American Eagle ..HIRING....

[no1pilot2000]

Some of you may want to visit a web site called www.willflyforfood.com. Visit that site and look at the information concerning American Eagle (pay scales and interviews threads). The information was last updated in August 2009. It also has similar information on other regional airlines.

 

[CX880]

Can you enlighten us what it would be like for a newhire at Eagle? From this thread I understand that there would be no upgrade for 9.5 years. That is a downside. What is the upside? If your airline is looking for good people with over 1500 hours or whatever the minimums turn out to be you should try and sell the culture or at least prepare the uninformed. Let people know what they are getting into. Living in a crash pad in PR? Whats that like? Living on a first year FO wage? Whats that like? Using the AA free travel privileges? Whats that like?

I'm not sure what your airline is looking for in terms of minimums but I'm guessing you'll be hiring guys with time. If your airline will take whats crawling off the unemployment like well that is nice for the unemployed. If your airline is trying to hire people that are employed and have a lot of flight time then you should try and let us know what life is like at Eagle and why we should go there.

I'm trying to turn the thread around from lets bash Eagle because they are hiring. It is great someone is hiring. We should all be thrilled that we are seeing some kind of hiring. It sure beats those Obama death camps everyone was worried about last year.

I seriously interviewed at American Eagle in DFW a few years ago.

1. They take the hiring process very seriously. I honestly thought I was applying for the Space Shuttle program. It takes 3 days including their medical stuff where you have to pee not only once but twice, think about it.

2. I felt like I was going to be just another number at Eagle, it is a BIG corporation.

3. There were random American Airlines pilots walking around the compound telling us not to go to Eagle.

4. 12 year upgrades

5. ATR base in San Juan

6. We talked to random AE pilots in class. Generally they looked like people that had given up on life did not care about being 8 year ERJ FOs and were at AE because they lived 1 hour away from DFW.

7. 12 year upgrades

The only positive is that you get to tell people that you fly for American Airlines. If none of the above matter then its not a bad place. Training seemed top notch.

 

[Metro752]

So you came on here and told everyone you are at Gayjets, but you aren't though really?

 

[BushwickBill]

I have another question. I just noticed that great lakes was hiring and they are only asking for 750 hours for SIC. I thought that the minimums were going to change because of 3407?

I wasn't being cynical before. If the regionals were required to hire at the ATP minimums then they would need to try and attract people to the job. It doesn't seem like that is going to happen.

 

[BushwickBill]

I seriously interviewed at American Eagle in DFW a few years ago.

1. They take the hiring process very seriously. I honestly thought I was applying for the Space Shuttle program. It takes 3 days including their medical stuff where you have to pee not only once but twice, think about it.

2. I felt like I was going to be just another number at Eagle, it is a BIG corporation.

3. There were random American Airlines pilots walking around the compound telling us not to go to Eagle.

4. 12 year upgrades

5. ATR base in San Juan

6. We talked to random AE pilots in class. Generally they looked like people that had given up on life did not care about being 8 year ERJ FOs and were at AE because they lived 1 hour away from DFW.

7. 12 year upgrades

The only positive is that you get to tell people that you fly for American Airlines. If none of the above matter then its not a bad place. Training seemed top notch.

While I was trying to keep things positive you did bring up one item of interest. Why do American Airlines pilots hate American Eagle so much? I was basically verbally assaulted at an airline terminal by an American Airlines pilot. It was a long time ago when I was trying to complete my multi engine training and my grandmother died. She provided the loan for the ME training so I was going to the funeral, check ride or not. The guy noticed that I was reading training material and asked what I was up to. When I told him, sans grandma, he got very aggressive and basically told me off. He kept saying how American Eagle was going to ruin aviation and that I was contributing to the problem.

I just couldn't imagine how much this American Airlines pilot hated American Eagle to speak to me like that. A stranger that he had never me before.

I was still fairly impressionable at that point and this pilot made an ass out of himself and bummed me out in the process but I had done my homework. I knew enough about regional airlines that I really didn't have much interest in an airline career. I would not rule one out provided that conditions improve. Knowing what I know know I would have tried to find out who the guy was.

 

[jetjam619]

WEll....I'M GOING TO ENJOY THIS ONE.........WHY do AA pilots hate AE pilots? That's like asking why Islamic terrorists hate the US???? BECAUSE THEY DO.....

AA pilots signed off on allowing regional jets on the property in late 90's. Then they realized they had let the cat out of the bag, but guess what???? TOO LATE..regional jets all over the place. Eagle expands like crazy and their PI$$ED.

Meanwhile, after 911 ,AA furloughs ,allowing AA pilots to dislplace AE captains out of their seats ....600 of them for several years meanwhile ONLY 150 AE pilots flow to AA...SEEM FAIR TO YA????

Now, most AA pilots back to AA except a few who have been displaced to FO......


In the past , AA has warned their pilots of how "DANGEROUS" we are....and basically treat us like trash....WE say to them? You need to pay attention to your backyard....How has your safety record been in the last 20 years compared to Eagle. They tout themselves as the "Worlds Best Pilots" but I would check the hull losses in the past 20years.


We recently won a greivance where 250 AE pilots should have been recalled in 2007 and are working on intergration, NOW their even more PI$$ED now than ever.


That's enough......hope this helps....

 

[rider850]

Eagle Hiring

Meanwhile, after 911 ,AA furloughs ,allowing AA pilots to dislplace AE captains out of their seats ....600 of them for several years meanwhile ONLY 150 AE pilots flow to AA...SEEM FAIR TO YA????

Now, most AA pilots back to AA except a few who have been displaced to FO......


In the past , AA has warned their pilots of how "DANGEROUS" we are....and basically treat us like trash....WE say to them? You need to pay attention to your backyard....How has your safety record been in the last 20 years compared to Eagle. They tout themselves as the "Worlds Best Pilots" but I would check the hull losses in the past 20years.


We recently won a greivance where 250 AE pilots should have been recalled in 2007 and are working on intergration, NOW their even more PI$$ED now than ever.


That's enough......hope this helps....[/QUOTE]
What world do you live in? Your info isn't even correct. How are most AA pilot's back on property? There are 1900 of us on the street. 8 years and counting. It will be 10 years plus,before were recalled,if we ever are. We work for the same company. What do we gain by fighting amongst each other?

 

[DGdaPilot]

What world do you live in? Your info isn't even correct. How are most AA pilot's back on property? There are 1900 of us on the street. 8 years and counting. It will be 10 years plus,before were recalled,if we ever are. We work for the same company. What do we gain by fighting amongst each other?

He was refering to AA Flowback pilots. They are all back at AA now except for a few who are still at Eagle....now as FOs. I would say he hit everything else pretty much square on. But I also agree with you. The fighting between AA and Eagle is pretty dumb. What's past is past and we can only change the future.

 

[TZtoSWA]

He was refering to AA Flowback pilots. They are all back at AA now except for a few who are still at Eagle....now as FOs. I would say he hit everything else pretty much square on. But I also agree with you. The fighting between AA and Eagle is pretty dumb. What's past is past and we can only change the future.

Correct, the fighting between AA and Eagle is dumb and severely counterproductive but it is like the Arab / Israeli conflict it will always be there. I spent 8 years at Simmons which became American Eagle Airlines while I was there. Let me tell you the work environment can be downright hostile at times. It sucks the life right out of you. I felt like I was paroled from prison when I left AEA several years ago. It's not just AA vs. AEA that is the problem either. Mgmnt / Labor relations are strained, the maintenance was not good, the San Juan commute for the junior is life changing, the RON hotels ran the gamut from very nice to filthy & unsafe, and if AA ever does start hiring they are very reluctant to hire a pilot away from Eagle.

Some of you talk about the long upgrade time. That may change as the aging Metro, MX2, Chapparal, Simmons, Exec, Flagship, Nashville Eagle, Command, Wings West, etc., etc., etc. the list goes on lifers finally start to retire. This was / is the problem. There are so many airlines that have been merged in to the AEA conglomerate over the years they have ended up with a huge percentage of career Regional pilots that aren't leaving. Soon they will start hitting 65. Couple this with some a/c orders and forced flow throughs and ironically AEA may be the Regional with the lowest upgrade time. Then again they could start retiring some of the smaller unprofitable Taco Rockets and it will remain the place with the 10 year RJ F/O's.

 

[Lynxman]

I have another question. I just noticed that great lakes was hiring and they are only asking for 750 hours for SIC. I thought that the minimums were going to change because of 3407?

I wasn't being cynical before. If the regionals were required to hire at the ATP minimums then they would need to try and attract people to the job. It doesn't seem like that is going to happen.

Where did you hear they were hiring?

 

[Lynxman]

I have another question. I just noticed that great lakes was hiring and they are only asking for 750 hours for SIC. I thought that the minimums were going to change because of 3407?

I wasn't being cynical before. If the regionals were required to hire at the ATP minimums then they would need to try and attract people to the job. It doesn't seem like that is going to happen.

Where did you see that they were hiring the link on the website does not work at the moment?

 

[DGdaPilot]

Correct, the fighting between AA and Eagle is dumb and severely counterproductive but it is like the Arab / Israeli conflict it will always be there. I spent 8 years at Simmons which became American Eagle Airlines while I was there. Let me tell you the work environment can be downright hostile at times. It sucks the life right out of you. I felt like I was paroled from prison when I left AEA several years ago. It's not just AA vs. AEA that is the problem either. Mgmnt / Labor relations are strained, the maintenance was not good, the San Juan commute for the junior is life changing, the RON hotels ran the gamut from very nice to filthy & unsafe, and if AA ever does start hiring they are very reluctant to hire a pilot away from Eagle.

I think your perception is a little dated. Management/labor have an excellent relationship right now and we accomplish alot with this. No they won't hand over pay raises and pina coladas, but we do get alot done. And I don't know of any Eagle pilot who would say our maintenance is the least bit shady. You want shady? Go to TSA. We took back a bunch of our EMBs that they had and we're still having issues nearly a year later. San Juan is different....word of advice: don't commute to SJU. You'll enjoy it more. Obviously not everyone has that choice, but I'd recommend it as I was based there for almost a year and a half. And I think our hotels are good for the most part. We have a bad one here and there, but the majority of stuff we stay at are Hiltons/Hamptons/Wingates, etc, etc.

Just my $.02.

 

[Caveman]

I have a friend at Skywest that tried to find greener pastures, he's now stuck in a E120 as an FO and wishes he never left Eagle.

I have a friend that left Eagle looking for greener pastures too. He was an FO at Eagle and he's now a CA at Allegiant. Leaving worked out for him. Anecdotal evidence of good luck/bad luck stories doesn't really tell us much.

If a new guy asked me whether or not he should consider Eagle I'd say absolutely yes. Most guys will have to pass through a regional at one time in their aviation careers. Some will choose to stay. In either case you could do a LOT worse than Eagle. They pay as well as anybody else, their contract is better than most, decent pass benefits and they have enough bases to choose from to satisfy most peoples needs.

As an entry level job it's pretty good IMO. No matter where you go the first year sucks. Reserve, first year pay and commuting to a base you didn't choose is a PITA. It's a rite of passage.

Remember, all boats rise with the tide. Hiring at any large aviation employer is a good thing.

 

[jetjam619]

Meanwhile, after 911 ,AA furloughs ,allowing AA pilots to dislplace AE captains out of their seats ....600 of them for several years meanwhile ONLY 150 AE pilots flow to AA...SEEM FAIR TO YA????

Now, most AA pilots back to AA except a few who have been displaced to FO......


In the past , AA has warned their pilots of how "DANGEROUS" we are....and basically treat us like trash....WE say to them? You need to pay attention to your backyard....How has your safety record been in the last 20 years compared to Eagle. They tout themselves as the "Worlds Best Pilots" but I would check the hull losses in the past 20years.


We recently won a greivance where 250 AE pilots should have been recalled in 2007 and are working on intergration, NOW their even more PI$$ED now than ever.


That's enough......hope this helps....

What world do you live in? Your info isn't even correct. How are most AA pilot's back on property? There are 1900 of us on the street. 8 years and counting. It will be 10 years plus,before were recalled,if we ever are. We work for the same company. What do we gain by fighting amongst each other?[/QUOTE]

RIDER your're not reading my post correctly......When I mean most AA pilots back on property...I mean AA FLOWBACKS.....There are a few left at Eagle, mostly TWAers, who after the agreement expired , could only hold what their seniority allow them to hold..MAINLY FO seats. Therefore , they were displced to FO...as for the rest of the story its true.

We Eagles read many of your APA's propaganda and always amused at the misinformation given to you guys.

I know how many AAers on the street and I feel bad for them.

 

[TZtoSWA]

I think your perception is a little dated. Management/labor have an excellent relationship right now and we accomplish alot with this. No they won't hand over pay raises and pina coladas, but we do get alot done. And I don't know of any Eagle pilot who would say our maintenance is the least bit shady. You want shady? Go to TSA. We took back a bunch of our EMBs that they had and we're still having issues nearly a year later. San Juan is different....word of advice: don't commute to SJU. You'll enjoy it more. Obviously not everyone has that choice, but I'd recommend it as I was based there for almost a year and a half. And I think our hotels are good for the most part. We have a bad one here and there, but the majority of stuff we stay at are Hiltons/Hamptons/Wingates, etc, etc.

Just my $.02.

No Eagle pilot would complain about maintenance...really? My buds that are still there say nothing has changed much. In my tenure at Eagle I had:

A single engine landing (inflight shutdown)
Two instances of smoke. One in the cabin, one cockpit.
A complete loss of all pitch trim (main and stby)in the Taco Rocket.
Two (separate occasion) gear unsafe indications. Followed by manual extension.
Multiple de-ice / anti-ice equipment failures in icing conditions.
Multiple instances of bleed air leaks.
Turbine section main bearing failure which resulted in partial power loss and totaled the engine.
Plus more...

The real problem was the pressure that was put on maintenance by mgmnt to get the airplanes flying no matter what was wrong. This resulted in some REAL stretches of the MEL language to try to get it to cover the problem instead of taking the airplane off line and fixing it. It was a common situation to get an airplane with multiple MEL's some of which had been applied in complete contrast to the original write-up. I learned to be at the airplane in advance of required show time to allow extra time to go over the logbook and MEL list. The FAA would find these issues in their line checks of AEA and had attempted in some cases to violate all crews that flew the airplane after they found an MEL discrepancy.

Don't get me wrong, NO airline has perfect maintenance. It's just that I had more stuff go wrong at AEA than I have anywhere else in my career. I don't feel that it was coincidence. I am glad if you feel AEA has changed for the better. I sincerely hope it has. My friends accounts say otherwise.