ATA, Aloha, Champion, Sun Country, Furloughed? USA Jet is Hiring

[atpcliff]

Hi.

Sorry to hear about all of you pilots in a tough spot.

I was out of the industry for 10 years because I couldn't find a flying job, and when I got back in I got furloughed right away. I'm now at USA Jet. It's not great, but it ranges from tolerable to very good, depending on your situation. I like it, overall.

We are hiring, and we especially need DC-9 guys. Starting pay is $39K/year. If you have the hours, Falcon capt upgrade is about 6 months, and DC-9 capt should come down to about 2 years.

We have two bids out now for DC-9 capt, with only 6 elligible pilots.

We also have a gov't contract in ABQ, and the starting pay is higher there. The lowest pay/seniority position there is Twin Otter Capt/DC-9 FO. They have 3 DC-9s (supposed to be getting -737s soon), a GIII, a Lear, and 2 Twin Otters. Everyone there is a Capt in something.

If U want a lot of info on USA Jet, PM me with your EMAIL. It is wayyyy to long to send via PM.

cliff
GRB

 

[DeltaLima21]

The QOL at USA Jet is especially good if you reside in the SE Michigan Area. I am a commuter right now, but am going to buy a house once prices stabilize in the area... Who knows when that might be. DC-9 Folks will get thorough systems and sim training, 12 days off per 28 bid cycle, opportunity to bid either cargo or pax trips(in accordance to seniority). Also, some of the recent changes to the company are:

*25 minute callout only when in the #1 position for a trip.

When not paged as #1:
*1 hour callout weekdays
*2 hour callout for weekends and Holidays

Ability to take short time off for: Doctors Appt., Religious services, etc

$57.12/hr to start--55 hr guarantee.

All Days off are honored(Gold Days)--No Junior assignments or Junior mannings. If you want to "sell" your day off, it is 4 flight hours credit.

4 to 1 duty rig- sometimes helps in a long duty day.

Seems like people are coming here from a variety of backgrounds.. Air Wisc, Air Midwest, Pinnacle, Wx Mod, ex Military, other 135 Air Cargo operators. etc.

Any Q's, pm me

 

[reepicheep]

25 min. callout??!! What are you, the RAF?

 

[8inMan]

25 min. callout??!! What are you, the RAF?

Welcome to on-demand freight. When the customer says they need the product right away, they mean like yesterday.

 

[atpcliff]

Hi!

It's not usually a 25" callout, with a 45" departure (on the Falcon), but sometimes it is.

If we're charging the customer $50-$100K to fly from DTW to the West Coast, they want their stuff BAD!

cliff
YIP

PS-That's why some guys do almost all PAX stuff. They don't want to be in the RAF.

Me, I miss the RAF. Not all the time, but it's fun sometimes!!!

PPS-My last trip, I was on freight. Got about a 90" callout. Got into ops at 1100. Blocked in at 0410 the next morning. It was a 6 leg out-and-back to Mexico. Not my favorite type of trip!

 

[414Flyer]

Seems like people are coming here from a variety of backgrounds.. Air Wisc, Air Midwest, Pinnacle, Wx Mod, ex Military, other 135 Air Cargo operators. etc.

Any Q's, pm me

Glad to see one of my former coworkers has gotten on. Probably a good chance I know the guy who got on there, i still work for Wx Mod.

 

[8sugarsugar]

There are two former WxMod (WMI) pilots at USA Jet, including myself. I was ND 04,05,06. The other guy was Oklahoma in the early mid 90's The JUS lifestyle is very similar to WxMod.

 

[414Flyer]

I may have met you in 06. I came back to WxMod to fly in Africa, and was in Fargo waiting. I took a trip out to Stanley, Bowman, and Watford one time that summer. I flew with Jody here in India, Eric M is my copilot in Boise, Dan has been the met here.

 

[airspeed]

25 min. callout??!! What are you, the RAF?

LMFAO!!!!

 

[pilotyip]

Only one in 10 cargo trips is a 25-min call out. If you count that pax flying is now half of our DC-9 flying, 25-minute call out is like one of out 18 events. But the nagging fear that the next call might be a 25-minute call does weigh on you until you get used to it. Average pilot has been here five years; average DC-9 pilot has been here 8 years, so something must work. Don’t know about hiring for a while, we are interviewing, but turnover seems to be slowing down. BTW RAF was :Ring the Bell, run like hull" 3 minutes to take off.

 

[JT8D]

But the nagging fear that the next call might be a 25-minute call does weigh on you

And that right there is the rub. You have to be "ready" for it whether you get it or not. If you managed to get to anywhere near a normal lifestyle in this biz, on demand freight is almost impossible to go back to.

Back side of the clock flying will take it's toll AND SHOW, especially if you are north of 40.

YIP, when you were informing everyone of the hiring boom of 2007 over the last couple years, why didn't you do them the courtesy of informing them that it would only last 10 months before all the new hires would be out of a job?

I think a lot of guys would have stayed put.

So much for crystal balls and predictions in this biz.

 

[pilotyip]

Hiring boom bomb is only local

And that right there is the rub. You have to be "ready" for it whether you get it or not. If you managed to get to anywhere near a normal lifestyle in this biz, on demand freight is almost impossible to go back to.

Funny I have heard the same thing from former pilots, it is hard to get used to the new life style, you are gone from home all the time. USA Jet pilots are only gone from home about 6-9 days per month.

YIP, when you were informing everyone of the hiring boom of 2007 over the last couple years, why didn't you do them the courtesy of informing them that it would only last 10 months before all the new hires would be out of a job?

The hiring boom is still going on around the world, it has only taken a momentary bump in the USAS.

 

[JT8D]

The hiring boom is still going on around the world, it has only taken a momentary bump in the USAS.

Well that momentary "bump" means that a lot of guys who gave up seniority in their previous jobs (many regional folks) are now out of a job/or will be furloughed after the busy summer schedule before they get off probation.

That means NO recall rights. Or in layman's terms, SOL.

Probably works out well for the USA JET pool though.

 

[atpcliff]

Hi!

JT8D: You only have to be ready for a 25" callout, IF you're actually on a 25" callout. Sometimes it's 1 hour, sometimes it's 2 hours, and sometimes there is no callout at all as you're on a set schedule.

For our Puerto Rico flying this summer, we're going to be 2 weeks on/2 off, with a set schedule for the 2 weeks you're on.

Normal PAX ops is normally set, with no callout. If they do want you to be available in PAX ops, it's a 2 hour callout.

cliff
GRB
PS-I just got a 24 hour notice for my next flight tommorrow, so I won't be on the pager at all as I know my schedule.

 

[DeltaLima21]

Most people hear 25 minutes, and run... Unless you know exactly how the callout system works, you are doing yourself a disfavor by looking the other way with USA Jet. At my last 121 position, I was on a 2 hour callout, but never knew exactly where I stood in the likelyhood of getting a call. I prefer the system I have now, because sometimes you know that you have less than a 5% chance of getting called, and a 2 hour callout on weekends to boot....

 

[atpcliff]

Hi!

For Aloha (and other out of work 737 guys) Miami Air is now hiring-just saw an ad for them.

Good luck, and God Bless!

cliff
YIP

 

[Way2Broke]

If you move to the Willow Run area you will have some of the best QOL in the industry. Bash the 25 minute call out all you want, but I just got done spending one of my days off with a guy that was getting paid to sit at a Tiger's game on call with a 2 hour call out on the weekend. People with normal jobs dream of spending a day at work at a baseball game without having to call in sick.

If you commute, chances are your going to hate this job. And.... your going to hate any job! USA Jet is a growing company that has come a long way from it's early days as just a freight company. It's almost like having 4 companies in one: You have the Cargo Falcons, Cargo DC-9s, Chartered Pax DC-9s, and scheduled Pax DC-9s. Who knows what the future holds for growth but I would venture to guess that it involves more scheduled flying and newer airplanes. The majority of the pilots are pretty excited about that.

With with lower mins than most you can start at almost 40k a year. Were not going to hand you that money for free, on occasion your going to have to work really hard for it. If you feel privileged and feel the need to walk through the terminal in your uniform go work for regional and make 18k a year. USA Jet offer competitive pay, matching 401k (vested after 90 days), medical, dental, tuition reimbursement (after one year), and you only have to do about 6-7 days a month in a hotel room. Not to mention that the pilot group at USA Jet is one of the finest group you'll ever find. It's kindove like one big family (although somewhat dysfunctional haha). Everyone knows everyone and we all watch out for each other. For example if you do commute you can almost always find someone that is more than happy to pick you up from Metro and give you a ride to the crashpad at any hour. If you want time with your family and kids, go to USA Jet.

Of course there is a downside too. Winters in Michigan are brutal, and so is the housing market. The Winters will always will always be rough, but the housing market will bounce back eventually. Thank god we are CASS so you can get out of town on your days off during the Winter. We are truly a Diamond in the rough.

 

[JT8D]

What does the long term fleet growth look like? It can't be with 40 yo 9's and 50 yo 20's.

Kalitta Air (the money maker for all his co's) is transitioning to the more modern 747-400 for his type of operation.

Any thoughts on what the plan for US's new airplanes will be?

Just curious.

 

[DeltaLima21]

The 9's have one thing going for them at USA Jet. They are Paid for. Most of the fuel costs are past on to the customer. Dont wanna pay, dont get your freight, simple as that...

 

[JT8D]

The 9's have one thing going for them at USA Jet. They are Paid for. Most of the fuel costs are past on to the customer. Dont wanna pay, dont get your freight, simple as that...

Ok

I understand the philosophy, but who pays the employees if the customer "dont wanna pay"?

simple as that?