Air Wisconsin QOL?

[klr1395]

For any Air Wisconsin pilots, my wife and I would appreciate some input. My wife has an interview with your company this coming week with a potential class date of 26 March. Can anybody tell me which bases are junior? How about DCA? We are hoping for DCA or RDU. What's reserve like? Does it go junior or senior? How about any more anticipated hiring beyond March? How easy is it to give flying/reserve away to other pilots or back to company? Do you generally like your job and enjoy working for Air Whiskey? Any other thoughts or insights would be appreciated. Feel free to reply here or PM me, thanks in advance!!

 

[flyboyike]

Can't get your own wife hired at WN or what?

 

[klr1395]

Sure, but I don't want her to work here. This is not the place it once was, and we live in MCO so she'd be commuting to the West Coast for years. Not to mention, we are not hiring and she is done flying in the reserves in two weeks so currency will rapidly become an issue. To answer other queries, she does have an app in at US Airways. She does not meet the total time min of 4,000 hrs at Spirit or VA.... She has also applied to XOJet in the fractional realm but heard nothing there. Do you have any AW info?

 

[WSurf]

Why in the world does she wanna fly??

 

[CesnaCaptn]

Why in the world does she wanna fly??

What a useless addition to this thread. Let me try. Why in the world wouldn't she want to fly?

You know, not everyone has been dealt a crap hand in this industry. Look at the OP...

 

[flyboyike]

What a useless addition to this thread. Let me try. Why in the world wouldn't she want to fly?

You know, not everyone has been dealt a crap hand in this industry. Look at the OP...

The OP would rather his wife work at Air Whiskey than at Southwest. Just thought I'd point that out.

 

[klr1395]

For one SWA is not hiring. Her move to this job is not one for money, so while I always want other pilot groups to realize contractual improvements, the pay is not a huge detractor since she is not the primary bread winner. As far as AW, the bases are key and there are at least two of them that she would not need a crash pad at. Also, of all the regional guys and gals I have had on the Jumpseat in the last couple months the AW bubbas seem happiest. Another reason, is that thus far it is the only interview invite received. It is basically a steppingstone until or if DL or USAir calls. As to why fly at all? Fair question, but why do we do it? In some form or another she is addicted and it is a passion for her as it is me and all of you. Otherwise nobody would put up with the crap that is endured at times in this profession. As well with flying, there is no need for expensive schooling to begin an entirely new career field. Now, does anybody who works there actually have insight as to what working at AW is really like?

 

[dooork]

I do not work at AW. I hope you get an answer.From what I do know....AW has a good contract...management...I think RDU is closing as a base...CLT may become a base...they maybe doing more ops in DCA...they have all CRJ 200's with a US Airways contract that expires in 2015.....but more importantly...good crews.

 

[Rekks Inbound]

klr,

AWAC isn't the worst place, nor the best, at least right now (been here 11+yrs and have seen the good and the bad). Pretty much forget RDU as a base, as it looks like it will probably close due to the Airways/Delta slot swap. Good news is DCA looks to grow.

I haven't sat reserve in many years, but the reserves I fly with get put through hell (your life belongs to crew scheduling, like pretty much any carrier). Once off reserve, life gets much better.

If she's looking to park herself for currency reasons, but looking to get on with LCC/VA/Spirit/etc., there are worse places to be. And the 10K pay bump after year 1 isn't too bad either. We have 2nd and 3rd year FO's that make more per year than 7 year RP FO's.

Upgrades right now are running probably in the 6-7 yr range, but who knows how the new FT/DT regs will change things.

Hope this helps.

Peace.

Rekks

 

[n757st]

For one SWA is not hiring. Her move to this job is not one for money, so while I always want other pilot groups to realize contractual improvements, the pay is not a huge detractor since she is not the primary bread winner. As far as AW, the bases are key and there are at least two of them that she would not need a crash pad at. Also, of all the regional guys and gals I have had on the Jumpseat in the last couple months the AW bubbas seem happiest. Another reason, is that thus far it is the only interview invite received. It is basically a steppingstone until or if DL or USAir calls. As to why fly at all? Fair question, but why do we do it? In some form or another she is addicted and it is a passion for her as it is me and all of you. Otherwise nobody would put up with the crap that is endured at times in this profession. As well with flying, there is no need for expensive schooling to begin an entirely new career field. Now, does anybody who works there actually have insight as to what working at AW is really like?

Ok, I'll get in on this. Swa might not be the "bee's knees" like it used to be, but AWAC was littered with issues, and from what my friends have said is still littered with many issues. Do they have a good contract? Yes. Do they have good management? With the exception of Jeff in ORF, no. The schedules were terrible, (read uncommutable, 6 leg days, multiple swaps). Reserve is absolute hell.... You will 30/7 on many rotations and generally be scheduling's bitch. Pay is a little better then most, work rules pertaining to pay are good. The crux of it all.... The CPA with airways ends 2015, what that means to the future there is all conjecture, but I didn't have much faith that they would retain their business. Read this as, she might never see the left seat. If all she cares about is staying current... Cool. One last warning, their management team reads this board......

The one thing I will say... It's a great pilot group that has been bent over more times between the UAL move, loss of the 146s, and the consession contract. When Scott was the director of operations, things were still fairly good. When Bob F took over, I throught the relationship with mangement and its level of support for the pilots went downhill fast. AWAC people have a good reputation in my airlines circle because you will not find a group more willing to do anything in their power to get a commuting pilot home. Again, great group of folks working for a managment team that has made the place a shadow of its former self. It's better then Mesa, it's not a terrible place to work, but her quality of life, especially at reserve, will suck.

 

[jws717]

Expect 12 solid days off a month on RSV. 6 on 4 off or so. Upgrades are about 6 years right now, I don't see that getting any faster unless something changes.

Mgmt. Is somewhat Jeckel and Hyde, I was always treated fair. However there were allot of instances of nightmare relations.

AWAC works resv. crews allot, so she will soon have enough time to apply at VA, NK or B6.

I quit after nearly 6 years. As a senior F/O I had about 17 days off a month.

ORF seems to be the junior base.

 

[klr1395]

Thanks for all the input. Upgrade time doesn't matter though not saying it wouldn't be nice.
How long do you all think before getting off reserve in ORF or DCA?

 

[WSurf]

What a useless addition to this thread. Let me try. Why in the world wouldn't she want to fly?

You know, not everyone has been dealt a crap hand in this industry. Look at the OP...

Didn't mean it like that! Her husband works at SouthWest! Two married couples in this industry is hard as hell! I've seen it! Especially if there's kids involved. My thinking is Southwest is good pay...... Just go rent a plane every few weeks to get the flying bug out of the system.

 

[klr1395]

Wsurf, that option has definitely been discussed!

 

[CesnaCaptn]

Didn't mean it like that! Her husband works at SouthWest! Two married couples in this industry is hard as hell! I've seen it! Especially if there's kids involved. My thinking is Southwest is good pay...... Just go rent a plane every few weeks to get the flying bug out of the system.

Fair enough. You never know on FI. My wife is a pilot too, and for us, it didn't work having her in the profession. No amount of money would compensate us for the loss of our QOL.

 

[WSurf]

Wsurf, that option has definitely been discussed!

Aviation is not so much a profession as it is a disease. Good Luck....

 

[WSurf]

Fair enough. You never know on FI. My wife is a pilot too, and for us, it didn't work having her in the profession. No amount of money would compensate us for the loss of our QOL.

Agreed!

 

[klr1395]

We're you two at the same carrier? Was there a big difference in seniority? Able to
fly same days of the weeks? Both or one commuting?

 

[CesnaCaptn]

pm sent--too personal.

 

[crash312]

Assuming she has the mins, has she looked at Jetblue. I think the mins are pretty low. They tend to like military.

Jetblue needs a lot of work but if you are just looking to park yourself for a bit it has very flexible scheduling as far as reserves are concerned (specific days off). The junior bases are BOS then JFK. Then FLL, LGB, MCO. Mostly commutable on reserve. Occasional 14 hour long call, I but I think it varies as to how occasional.

If she does come, after she is done with training and all blue juiced up, please remind her of how well a union can work.

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[klr1395]

She does have the mins and also several friends have offered a Blue Dart but your window is closed at the moment. We live about 5 mins from jetBlue U. She also would never see the left seat since you all are so young and if she did it most likely won't be in MCO. I love B6 and the people and I think it could be a lot of fun! As far as a union, let's just say I have schooled her well overthe last 4.5 years and she would be a yes! All I had to do was tell her that all the protections FL pilots received through B/M are not available to non unionized pilot groups and she was sold.

 

[n757st]

She does have the mins and also several friends have offered a Blue Dart but your window is closed at the moment. We live about 5 mins from jetBlue U. She also would never see the left seat since you all are so young and if she did it most likely won't be in MCO. I love B6 and the people and I think it could be a lot of fun! As far as a union, let's just say I have schooled her well overthe last 4.5 years and she would be a yes! All I had to do was tell her that all the protections FL pilots received through B/M are not available to non unionized pilot groups and she was sold.

I wouldn't say she will never see the left seat, there are a lot of planes on the way. As for MCO, it would be a while, but Fll is possible inside a year.

 

[One Wing Low]

Air Wisconsin isn't bad in terms of regionals, but it does have its quirks. Forget about dropping, giving away or any other type of schedule enhancement, it just won't happen. Reserve for fo's is quick at the moment, just about 1-3 months if you are willing to be orf based, as mentioned rdu is going away, so don't bother with that. DCa will probably require a long reserve.
Contract is really good, planes are getting up there in age with no obvious signs of growth, there will more than likely be a displacement bid coming up along with the possibility of a new base, CAE and clt seems to be the largest contenders with a remote shot of mke, but if it does happen, expect clt or mke to be waaaaayyyyyyy senior.
Qol varies by base and seniority. As mentioned upgrade is just under 6 years (I think 5 years 11 months at the last bid)

 

[crash312]

She does have the mins and also several friends have offered a Blue Dart but your window is closed at the moment. We live about 5 mins from jetBlue U. She also would never see the left seat since you all are so young and if she did it most likely won't be in MCO. I love B6 and the people and I think it could be a lot of fun! As far as a union, let's just say I have schooled her well overthe last 4.5 years and she would be a yes! All I had to do was tell her that all the protections FL pilots received through B/M are not available to non unionized pilot groups and she was sold.

I don't think we are going to interview until late summer/early fall for some fall class dates. If she were to get an interview early in that timeframe reserve would not last long as it should be the beginning of a decent hiring spurt (til spring 13). Left seat would be a long time, and probably never in MCO. That being said the pay for FO is not too bad, especially if she can use your benefits. She can always move on later if something better pops up. Or by then maybe we'll have have our act together and it might be a career airline. I would suggest a training dept position but they just hired too many (revised the staffing numbers after the fact) and are now overstaffed.

If Air Whiskey is the only one calling for now, then it is the only one calling. Flexibility is nil. Pay is decent, work rules are decent (except for reserves). I hate to say it but it is probably not a long term solution as others have pointed out (contract w/US expiring). The upside would be if major hiring picks up and there is no future/expansion at Whiskey I imagine there would be a mass exodus and some movement upwards quickly. Again, not a bad place to be, until you can find better.

ps- spirit either is hiring or set to hire 12 a month for awhile. Not sure how senior FLL is though.

 

[RP170]

I would suggest a training dept position but they just hired too many (revised the staffing numbers after the fact) and are now overstaffed.

Good advice. I work in the training department at JB and live about 10 min from JBU. It's a great way to be home all the time. As far as being overstaffed goes, maybe on the 320, but we do a ton of business partner training on the 190 and that has kept us extremely busy on the 190 side of the house. TACA and Lufthansa are sending tons of business our way. This creates a lot of opportunity for OT and you can easily make over $90,000 in your first year at JBU as an instructor if you are on the 190. After 12 months you can interview for a line seniority number as long as we are hiring and then fly the line a couple days per month as well as instruct. Keep an eye out for instructor position openings in the future. Probably won't be anytime soon but it's worth watching for.

 

[klr1395]

I want to thank everyone for the input. It was all valuable in deciding what is best for our family. My wife has found a KC-130 reserve unit to affiliate with. 6-8 days per month of her choosing and the ability to add PIC time almost from the get-go.... During the hiring process AW was a class act and we wish all the people there nothing but the best. Thanks again!