Air Wisconsin 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!