Virgin America QOL

[AEROSQUADRON69]

Ladies and Gents AT VIRGIN,

I'd like to hear your honest thoughts and advice about VA. I'm employed, flying for OO 4+ years now. Already have PIC. I enjoy SkyWest, but just looking for something different. I am impressed by VA's product and all. However, Would you leave after several years at a better regional to start over.
How are things looking from the inside?
Think they will survive and be competitive? Turn a profit?
What is reserve like there? Call out period mainly.
Any other comments are welcome.

 

[clickclickboom]

They have lost $678,000,000 since they started flying with $150,000,000 loan due and no way to repay. That is why they talk about an IPO..

So what were you asking about QOL?

 

[Pogue Mahone]

They have lost $678,000,000 since they started flying with $150,000,000 loan due and no way to repay. That is why they talk about an IPO..

So what were you asking about QOL?

Keep in mind, that in addition to trying to impress everyone with the list of random and unrelated ******************** he may or may not have done...

<----------------------------

He loves to bash an airline, the internal machinations of which he knows nothing about. Further it seems to stem from some odd inferiority complex from which he suffers as a result of being employed by an airline very similar in concept and initial structure to his own.

Cheers Click, ya lovable malcontent Blue Boy VA basher you.

 

[ualdriver]

Ladies and Gents AT VIRGIN,

I'd like to hear your honest thoughts and advice about VA. I'm employed, flying for OO 4+ years now. Already have PIC. I enjoy SkyWest, but just looking for something different. I am impressed by VA's product and all. However, Would you leave after several years at a better regional to start over.
How are things looking from the inside?
Think they will survive and be competitive? Turn a profit?
What is reserve like there? Call out period mainly.
Any other comments are welcome.

Dude, unless you are independently wealthy, I would not leave SkyWest (or any airline job) to go to Virgin America. They have serious financial issues. Unless something bad happens in the industry in the next few months, there are going to be MANY airlines hiring.

 

[Flyer1015]

QOL has been good. Reserve gives you 11 days off in a 30 day month, 12 off in 31 day month. Short call rsv has a 2 hr callout. Long call reserve is minimum 12 hr callout, but I've heard you usually know well ahead of time about trips (up to 24 hrs ahead of time). Once you're off reserve, you can pretty much jump into a 70-75 hr line with 17-18 days off. Or you can choose more credit and lesser days off. As for me, I was on reserve for only one month and jumped into a 17 day off regular line, because I was hired in a nice hiring cycle (classes basically every two weeks).

I left a regional to come here, I have no regrets. Delta is going to tear the regionals a new one. Skywest has it best, it seems their fleet losses with the Delta flying will be minimal, however, it's still a regional. The 50 seater fleet is not going to grow. And most growth at the regionals is dead. Now, any "new" flying is just a current shift in flying from one regional to another.

VA is hiring for more classes this year, classes in Aug, Sept, and I believe Oct-Dec as well. No one has a crystal ball to know if an airline will make it or not. If I did, I'd look in the future and see what airline(s) is around when i hit 65, and then go there today. But there's no such thing. I think the Virgin brands offer a good product, and VA had the unfortunate luck of starting right before the great recession of 2008 (thanks ALPA). So yes, VA has lost a lot of money, but so did all airlines 2008-2012. The fact that any startup could make it in that time is a miracle. As of right now, I haven't seen any panick signs from investors. The plane deliveries are still coming, no deferral of deliveries yet (not that it's necessarily a bad thing). Management/Investors are turning away AA from a potential merger talk, so it sounds like VA has no plans to merge. If the investors were really concerned about this place making it or not, you'd think they'd try and push for at least more talks in terms of potential mergers so they could cash out. Who knows?


Personally, I do like working here. The crews are great, the type of flying is easy, the pay improving. Zero regrets coming here from a regional. Having a full A320 PIC type rating is a nice addition to the resume.

 

[Flyer1015]

Dude, unless you are independently wealthy, I would not leave SkyWest (or any airline job) to go to Virgin America. They have serious financial issues. Unless something bad happens in the industry in the next few months, there are going to be MANY airlines hiring.

Oh. There you are. I almost missed you, ualdriver.

 

[atr42flyer]

I have been at VX since Jan, I held a line almost right away only 5 total weeks on reserve. I average 17-19 off with about 80-90 hours. like the previous guy said we were hired in a nice cycle. your mileage may vary. I do like it here a lot but if mother D calls or FedEx...see ya

 

[lanilila]

Ive been at VX almost 2 years and the quality of life has been great mainly because I live in base. I left Skywest, flew there 6 years and have no regrets leaving. Still feel many work rules were better at OO but for me the quality of life was the reason I left (was commuting to ORD). It was just too senior to be based in LAX at OO. I got LAX in 3 months. Once you get a line, you can get 17 days off 70-85 credit depending on how senior. It seems like I always got 17 days off even when I first started. Reserve here is 2 hour call out usually 3pm start on first day 3 pm release last day. I think there may have been a long call but not sure. As for surviving? Who really knows. Its a gamble. Supposed to turn a profit in 2012 so we'll see. I think Skywest was a great place to work for a regional and I wouldnt come here unless you live in SFO or LAX or you really are ready for something new. Overall Im happy here, but there are things that could improve.

 

[Pattern-Master]

Any chance in getting JFK as a base out of training?

 

[Flyer1015]

Any chance in getting JFK as a base out of training?

Hellllllll no! Many current FOs waiting for their chance to head over to JFK. I think the most junior guy right now has at least 1 to 1.5 years in company. There are only 18 crews there (36 total pilots), and there hasn't been any additions to that. The only movement into JFK happens when a current JFK pilot moves his bid back to SFO or LAX.

You can pretty much get LAX right in/out of training.