American eagle q
- Thread starter gran_fan
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What are the chances of getting LAX as a base right out of school/training?
Listen to the Dragin
Listen to Dragins' value-added comment it is the best advice you can get here on flightinfo.
Right now there are over 3000 desperate pilots on the seniority list at Eagle. 500 of them are desperate American flowbacks (furloughed AA pilots that find Eagle so repulsive that they've elected to work there instead of staying home) Apparently they're desperate enough to work for Eagle and earn a paycheck to help feed their families.
There are also hundreds of new FO's that are desperate to get out of hauling freight or flight instructing for minimum wage that the step up to FO at Eagle was an improvement in pay and working conditions. Some of them even live in one of Eagle's domiciles like LAX. Some might be older and beyond the point where they would be considering these companies as 'stepping stones'. Maybe even some of these water-heads don't have the almighty dollar sign on the brain and want to fly a saab out of LAX or be based in Laguardia cuz their Grandma lives close by.
Let me offer my advice. American Eagle isn't for everyone. Neither is ExpressJet, Comair, Colgan etc. The flowback situation there is prolonging upgrades. I could offer you a one-line flip recommendation but I am not arrogant enough to believe I understand who you are and what might be best for you. Having said that, send in your resume and prepare yourself for an airline interview. Whether you get the job, want the job, or need the job... well, that entirely depends on you.
Good luck!!!
Draginass said:
Listen to Dragins' value-added comment it is the best advice you can get here on flightinfo.
Right now there are over 3000 desperate pilots on the seniority list at Eagle. 500 of them are desperate American flowbacks (furloughed AA pilots that find Eagle so repulsive that they've elected to work there instead of staying home) Apparently they're desperate enough to work for Eagle and earn a paycheck to help feed their families.
There are also hundreds of new FO's that are desperate to get out of hauling freight or flight instructing for minimum wage that the step up to FO at Eagle was an improvement in pay and working conditions. Some of them even live in one of Eagle's domiciles like LAX. Some might be older and beyond the point where they would be considering these companies as 'stepping stones'. Maybe even some of these water-heads don't have the almighty dollar sign on the brain and want to fly a saab out of LAX or be based in Laguardia cuz their Grandma lives close by.
Let me offer my advice. American Eagle isn't for everyone. Neither is ExpressJet, Comair, Colgan etc. The flowback situation there is prolonging upgrades. I could offer you a one-line flip recommendation but I am not arrogant enough to believe I understand who you are and what might be best for you. Having said that, send in your resume and prepare yourself for an airline interview. Whether you get the job, want the job, or need the job... well, that entirely depends on you.
Good luck!!!
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1. A flowbacks life isn't so bad since all flow backs are jet captains which makes them all make a livable wage at least $50,000 a year without even trying. First year jet captain pay is $53 an hour on the lowest paid equipment (ERJ 135), 6th year jet FO pay is $36 an hour. There are flowback captains who haven't been FLYING as long as some of the guys they are displacing have been at Eagle.
2. The junior captain with an April date of hire was displaced in the last system bid to CRJ FO. The junior captain at Eagle now has a March '99 date of hire. The junior captain on the September 2001 vacancy bid had an October '99 date of hire. You cannot look at the date of hire of the junior captain at Eagle and say "that's how long it takes to be a captain here" Upgrade time is getting longer every day. Now that new jet deliveries have stopped, upgrades will stop and it is only a matter of time before displacements begin as the fleet is shrunk and turbo-props are layed to rest. There has not been a new Captain at American Eagle since 9/11. Prior to 9/11 captain bids were going down about 30 numbers a month. In other words if #1500 got it in June, 1530 would be the junior guy in July. There are now 294 pilots hired in 1999 that have not had the recent opportunity to be a captain. At the 30/month rate it would take at least 10 months to get to the end of 1999 hires if they began upgrading like crazy today. There are a bunch of pilots hired in 2000 and 2001. If you were not at Eagle on 9/11 I wouldn't expect to upgrade in the next 2-3 years. If you are not at Eagle already, I wouldn't expect to upgrade this decade.
3. Go where you want to go, don't go where you percieve a quick upgrade or whoever hires you first. In 1999 I had job offers from ASA & ComAir and an interview pending at Continental Express (now Expressjet). I took Eagle because they gave me the first class date. All of the airlines at the time had about equal upgrades ranging from 1 to 2 years. When I got hired at Eagle, the junior captain had 14 months with the company. In hindsight, I could not have made a poorer choice. You may not be planning to stay at your regional for long but you never know what is going to happen, you could very well be there for a very long time. You get over the "cool! this is a turbo-prop/jet" thing in about a year.
Good luck,
Later
2. The junior captain with an April date of hire was displaced in the last system bid to CRJ FO. The junior captain at Eagle now has a March '99 date of hire. The junior captain on the September 2001 vacancy bid had an October '99 date of hire. You cannot look at the date of hire of the junior captain at Eagle and say "that's how long it takes to be a captain here" Upgrade time is getting longer every day. Now that new jet deliveries have stopped, upgrades will stop and it is only a matter of time before displacements begin as the fleet is shrunk and turbo-props are layed to rest. There has not been a new Captain at American Eagle since 9/11. Prior to 9/11 captain bids were going down about 30 numbers a month. In other words if #1500 got it in June, 1530 would be the junior guy in July. There are now 294 pilots hired in 1999 that have not had the recent opportunity to be a captain. At the 30/month rate it would take at least 10 months to get to the end of 1999 hires if they began upgrading like crazy today. There are a bunch of pilots hired in 2000 and 2001. If you were not at Eagle on 9/11 I wouldn't expect to upgrade in the next 2-3 years. If you are not at Eagle already, I wouldn't expect to upgrade this decade.
3. Go where you want to go, don't go where you percieve a quick upgrade or whoever hires you first. In 1999 I had job offers from ASA & ComAir and an interview pending at Continental Express (now Expressjet). I took Eagle because they gave me the first class date. All of the airlines at the time had about equal upgrades ranging from 1 to 2 years. When I got hired at Eagle, the junior captain had 14 months with the company. In hindsight, I could not have made a poorer choice. You may not be planning to stay at your regional for long but you never know what is going to happen, you could very well be there for a very long time. You get over the "cool! this is a turbo-prop/jet" thing in about a year.
Good luck,
Later
AV1ATRX
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I'd say you'd get over it in less than a year. No airplane is cool enough to make it worth being junior-manned or endure being on reserve for YEARS.
But don't let anything you see on this board factor in your decision. Unless you have a crystal ball, you're playing the lottery. If I'd gotten my first choice back before 9/11, I'd have been very junior at ACA...
But don't let anything you see on this board factor in your decision. Unless you have a crystal ball, you're playing the lottery. If I'd gotten my first choice back before 9/11, I'd have been very junior at ACA...
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LAXSaabdude
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Source, please?PacoPollo said:
And they filled the bid for that aircraft back in April. All of the subsequent (and MUCH larger) bids have been attrition. Mostly flowbacks quitting. Expect more of that too.
LAXSaabdude.
P.S. Besides, if you believe everything you read on Eaglelounge.com, we'll be getting those neato EMB 170/190s just any day now, so just hang in there!
(Tounge in cheek!)
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