Any Pinnacle pilots out there???

[LITCHAT7]

Hi,

I'm hoping to get some of you Pinnacle guys to comment on some of the rumors I've read/heard about your airline. I've been in the business long enough to know that you seem to have two types of people: the doom and gloomers (always bitch'n about something) and the optomists. I tend to be on the optomistic side yet realize some of these rumors may be true. With the decision I'm facing, I'm hoping to determine if some of these rumors are fact or fiction! I DONT want to make a bad decision! I was recently offered a class date and am still planning on leaving my present employer to come aboard, however, after hearing these rumors, the excitement level is not where it originally was!

First off, I almost have the time to upgrade into the CRJ. I was told with my time I could probably upgrade VERY soon (less than six months), yet I think I read about one guy who said he was told the same thing and has been there over a year and doesn't see upgrade in sight! I understand the SAAB pilots being displaced right now wont help matters at this time yet will the continuation of deliveries help down the road? One guys math made sense to me: if you get to 82 jets X 5 crews each = 410 captns/fo's. So the way I understand this, if I'm below seniority number 410, my captain spot (assuming I get captain before some of the low time fo's ripen) could be bumped or no? Point blank; I understand some of the CRJ captns are being moved to the right side right now with the displacement of the SAAB guys. Does this happen also when a more senior FO achieves the time to upgrade? Trying to understand your business practices. Since I'm leaving seniority with o.k. money and facing a couple months of training with NO pay, upgrading soon is fairly important to me. Will it happen or not??!!!

Quality of life is probably the most important thing to me. Because you have a base in my hometown is probably the biggest thing motivating me to make the switch, yet if I felt I was going to the airline from hell I'd probably continue to commute!! So how is it????!!! I can deal with all the minor little bitches (all airlines have them) or is this the mac daddy??!! How are the schedules? I think I heard you have some bad stand-ups! Is there a lot of airport reserve? Is there a lot of sitting on your trips or are they built well? Does scheduling work well with you? How easy is it to drop/trade trips? And last, when Mesaba settles their contract and Pinnacles is up in a couple years, do you think we'll be wearing the same shoes Mesaba is now?

I would REALLY-REALLY-REALLY appreciate help with this. If anyone was willing to speak privately with me (email or phone) that would be very much appreciated also. Look forward to and appreciate all responses. Thanks much in advance!

 

[Rook]

Hey Litchat7

Well I happen to be one of the semi-optomists whereas I dont let the company grapevine bring me down. My mentality is that I

1. Go to work
2. check in
3. Fly from A to B
4. B to A
5. go home.

Yeah there are some highs and lows no pun intended but you have to take them all with a grain of salt. I was looking for a possible upgrade in the winter maybe spring and with the SAAB displacement that may have to go on the back burner for a while. But hey I still have a job when a lot of my fellow aviators unfortunately don't. More jet deliveries will help the upgrades. If you live where you're based, then that makes reserve easier for you. Scheduling isn't exactly your best friend but they help when they can. Dropping/trading is easy. As long as there's someone there to C.Y.A.

The highspeeds do suck but it works for some people. Unfortunately we have them I don't know if there's an end in sight for those.

Mesaba having contract problems right now isnt helping relations between us and them but I'm on their side. My roommate is a mesaba pilot and everyone knows their plight. But it's Big Brother that's making it a problem. My opinion is that there can be no peaceful co-existencs between mainline and their regional carriers. Apparently there's the chance of some mainline furloughed pilots coming over to pinnacle. The only issue i have with that is that there's no preferential hiring once the industry gets a little bit better. So I would rather hire the furloughed mesaba pilots. I think they're struggling a little bit more than the guys up at mainline. But then again opinions are like a-holes yadda yadda yadda...

Think it over a great deal before accepting the class date. I like it here because I've been treated fairly from day one. The no pay during trng and the scrapping for a place to live sucked major A** but I've made some lifelong friends in the process. If you're about to leave a stable good paying job to make slave wages and you're cool with that...then come on over. If you have any more questions let me know I'll try to get them answered for you.

Rook

600' AGL Autopilot on.
'WHEW!'

 

[burg]

I'm on the bubble on getting displaced to the right seat with seniority in the low 400's, and I'm worried about ever getting back to the left seat within the next 1.5 years.
There are several other companies that are better places to go than here..Comair, ASA, ACA, SkyWest.
Pay is marginal 2nd yr fo is 23$ and schedulers are the dumb kids you knew in high school that were 3 years younger than you and they were pissed off then, just think about now.
And in 05' when it is our turn we will most positivly recieve the same or worst treatment as Mesaba gets now.

Your current job needs to be real bad or have absolutly no future to come here. Just think it over, and rermember some guys do like it here. I'm just indifferent.


burg

 

[TedCFII]

I hope for your sake that Memphis isn't your home town. If it is and you were hoping to upgrade to MEM Capt. You better think long and hard. The most junior CRJ Capt. in MEM is running around the 150's 160's. out of around 590 Pilots.

Some of the rumors are true.

If there is a vacancy award open and a Saab or CRJ FO has the seniority and flight time mins, they can upgrade which "should not" bump a junior Capt back to the right. Depends on certain factors. ( of which only the powers to be know)

If you have any seniority at your present company you should think long and hard. From the looks of things at the moment any new hires will be on reserve for a long while and until all of the Saabs are gone (from the property) there will continue to be bumping base to base until everyone gets to where they want to be which will be sometime next spring/summer. The last displacement class is Jan 3. We should be on the line by March April at the latest.

We do have a decent pilot group... and we do have our mis-communications.. some tactics could be avoided with more thought process input. (Line Construction, number of Ready Reserve days, etc.)

 

[blurg]

RE: Burg's bad information

RE: Burg's


I think the airline needs a lot of work but burg is not very smart!!
He would most likely complain if he were a 400 CA for NWA. It seems he's a real baby and should just be happy he's not at his former company. The schedulers are just ticked because burg calls and complaines about everything. He's a big cry baby. Burg just grow up and deal with your homophobia's. I bet ol Burg is marrying a rich girl or something! Anyone looking for a great up and comming airline to be part of consider Pinnacle as a career airline! Burg sucks!!!!!!!

~Blurg

 

[DoinTime]

You Eagle transplants really need to learn to get along together.

 

[flight-crew]

Seniority list reorganization

I think this displacement is a good thing. It reorganizes the pilot seniority list the way it should be. You shouldn't have FO's in the 200's and 300's, and CA's in the high 300's and 400's. To all the Captain's getting displaced back to the right seat, don't take it personally, it's strictly seniority.

 

[NEWSOUTH]

Apparently, Burg and Blurg are buddy bidding a reserve line. I'm not sure if this is true but, that's what everyone is saying. Does it really matter anyway? I mean, who cares if they are looking to spend time together riding the couch or each other. What difference does it make if they want to practice memory items while pulling each others thrust levers. If it was me, and it's not, I would be practicing my walk around....

Booom....here comes the booom...ready or not how ya like me now.....

 

[blurg]

Re: Burg

The only reason I signed up on this
aviation site was to reply 1 time,
1post to Burg as a joke. More so an inside joke. But wow, now you think you know me??
On a more serious note I agree that the pilots should be displaced in order of senority. Will it be a good thing? I would love to see half the fo's I fly with that are indeed senior to me upgrade. The other half and I'm not just saying this, should get some more experience and they know it! They will come right out and say I don't have a clue what I'm doing, watch me ok! What is this crap? I didn't sign on to be a flight instructor let alone have someone say it's a good thing to follow senority when half the list doesn't even have the time to upgrade because they paid for training and got hired with very little flight time. This is the situation the company got itself into and when they needed us we took a chance to come be part of your team and it worked out until now, great!!! Big deal it's not my fault your company got itslef into this mess. I came because of the oppertunity and like I said it worked out great! I do agree a normal senority list would be much better but we need qualified people up there until everyone junior is ready I think we should not worry so much about the order the upgrades go in! By the way I guess I just got lucky or again you don't know me but I have a line and missed the displacement by more than a few. For the unfortunate ones with forty more a/c on there way I wouldn't worry to much about it and enjoy your hotel and perdiem and great lines as an fo for the short time your there. The only career your not judged by performance what so ever.
Have a nice time on your website.
ya'all can have this.
~Blurg

 

[Rook]

If I can interject,

I think I may have flown with Burg and Blurg and they're both cool dudes. They're just expressing on a public forum. Which is what this site is for.

To the original poster;
Think it over before coming down. This job beats being out of work altogether.

Rook
600' AGL Autopilot on.
'WHEW!'

 

[burg]

I just sh1t my pants!!!

That was some entertaining stuff.
Blurg I'm gonna slap you like a filthy red headed dispatcher. And then your gonna get the
DIRTY SANCHEZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hope ya like it.

 

[burg]

On a Serious Note/ NewSouth

NewSouth;

Have you seen the lovely billboards here in MEM. You know the ones that say, "Hire a Hooker and GO TO JAIL."

It's kind of the same principal behind the way you got this job.

Just a quick question. How many zero's were on the check daddy wrote for the advancement of his pride and joy.


Hey can we go fly through that cloud.... I need to build some actual.

If your just kidding than join the club cause it's all fun and games, but if not .........................lick the sweat off DEEEZZZNUTZZZZZ

GA.....GA.....White Needles.....Autotune.....Nav Mode.........
..Thank God...Thats the first Time I ever had to do a GA...


SEE YAAAAAAAAAA
burg

 

[burg]

NEWSOUTH / SORRY

NEW South
The rebuttal was ment for FLIGHTCREW. Sorry, did'nt mean to ruffle feathers ,step on toes, or hit on your sister.

But Flightcrew you can still BLOW ME......................


your greatest admirer

burg

 

[DoinTime]

Burg.....

Its cocky pricks like you, along with a disrespectful management staff, that really make Pinnacle a lousey place to work. You need to realize that you are just a junior little bîtch around here and pretty soon you'll be sitting in the seat that suits you. I'm going to love watching you swing my gear.

 

[flight-crew]

go back to the chicken

But Flightcrew you can still BLOW ME......................

Excuse me? Why are you getting personal with me and throwing insults at me? I never directed anything at you at all or insulted you in any way. In fact, all I said is that seniority should be followed. I've got a lot of friends at other airlines and they've never seen such an awkward seniority list. There are plenty of FO's right now with over 1000 hrs in the right seat. That's time in type and knowing company procedures. You're telling me that's not qualified?

You know what burg... why don't you go f.uck yourself. I don't give a shi.t how many landings you did in an ATR at American Eagle.

 

[CRJ200FO]

As I'm sure everyone can see, we're just a big happy family at Pinnacle. (Note the sarcasm)

 

[Rook]

WAHHHHHHH!!!!

WAHHHHHHHH!!!

Well if we're not complaining about something...

Rook

600' AGL Autopilot on. 'WHEW!'