Gulfstream or GreatLakes?

[FlyingToIST]

Now that Gulfstream is hiring the 'normal' way which would be a better airline to get in and get out?

Gulfstream:
+ No training contract.
+ Quick upgrade
+ Better per hour pay (according to another website)
+ They are hurting for captains
- 6 hour one way commute
- Non union

Great Lakes:
+ 2 hrs one way commute
+ Quick upgrade (a buddy said 300 hrs of company time gets you there)
- Not a single cent paid during training
- Training contract for 15 months (even though is pro rated)
+ Good rep with Alaska and Frontier
- $15hrs to start (ouch)
- Union

Or should one has to chose Pinchnickle and go for a better equipment and similar upgrade times?

 

[Flyby1206]

I would check into pinnacle or mesaba. Mesaba is currently hiring street CAs. If you cant get hired there as a CA, then spend a year in the right seat then upgrade and you will have all the street CAs who were hired after you behind you on the seniority list. Complicated, but make sense?

 

[The_Russian]

Gulfstream does have a union, the IBT 747. Did someone inform you otherwise?

 

[FlyingToIST]

I would check into pinnacle or mesaba. Mesaba is currently hiring street CAs. If you cant get hired there as a CA, then spend a year in the right seat then upgrade and you will have all the street CAs who were hired after you behind you on the seniority list. Complicated, but make sense?

Thanks, but i don't have their mins

 

[Flyby1206]

Thanks, but i don't have their mins

Mesaba is 600TT/50ME, what are you at?

 

[Dirty Sanchez]

Pinnacle- Commercial M/E

The lower the time, the better.

 

[Whiskerbizkit]

Whould you rather me poke out your left eye or right? Stop looking for the in and out jobs.....you are going to be sorry.

 

[Lazy8]

Gulfstream and Lakes have a union, but trust me, they have no protection or representation. I hate to say it, but Lakes is the better of the two. Frontier loves hiring Lakes drivers. Nobody likes Gulfstreamers except for other regionals desperate for pilots.

You'll upgrade faster at Lakes than you would at Pinnacle because (someone correct me if I'm wrong) but Lakes will let you sit in the left seat as soon as you have the ATP mins.

Just depends on what makes sense for you. It's a pilot's market so don't settle for something you don't want.

 

[FlyingToIST]

Mesaba is 600TT/50ME, what are you at?

I reread your post.. I don't meet the Street hire CA requirements but I am close in terms of TT.
What's the upgrade requirement for Mesaba? How much 'company time' do they require?
Thanks..

 

[The_Russian]

Nobody likes Gulfstreamers except for other regionals desperate for pilots.

Do you have something to back that statement up? Plenty of my bros are at SWA, JB, Frontier, Continental, Delta, UPS, FedEx, Gemini, Flex Jet, Net Jets, North American, and all the rest. I sincerely hope that statement wasn't derogatory. "Likes" isn't really a professional means of judging a fellow pilot.

 

[Kaman]

How about neither one, and why not Expressjet, AWAC or ASA? Much better pay...Commuting blows, but you may as well get used to it...

 

[FlyingToIST]

How about neither one, and why not Expressjet, AWAC or ASA? Much better pay...Commuting blows, but you may as well get used to it...

Quick upgrade is what i need. I am fully aware of other regionals with better work rules, etc. Thanks..

 

[Oakum_Boy]

Gulfstreamers suck. Their mentality is that they're just there to sling gear, talk on the radio. Everything else is the Captain's job and people are tired of it.

 

[johnsonrod]

Go where you could get the faster upgrade. Do you like the mountains or the beach?

Thinking long-term, you will have more war-stories to tell interview boards at the majors if you fly in more inclement weather (i.e., the Rockies during the winter). Mountain flying would be great from an experience point of view. Given Gulfstream's past, the pft reputation might not sit well with people who are unfamiliar with recent changes.

I would say choose Great Mistakes if you had the choice and couldn't care less about location.

 

[Kaman]

Hey FlyingtoIST,
I don't think that you are going to get a lot of support with the attitude that "I need to upgrade now". You and everyone else wants to upgrade now. I don't know what your personal situation is, but I'd tone down that rhetoric a little bit if I was you.

 

[Captjiggles]

Go To GIA. It's good company and quick TPIC for you. I believe you might even enjoy the flying down there.

 

[1flier]

To each their own

GIA, Lakes, Mesaba, whatever works best for you. As far as no one liking us at GIA, well, UPS, Southwest, Spirit and a few others havent gotten that memo yet. Pros and cons for the job is what you look at.

Pros:
QOL
Pay
Training length and pay
Upgrade time
Best for family

Cons:
Location
Ease of commuting
Lengthy upgrade

If GIA offers you the QOL others dont and the pay is acceptable then why not. If Mesaba offers it then go there. Are you looking long term or short term? If its quick upgrade and move on then narrow it down by that cirteria and then further narrow it afterwards. If you are looking at long term 3 years or longer then apply the pros and cons above plus whatever else you can think of. Almost every regional has some lifers that enjoy the QOL and pay that the company offers them. Ask what is best for you and remember no company is perfect by far.

 

[PCL_128]

AirTran loves to hire 'streamers. Not to mention that former GIA pilots work for every legacy, LCC, and cargo operator in the country. GIA pilots have no troubles finding career jobs.

GIA sucks, but it's probably better than Lakes, and you can build time like crazy. I'd go with the 'stream.

 

[federico]

Flyingto Ist is a Typical Turk. Even Turkish airforce pilots sit right seat at Thy, or Onur, or Atlas and even Kuzu. So what makes you so good after 1300 in the practice area.

 

[FlyingToIST]

Federico,
some of the TAF pilots you mentioned are the ones that are ruining the airlines in your message. Since you know so much about my own situation, i appreciate the fact that you consider my 1800 hrs as nothing..
by the way, i wish you were with me on the sim eval, how a TAF pilot crashed the 738 sim

cheers.