Airnet or Regional

[fencitup]

I am currently at 1120TT and 69ME and think I have a good chance of getting on at Airnet. (according to Mr. Washka) I would prefer to be with a regional though. My multi time is the big problem at the moment for the regionals.

Should I go to Airnet for the 12 mo. minimum and be desireable to most any regional or wait the 2-3 months it will take me to get my multi time over the golden 100?

 

[General Lee]

Get up to 100 ME and they apply to Eagle. You will like an E145 much better than a barron or a lear.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[jobear]

Pays better at Airnet

 

[taxicabdriver]

Will 100 multi get you to Eagle? Just curious how competitive the market is now. I would suggest a regional so long as it wouldn't take too long to get there. I have heard the upgrade on the lear at Airnet is 2-3 years.

 

[wings421]

I am currently at 1120TT and 69ME and think I have a good chance of getting on at Airnet. (according to Mr. Washka) I would prefer to be with a regional though. My multi time is the big problem at the moment for the regionals.

Should I go to Airnet for the 12 mo. minimum and be desireable to most any regional or wait the 2-3 months it will take me to get my multi time over the golden 100?

Once you're at AirNet, you might decide that you like it. Of course, Washka wants guys (or girls) that WANT to be there, not that have to be there.

With regards to the above post about upgrade time being 2-3 years, not quite true. While it will take that long (maybe a year longer) to go from the left seat of the Baron, Caravan, Chieftain or 310 to the left seat of the Lear, you can move to the right seat of the jet before your 12 month contract is even up. Guys are doing it right now.

 

[BoilerUP]

...Unless you areyoung (like myself), and you have a high probability to get the ATR on the Rock or the Saab. I hear that there are alot of SJU pilots whose seat lock is coming up and will be bailing back to the mainland. Then again, www.eaglelounge.com has listed mostly EMJ assingments from recent class.

The Airnet guys might be able to chime in, but its possible with their fleet change/expansion/whatever for you to be in a Lear within 12-14 months and a Lear CA within 24-36 months.

It all depends on what type of flying you want to do, what type of equipment you want to fly, and if you so desire the title "airline pilot". I wish you the best of luck!

 

[starcheck1]

I have been on both sides of this one. I worked at airnet for about a year before moving on to Expressjet. Positves of Airnet were, jumpseat privledges, pretty good pay (for working your a$$ off) and weekends off. People from my class are just getting their lear upgrades they wanted after 14 months. Ths QOL sucked since if you wanted to have a normal weekend you had to switch between a day and night schedule. When I left the company was going to performance based pay raises and starting to screw the pilots....which is why there is talk of a union now. I made the switch to Express jet mainly for the QOL.....(I missed sitting on the beach and seeing the sun). Now that I am off reserve at Xjet my paychecks are getting close to what they were at Airnet....on the old contract.
I would not pass up the flight experience at Airnet for anything...but working nights sucks after a while and I am not regretting the decision I made to leave. If you have any more questions feel free to PM me.

 

[DirkkDiggler]

Airnet is a great experience. You will never learn so much about yourself or you ability to pilot an aircraft in all types of situations in any other job. You will learn to be a captain and make decisions since there is nobody sitting next to you who you can lean on for help. I think anyone who works there for a year or more is a better pilot when they leave than when they started. I know some regional pilots who could have certainly used the experience themselves. However, working nights SUCKS. The pay is great though. I made $40,000 over a 12 month period while flying the props. I think the pay scale has changed though and they no longer pay floaters extra floater pay. If you ultimate goal is to fly for the regionals and then move on from there, don't fly at Airnet unless you think you have to increase your hours to become competitive. That's what I did. If you can get a job at a regional right now then that's what I'd do. It will save you time in your long run career plan. Airnet was a great experience and I'd never trade it for the world. I'm also glad my two years there are over.

 

[StarChecker]

Ditto...

AirNet is a good solid company. MX is excellent but the pay cut you take to go to the regionals is retarded. $16,000 pay cut for me from Baron to RJ.

QOL at AirNet can be pretty bad....especially if you get a 5-night run like I had. That basically means one night off a week....compared to the 16-17 days off a month I get now. Like the others said...I wouldn't trade the experience for anything...but I'm glad I moved on. Working nights sucks and trying to have a normal life on the weekends just never works.

But....flying single-pilot...you can do anything you want...just don't break anything and be kinda ontime...and you can have a blast. Good luck.

 

[mmmdonut]

Jesus.. whatever you do don't go to Eagle. Even though their minimums will be 700 and 100 soon.

Fly 135 and get experienced. Night cargo will teach you a lot and will make you a good pilot, or an obnoxious blowhard who rants about liberals. Either way, it pays more.

 

[350DRIVER]

A RJ or a Baron?!?! You serious?

Someone has got to be kidding me if you even think twice about this. If working for peanuts is A-ok in your book then this is a no-brainer.

As COngressman Traficant would say" beam me up Scott - taaaaay".

3 5 0

 

[DirkkDiggler]

350Driver,


Actually your assesment is inacurate. It's more like RJ or LearJet. And it's single pilot v. dual crew. Right now Airnet is upgrading prop pilots to the Lear in less than a year. And the single pilot night freight experience is not something to be sneezed at. You are making command decisions about weather and all other types of situations at Airnet that dispatch makes for you at a regional. There is no comparison as to which job makes you a more skillfull or knowledgeable pilot. In addition, the two options are not mutually exclusive. I flew at Airnet for two years and now I'm at a regional. Like I said previously, I wouldn't trade my time at Airnet for anything in the world. Also, the upgrade to captain in the Lear at Airnet is probably quicker than upgrade to captain in an RJ at most decent regionals. Airnet just had a handful of captains leave for Southwest, and in the past year another handful have been hired at ATA and a few other companies. It depends what your goals are but Airnet is a great option, especially if your times aren't very competative at a lot of the regionals.

 

[LearLove]

"You are making command decisions about weather and all other types of situations at Airnet that dispatch makes for you at a regional"


Please tell me how 121 dispatch makes "command decisions" for me. In my time as a 121 FO and Capt I must have missed this. And yes I know what the FOM says about joint authority.

Basically been there done that (as many other on this board have wrt 135 single pilot and 121 stuff) and having a dispatch dosen't make it any easier than sitting infront of a duat terminal and looking at the wx yourself. Actually making "command decisions" while getting input from dispatch, flight crew, ground crew, mx, pax and who ever else is sometimes and or many times worse than working by yourself.

BTW i'm not saying 121 is any better than 135 or Airnet type ops or anything else, its all good, I just had to comment on this statement.

 

[DirkkDiggler]

Part 121, dispatch will look at the weather before you've even seen the release and if necessary will refile your flight plan accordingly. There's a chance you won't even know this has happened. 135 you make all the decisions based on weather. Not to mention, instead of dispatch leaning toward the safest and most conservative approach to the flight, you have a dispatch that essentially wants you to go even if you have to fly through a field of tornadoes. As the PIC (part 135) you have to be able to stand up to a dispatcher who is telling you to get airborne and not let him bully you into doing the wrong thing. I didn't mean to come across as a 121 basher. I fly for a 121 airline. I'm just pointing out that in a single pilot 135 operation, you make every decision regarding everything about each flight.

 

[barnyard]

Depends how much you need to 'break in' to the regional side. If your older, and your whole lifes dream is to be an 'airline pilot' then just go to a regional and be happy. Im a young guy and I choose not to join the 'race to the regionals' because I like flying cargo, its great expereince, turb pic is gold, better $, weekends holidays off etc. Call me crazy i guess.

 

[jaybird]

My experience is somewhat the same as the others. I was a floater at AirNet for over a year. My QOL has dramatically improved since I've left. I feel like my regional job at CHQ is like a vacation. There have been some rough days, but nothing compares to a 7pm show shooting 6 approaches some to mins and going home at 7am. Not to mention having to load 1000lbs with little help.

My advice if you do go to ANS get your time do your year and get out. You may end up liking it. Many guys do, it takes a special person IMO.

 

[Loafman]

How long will airnet be hiring after this goes into effect?



http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5880440/

Food for thought, if Airnet still does a lot of checks. I don't know how much of their business depends on them.


By Bob Sullivan
Technology correspondent
MSNBC
Updated: 2:57 p.m. ET Sept. 6, 2004

Every night, millions of cashed checks fly around the country, headed for their home bank. Starting in October, technology will start to ground many of those flights. And it may ground some consumers, too — those who try to sneak an extra day or two of "float" out of their checking accounts.

Consumers trying to stretch their money have become accustomed to taking advantage of "the float," the time it takes after they write a check for banks to deduct from their accounts. It's a bit of a secret loan, but it's about to be shut down for good.

Also about to be historical artifacts: bank statements packed with canceled handwritten checks.

The new era of banking begins in October. Banks will slowly get away from the business of flying checks around the country each night. Instead, checks will be cleared electronically, and often destroyed when they are cashed.

"We are bringing the industry out of the Pony Express era," said John Hall, spokesman for the American Bankers Association.

Congress passed the legislation authorizing the change last year. The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act, commonly known as Check 21, cleared the way for the simplified process by allowing digital images of checks to be deemed legal representation of payment — so-called substitute checks can now be presented to angry landlords or telephone companies as proof of payment.

The drive to clear checks electronically was fueled in part by the 9/11 attacks. While all flights across the United States were grounded, banks couldn't process checks, holding up a vital cog in the commerce system. Bad weather can have the same effect, said Ed Bachelder of Dove Consulting. The new Check 21 process can't be stopped by grounded flights.

"Think of it as being able to fax a check," said Bachelder said. Meanwhile, banks will see immediate savings from Check 21; the nonprofit Consumers Union estimated the banks' savings at $2 billion.

"It's a very expensive proposition at $50 a barrel to be flying paper around the country," Bachelder said.

Unhappy surprises
While there's little argument that the old check clearing process was outdated, some consumer advocates are concerned the changeover to Check 21 might lead to some unhappy surprises.

"It's never been a good idea to write a check before the money is in your account," said Consumers Union attorney Gail Hillebrand. But consumers who go grocery shopping on Thursday and write a check, expecting their payroll check to cover them when it clears on Friday, might suddenly end up paying for overdrafts.

if (window.displayApp) { displayApp(electronic_payments); }

Banking industry insiders say such worries are much ado about nothing. Changeover to the digital system will come very gradually, they say. Most banks will operate both paper and image systems for years to come, according to Bank of America's Betty Riess.

"It's not as if Oct. 28, a switch is flipped," said Hall of the American Banker's Association.

The most immediate impact will be seen by those who write out-of-town checks, Hall said. Float time on those could be sharply reduced.

But some estimates say up to 95 percent of checks clear in one day anyway, said Jeff Fowler, spokesman for First Data's Telecheck, which helps retail outlets verify check payments. Still, taking advantage of the float is common, he said. In a consumer survey taken by the firm this year, 8 percent of respondents said they write checks "because they like float."

How many checks will bounce as Check 21 takes hold is in dispute. Consumers Union suggests 7 million additional checks will be hit with overdraft charges each month; Hall says the number is an exaggeration. But consumers who are used to sneaking in under the wire will certainly face some surprises, Fowler said.

"Checks will likely clear sooner. That is something that people need to be aware of. ... It's true more checks will bounce," he said. "A check is not a loan, and it never has been."

More concern about packrats
Check 21 will likely be noticed most by packrats who save all their canceled checks in shoeboxes, Hall said.

Teledata's survey indicates about one-third of checking account holders still get their checks mailed back to them at the end of the month. Most tend to be older, or in the Northeastern states, he said. Beginning at the end of October, those consumers will get a mixture of traditional canceled checks and substitute checks. Eventually, canceled checks will completely disappear.

The images will actually be larger than the original check, meaning shoeboxes just won't hold them, Hall said.

Bachelder said surveys have shown that consumers who are in the habit of getting back their old canceled checks get instantly frustrated when they are taken away. But others in the bank industry say consumers have had plenty of chance to get used to checks that are processed electronically. Many retail stores, including Wal-Mart, scan checks immediately and convert them into electronic funds transfers. Consumers who use online bill paying are used to seeing images of their checks on bank Web sites. In fact, the usage of checks is currently in slow decline, giving way to various types of electronic transfers, including debit cards.

But the nuisance of finding larger boxes to store the checks might not be the only headaches for consumers. The Consumers Union also warned that banks may use the opportunity to increase fees for accounts that return canceled checks or their substitutes. Currently, many banks on the West Coast already charge $1 a month to receive canceled checks.

"It should be cheaper, not more expensive, to provide substitute checks," she said. The consumer group is calling on banks to keep their current fee structures as they are, and not charge consumers extra for substitute checks.

Banks are expected to begin notifying consumers about the changes this month; they haven't discussed possible fee changes. But Hall expects that for consumers, the Oct. 28 date will come and go as quietly as the Y2K computer switch.

"Change comes difficult," he said. "But like Y2K ... most people will notice nothing."

© 2004 MSNBC Interactive

 

[DirkkDiggler]

I don't work for a bank so I certainly can't say for sure what each bank is going to do but here's what a lot of people, including the high ups at Airnet are saying. For a bank to institute electronic transfer of checks, they have to spend A LOT of money purchasing check imaging software and a rather massive computer network. Since the cost of this is so high, it is likely that the banks will purchase one or two of these machines and place them in strategic locations around the country. Then they will have aircraft fly the checks to these locations where they will be imaged and processed electronically. This will reduce their costs but more importantly to the freight dogs, it will mean that many of them will still have a job. Certainly there will be less demand for freight pilots but I don't think they will disapear as quickly as some people think. Also, I don't think banks are required to change to digital imagery immediately. There is at least a year or more before the government has mandated that all banks process checks electronically. That being said, I was not comfortable enough with the situation at Airnet to stick around to find out what's going to happen. I put in my two years, had a blast, learned a lot, and don't regret leaving either.

 

[atldc9]

Airnet was one of the best experiences in my professional life. The flying was great - you flew. You learned ice, wx, t-storms, ice, ice, ice. Yeah, I was based in BUF before I got a reprieve to 182 in PHL.


They give you great training, a fantastic bunch of people to work with, pretty good equipment, and a great schedule. The flying is flat out great.

One thing I always find funny is when you turn everything off in the electric jet, and just fly it like a DC-9, you can tell people's background pretty quickly. The freight dog's, jetstream drivers, and poor old 1900 guys(and Girls), are all the way back in thier seats looking out the window chatting blindly. The guys(and girls) that went from 1000 hours to the right seat of an rj on autopilot, are front and center and can barely hold a conversation because they aren't used to seeing the airplane flown without the autopilot. I'm not bashing them, I'm just noting an observation. They all fly the airplane within tolerances, and know how to program the box, and manage the FMS as well as everyone else, probably a little better. But they just do it differently.

Go to Airnet, learn to fly in the goo, by yourself. You'll be a better Captain for it when your turn comes at the 121 carriers.