldn't be any difference.

start packing

I will type slow so you can read....

Starting at the bottom again is taking a big step backwards...get it?
Regardless of "UP TO" $5000 starting bonus. That still puts you below 2nd year pay elsewhere. It's all about QOL and not having to live our lives in trailer park hotels. PSA could do better for their crews but they elect not to because they feel we do not deserve it. I disagree. But you sound like you are happy with the Microtel living experience. I am not!

 

[Clipper_Aurora]

You kidding me, I LOVE THE MICROTEL, the bed bugs in LIT, the robberies in MEM, the bullet holes in IAH, mildew in DAY, I wouldn't leave this place for the world, PSA....Pretty flippin Sweet Airline

 

[ex j-41]

You kidding me, I LOVE THE MICROTEL, the bed bugs in LIT, the robberies in MEM, the bullet holes in IAH, mildew in DAY, I wouldn't leave this place for the world, PSA....Pretty flippin Sweet Airline

See now we are on the same page!

Don't get me wrong...I am just upset at having to go away to work for 10 days straight. Next contract we need to ensure that no matter what all days off should be 3 in a row. Regardless of what time of the month it is. If scheduling can't work the blend then why should it be us that suffers?

 

[Golden Falcon]

PSA used to be a REAL airline in California long time ago...sounds like TK hasnt changed a bit

 

[nethan]

Wow... I went through my entire 4 day trip last week trying to use "home slice" in a radio call, and couldn't do it with out laughing. Maybe I should have just stuck with posting it on a web forum.

To the OP... It ain't all THAT bad here. Sure, we certainly could be treated better, our schedules could certainly be more efficient, our hotels certainly could be better (and I'm not talking about more things do to, just less ways to get killed) and our pay, on the FO side anyways, could certainly come up. The good news is that we are (for now) stable and although we certainly don't have any plans for growth (other then the -900 carrot they keep dangling and we keep saying no to), at least we aren't shrinking. The crews are angry, but they are good people to be angry with. Sure, if you can get on somewhere else, it might not be a bad idea, but if you do end up coming here it isn't all the doom and gloom that some people would have you believe.

Besides, we just got a new president of Express Ops. Obviously everything is going to get better overnight!

 

[Crzipilot]

And of course there are the J4J holds. The majority of us are currently held, and they still have about 29 spots to fill for recall. (May 21 and Jun 7) class. Haven't counted the numbers, but it's got to be at least 30 held right now. And depending on the interpretation, we are held, either until Dec or Feb, depends on who you ask. So not withstanding other people leaving, you'll see at least about 30-40 capts leave in 6-9 months. And they are still running short capts. So there should be some movement....

 

[lindsaya99]

ex-j41,
where are you getting a hotel in TYS for $40.00? The cheapest place I can find is the Hilton ($57.00).

 

[Casper]

Just curious,
outside of the time it takes to upgrade here what are the qualifications ?

 

[nethan]

1500 and 1000 hours in type. As of yet it obviously hasn't been an issue.

 

[Casper]

So if I have over 1000 in the CRJ I assume I could upgrade fairly quick.
It is just the matter of time at the company (seniority).

 

[nethan]

The words upgrade and quick and PSA should never be used in the same sentence, unless you are trying to provoke laughter.

But yes, if you have 1000 hours of RJ time, when your number comes up, you could upgrade. Actually, it might be 1000 hours at PSA in an RJ. I don't know. It doesn't really matter as you will surely have both by the time you get there.

 

[Casper]

I understand what you are saying and yes I agree,however I have heard conflicting reports from different people some have said that they have been there over two years have had the time to upgrade but have not others have said they upgraded in a year.

 

[38tango]

If you do come to PSA remember a few things:

1. It's a regional. A typical one. I still haven't seen one that's all that much better overall. They ALL suck in one way or another. Most people are here to build the time they need to go to a major or a corporate gig, and most of those places suck, too.

2. Commuting makes life 5 times harder. I did it for two and a half years and when I moved to base the improvement was unbelievable. It is also a choice you make. Nobody held a gun to my head. If you commute you have no right to b!tch about buying hotels and so forth. How many jobs out there even give you that option in the first place? As far as the bases moving all the time...this isn't the only industry where people get transferred. You know that going into it so deal with it or go work somewhere that you know will never move you.

3. The pay issue is industry wide. If you're just starting off don't expect things to be the way they used to. We all would certainly like to get paid what we deserve but obviously that battle is going to be a long one with an uncertain result. Reserve pay is difficult to survive on but if you work the system AND get lucky once in a while it's possible to make extra money. If money is your main concern in life this is the WRONG industry to be in. Duh.

4. Don't jump on the bandwagon and be p!ssed off about everything before you even start flying the line. Complaining and making everyone else miserable doesn't make it any better. You have the information available even on this ridiculous message board to know what it is you're getting yourself into. If you really think you're better than this place and don't want to tolerate it as a building block, then by all means go find a better job.

I don't want anyone to think I'm coming across as cynical with this post. It just seems like everyone has lost touch with the reality of things and would prefer to complain and pretend like they've been cheated out of something, even after making the choice to work here long after things became the way they already are. I'm referring to those that joined in when things were already sh!tty. I know 5 years ago when I started flying 121 things already sucked and yet I still made the choice to pursue the career because for me it's about the flying, which I still enjoy every day. I agree about the poorly run, inefficient, and completely nonsensical problems with this place but I knew that coming into it.
I've had all kinds of jobs, and there hasn't been one where the company was run the best it could be run. There are always politics and stupidity no matter what industry you're in, and everyone wants more money...who wouldn't?
It's funny how many people will come on a message board and express their righteous indignation about this career but the group will not unite to cause changes. Anyway, my main point is just to remember things are the way they are and while we're hoping for improvements and for concessions to come to an end it's gonna be a while...There are choices you can make to improve your QOL. I know circumstances are different for everyone but you have to learn to be a little flexible. Remember that before showing up and making your first order of business b!tching and moaning all day.

 

[Flyer1015]

Casper, you leaving Pinnacle?

 

[Casper]

Mr 38 Tango,
Dude chill out I have been flying for a regional now for almost two years I know the drill the reasons I want to leave here are personal the upgrade is only part of it I could of upgraded yesterday if I wanted to I have not once again for personal reasons it is more of a QOL issue right now I hold a line with almost 17 days off and am pretty high on the senority list in base if I upgrade sure the money is better but I will be at the back of the bus again and I am really not looking to hurt my family life. I want to leave here mainly beacuse the culture here is negative and like you wrote I am sick and tired of being around people that moan and groan I don't blame the pilots most are a good group of people but management has made it so bad it is hard to come to work and enjoy what we are doing. Remember none of us are flying planes to become rich we do it because we like it. so for me a latteral move might almost be worth it.