Colgan Bringing the Q to ATL

[cloudkicker1981]

hey you have tonights winning lottery numbers too....sorry just figured since you can predict the future an all!

 

[Minimaniac]

Well, I sure hope Delta stays away from Colgan. I know there are some great guys working at Colgan who take pride in doing their job well. I worked there, so I know what I am talking about. But I also know how poorly run the company is, and how many pilots there are willing to cut corners and ignore major rules at their leisure. If Delta wants a consistently good product, they need to look somewhere other than Colgan.

That said, I am sure Delta may give Colgan a chance. They have not been dance partners yet, and Colgan is that girl who will dance a whole lot crazier than the other girls at the club (assume fuel costs, no fee per departure, non union to date). Very nice. How much? Just like Mesa has been the community bicycle that everyone takes for a ride, so shall be Colgan. For years, mesa found new code shares despite repeatedly poor performances. The Q is a potentially great airplane, and I think every major wants to try their hand at making money with it.

I wish Colgan luck with the Q program, and I hope they are able to establish a new reputation. A new airframe, new financial backer (pinnacle), and new executive management are all opportunities for Colgan to put the past behind them. I think a union would also be a step in the right direction, but there have been far too many threads on that topic.

If you Colganites do start flying into ATL, try to drop the small town airport approach to airline operations and adapt to big city life. Things move fast and they rarely stop in Hotlanta. FO's: try to learn by watching other airline crews down there, and not by mimicking certain lifer captains who are in over their head the moment they leave CRW/ALB/CHO.

Oh, and in the meantime, I will continue to bid to avoid ATL.

 

[LowlyPropCapt]

...and how many pilots there are willing to cut corners and ignore major rules at their leisure.

That is one hell of an accusation. What kind of corners are we talking about here?

 

[Airscrew]

That is one hell of an accusation. What kind of corners are we talking about here?

Direct Alexandria, LA

 

[Uncle Bunkle]

Anyone got confirmation on this?

nope, but I do know that Colgan pilots are bottom-feeding scumbags who fly that big Q for peanuts. Makes me want to vomit.

 

[boknowsASA]

I've just heard this rumor as well. Big announcement coming this week supposedly. Guess ASA's 80% clause is going out the window.....

Dont forget about this:

"Delta has also agreed that if Delta solicits requests for proposals to fly Delta Connection regional aircraft, ASA will be permitted to bid to maintain the same percentage of total Delta Connection regional jet flights that it operated during 2007, and, if ASA does not achieve the winning bid for the proposed flying, ASA will be permitted to match the terms of the winning bid to the extent necessary for ASA to maintain its percentage of Delta Connection regional jet flying that it operated during 2007."

Ref: page 15 Skywest 10-Q

 

[777forever]

Dont forget about this:

"Delta has also agreed that if Delta solicits requests for proposals to fly Delta Connection regional aircraft, ASA will be permitted to bid to maintain the same percentage of total Delta Connection regional jet flights that it operated during 2007, and, if ASA does not achieve the winning bid for the proposed flying, ASA will be permitted to match the terms of the winning bid to the extent necessary for ASA to maintain its percentage of Delta Connection regional jet flying that it operated during 2007."

Ref: page 15 Skywest 10-Q

Sweet, thanks for the info.

 

[LowlyPropCapt]

Direct Alexandria, LA

What's that? TLAR direct?

(That Looks About Right)

 

[cloudkicker1981]

nope, but I do know that Colgan pilots are bottom-feeding scumbags who fly that big Q for peanuts. Makes me want to vomit.

You're so right! Dude actually pretzels are fine to. Your sick well sorry about that...you shouldnt swallow. I love the Q400, if colgan would let me I'd skip a crashpad and sleep on the thing. Especially because making 70k a year cant get you a decent place anywhere.

Big news flash the "AIRLINES ARE BROKE"...and colgan isnt stealing your flying or lowering the bar. If you're a 10yr captain at a regional an pissed off because you think that making less than 90,000 is a scambag than your a retart! All this crap about how great everyone else is and how hard they worked for a great contract is BS. How much more are you making than us as a pilot? Even if its 10k, thats PEANUTS. 10yrs ago when comair was doing all the flying and the majors were rolling in the profits than yes it made since to ask for more. RJs arent doing anything but barely making profits fully loaded yet do you believe that the crew should ask for more than what the company is making? Express jet is bleeding bad and their pilots are losing jobs simply cause of that fact. No profit No reward.

It sucks out there and everything aside I feel completely horriable for anyone who is on the street no matter who they fly for. But job loss is simple economics right now! Ask CAL pilots or anyone else. Six months ago they were hiring...now fuel and the economy they're furloughing.

 

[centralpilot]

If you're a 10yr captain at a regional an pissed off because you think that making less than 90,000 is a scambag than your a retart!

Now that's ironic! :laugh:

 

[shortbus driver]

wow...talk about way low blow. To talk about airlines bending metal is in my opinion way out of your league. You are flying turbo props which with reverse could stop on the ramp...why even use runway 11 when you can skip the taxi. All the regional jets have their downside such as high approach speeds and terrible reverse abilities when being compared to your boat oars spinning. I flew a shorts for most of my career and had not an issue flying into icy Alaska runways only 2600ft long, but unfortunately physics don't allow such things to happen in the jet. I am not putting down Colgan at all, but don't go where you know it will make people mad.

 

[Captainzero1]

Colgan does not have access to anymore Q's for at least a year. Nuff said!

 

[suupah]

No Q's till 2010. thats what the financial report said. They'll also be the next gen.

Atl rumor is just a rumor. they always do this crap to keep a few more guys around.

 

[suupah]

Dont forget about this:

by far the best crj pic ever

 

[Minimaniac]

That is one hell of an accusation. What kind of corners are we talking about here?

Flying all day with oil pressure gauge reading zero, after Mx says " write it up tonight"; power back operations without any marshallers or wing walkers; cancelling IFR more than 100 miles from destination; leaving notes for the next crew about worn brake lines, holes in boots, tread bare tires instead of writing those items up; disregarding duty time regulations just to get home...

I have quite an extensive list of these type of events. Maybe I was just too straight laced to fly the Colgan way. That is why I left (not to go fly a big bad 170, as someone else accused). There was a reason why I was ramp checked nearly every week in LGA when I was at Colgan, and why I was shadowed by the FAA on numerous walk arounds. In my post earlier, I did recognize that there are many respectable pilots at Colgan. I also fingered other groups outside of the pilot group for questionable behavior. I know it comes across as insulting, and I was on the receiving end while I was there, too. I recognized though, that many of the accusations I received were dead on descriptions of many of the captains I had met and flown with. I made the choice to go lateral, but I also made the choice to improve my work environment and improve my chances of keeping my license. The Shuttle accident you refer to was not a result of a corporate culture of landing in poor weather. It was a result of decisions made by a crew, decisions that most every other pilot at the company would not have made. But at Colgan there was a corporate culture of not writing up mx issues, of pushing duty regs, and of disregarding SOP. I use the word was because I am no longer employed there, and all of my direct experiences are not current. however, friends who currently work there have offered anecdotal evidence that little has changed.

If I offended you, then good. By taking offense you are showing that you do strive for better, and you take pride in your efforts. You are one of the good ones.

And the comment about small airport mentality was not a "redneck" comment, but a reference to the "do what I want" and "big brother isn't watching" actions I witnessed many times during my tenure. Yes, i know Colgan operates out of big airports. Been doing it for years. That still didn't change the overall mindset.

I am going to stop posting on this thread, as I am derailing it severely. You may endlessly bash me now if you like, but that won't change what i saw and why I left. Good luck to Colgan in getting new business and in changing common perceptions.