America's Most Admired Airlines 2006

[ReverseSensing]

Real original there, chief.

Not a chief, just an indian. imp:

In any event, I'm not so sure this is even something to be proud of. It's more of a mangement award than anything, this is Forbes after all.

Oh, so we agree? You just have a more original way of putting it, I guess.

Expressjet is actually a pretty good place to work in my opinion. Let's hope it stays that way for awhile. I was thrilled when I was hired here and am still happy to be here a year and a half later, even if I get furloughed and/or face a 7 year upgrade with the planned "cutbacks".

Well best of luck to you then, chief.

 

[Alchemy]

Where did you get the idea that the current CPA was actually "negotiated"?? CAL dictated the extremely favorable terms in order to make XJT look very attractive for investors when the IPO was put out. And it worked....CAL made a bunch of money out of the deal. It really had nothing to do with XJT management. Everyone knew that the CPA would not be beneficial to CAL by the time it came up for negotiation. Everyone knew CAL would be looking to slash those same benefits that made them all that money when they spun off XJT on Wall Street.
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Makes sense for Continental, it just seems like a pretty crappy way to run a company.

 

[ReverseSensing]

It seems in this industry that "the place to go" is the place to sprint away from 6 months later. The bottom of the industry just keeps sinking.
Air Wisconsin, Comair, Mesaba, now Expressjet. Who's next? Horizon maybe?

For anyone who thinks Horizon is on any sort of pedestal among regionals, here's some food for thought:

Our contract isn't that fabulous by many standards:

We do have 2:1 duty rig and 4:1 trip rig, but we are not paid block, only an average segment pay on a block-rigged trip. So waiting 20 mins. for a gate can (depending on the rig in effect) be a bummer. Plus, our -200 schedules are pretty crappy by most standards.

Our first year pay is good, but pay is somewhat average in the middle years. With 6-year upgrades, earning potential at QX takes a while to really be "industry-leading."

Our min guarantees and time off (converted from our bizarre 5-week bid system) are only average: Line holder guarantee is 80 hrs/month with a min. of 11.25 days off/month. Reserve guarantee is 75 hours/month with a min. of 10.4 days off/month. Reserve line holders are unable to pick up open time, so it is virtually impossible to credit more than 75 hours/month. In general, our credit hour system is not generous, making it difficult to credit much more than your line value, especially when schedule factors are taken into account. Bottom line is Horizon's system is hard to milk for additional pay, unless you want to work almost all of your days off.

Don't get me wrong, there are many good things about Horizon, especially if you want to be based in SEA or PDX and basically fly the West Coast (or just the NW for -200 folks). But we have an expensive product, CASM-wise, and a management (Air) group that is pretty aggressive about getting our costs down, so it could get pretty ugly here shortly, as any of the AS guys can attest to.

I just feel it's important to keep the record straight about Horizon and to lower expectations for folks looking at QX as a career move. It is a good company and for many personal reasons I'm happy to be here, but I think there are some over-inflated notions of QX's stature floating around out there.

 

[WMUSIGPI]

I really hadn't looked very close at Horizon. In fact the closest I've ever been to the Northwest is San Diego or Denver. But I heard of quite a few of my coworkers looking to jump ship, and Horizon was a name that kept coming up of where to go. Personally, my wife makes too much here in metro Detroit right now to consider leaving for any regional flying job. Now if someone wanted to offer up a 90K+ corporate gig, I'll talk.

 

[ERJFO]

Thanks fellow ALPA brother! Glad to see we can all get along.

Give that ALPA crap a rest, being in a union doesn't make you our brother. You might be our brother if you stopped working for a contract that degrades the industry.

XJT's contract should be the minimum regional contract... Not the best.

Working for TSA's contract is a laughing matter.

 

[illtake2]

ERJFO do you poop golden turds!!

What makes TSA's contract so bad since you know our CBA so well. Just tell me how it is a disgrace and I will give you the respect you deserve. Until then just shut up if you want to offend somebody for something they have no control of.

 

[Reebo]

Give that ALPA shoot a rest, being in a union doesn't make you our brother. You might be our brother if you stopped working for a contract that degrades the industry.

XJT's contract should be the minimum regional contract... Not the best.

Working for TSA's contract is a laughing matter.

A contract that was signed 6 years ago. OK Wonderboy, how long have you been flying for XJT? Remember when you had to pay 10 Grand for an F/O seat? That's right, you were still in HIGH SCHOOL! STFU Toolbox! Once you gain some experience and time under your belt, you will see that we ALL perform the SAME job. Worst part is most guys I know at XJT are stand up guys. You unfortunately are not one of them. One day you will understand that we are all "brothers" and need each others help. Division amongst pilot groups only benefits MANAGEMENT.

 

[AviatorTx]

Nice try! I don't even work for Mesa, but they too are our "brothers". Good luck at XJT. Hopefully your management won't put you in the same position that the Mesa pilots were in. Only time will tell.

How about "NO try". I never insinuated that you worked for that POS operation. I just said that I do not think of Mesa pilots as my union brothers, because all they do is wear the pin. Until they actually do something to BETTER the profession, as opposed to run it in the ground, I shall continue to feel that way. Illegitimate stepchild, maybe, but not brother.

You are correct about ONE thing. That is, only time will tell. Since we were smart enough to scope our holding company AND get decent pay and work rules, the odds of a similar situation at XJT are slim to none.

Nimitz, Nimitz, Nimitz... After careful consideration, and re-thinking my last post over the last few days, your response is noted and logged. I stand by every word that I said.

 

[aerobaticspilot]

I wonder how "admired" expressjet will be after Mesa or TransStates gets 69 COEX ERJ's and they furlough 25% of their FO's?

Make sure you know what you are talking about before you talk!!!!!!!!!!

 

[pgcfii2002]

So people are already getting pissed off at Trans States and Mesa for rumors lets get pissed off at Democrats for electing Hilary to run in 2008 while we're at it

NICE AVATAR!!!