Avantair Bases and Medical

[Bugsmasher Plus]

And, if you want to make extra $$, there's plenty of OT available lately, (at 150%)

lots and lots of overtime! We are so short staffed that we had to charter this week even though we had a bunch of good planes sitting. there weren't enough pilots to fly them.

 

[FloridaFlyer]

So has anybody heard what bases they are hiring into??? It would be really nice if they were hiring into somewhere in Florida ( I live 10 mins from their Clearwater HQ ) and it would be ashame to have to relocate after just arriving in FL not to long ago. Also how hard is it to switch domiciles after your onboard, is there a set procedure or do ya just make the request and cross your fingers???

 

[celloman]

I dont mean to be a pain in the rear.... but I would recomend aplying and then when they call you for the iterview asking the person doing the hiring this question. I think you would find that getting the information you are looking for strait from the "horses mouth" would serve you the best.

Like I have said before, recently they have not been hiring into Florida.... nor letting people change into Florida.

Best of luck!!

 

[hangarrat]

Ok so with the big list of bases at Avantair... What are they currently hiring into and how hard is it to change bases once you are with the company. Are they currently or in the near future trying to staff any of their Florida Bases with pilots???? Is there any medical?? Good coverage?? It's been awful silent from you Avantair guys lately so lets here some info from those that work there. Please lets not get into all the Co-pilot can't fly stuff and let's not turn this thread into a Union/Non union thread. Just good facts please so that those of us looking to apply will have some more info. Oh yeah are the Phenom 100's still ordered or did that whole thing fall apart??? Thanks guys and gals for the info in advance. Let's keep it professional I know there is still a long way to go for things to improve.

Sorry it took so long to reply to this, it took awhile for me to get the current info from recruiting.

Open Gateways: (those being hired into right now)
BWI
CDW
CLE
ORD
IAH
LAX
DAL
LGA
JFK
EWR
PHX
SFO
STL

there has been talk of opening some slots up in the PIE area, but the numbers are not all in on that and the current pilots would have first choice on returning to the PIE area.

changing bases is not an issue at all, just call up the CP or DO and as long as they are hiring into that area, you can switch.

medical cost is great for individual plans, the family plan works great if it is a large family (there is no increase for each family member so you pay the same for a 2 person family as a 10 person family) HR is actively working on enhancements to the insurance benefits at the next open enrollment in November.

The Phenoms are still on order, i was told we are not first in line but there is no change to the order. Embraer reports that the phenoms are coming along as planned http://www.embraer.com.br/institucional/download/2_037-Prd-VAE-Phenom100programupdate-I-07.pdf

hope that helps...

 

[FloridaFlyer]

Hangarrat you rock man,

 

[celloman]

I am going to have to give hangarrat some props for getting that information for Floridaflyer!! Way to go!

Take Care,
celloman

 

[FloridaFlyer]

I can tell that this is a great pilot group. Reminds me of my prior 135 gig where we had a great group of guys/gals and it was still the most FUN job I've had in aviation. I want to thank everyone for helping provide the requested info and their own insights.

 

[Flyingdutchman]

How long would it be to get DEN?

 

[celloman]

My guess is that you could get hired into Denver..... It is a good location and we still need more guys and gals out west.

-celloman

 

[CherryBomb]

What's your flying background? Primarily 121 or 91? If you prefer 121, then Avantair is not for you. If you like 91, then it's probably not so bad.


The Good: Varied flying, generally nice hotels.

The Bad: Safety is not a priority in the operation; insurance for a family is very expensive; the mechanical reliability of the Piaggio is not very good; no spare parts; no support from the management; the pilots do everything, including clean the lav; the CP and DO shouldn't be in charge of a circle jerk, let alone a pilot group; you are expected to fly no matter the weather or condition of the aircraft; I could go on and on, but you get the picture.

PM me any specific questions, and I'll fill you in.

Just as a follow up. Things might have changed slightly in the last year. I have been with Avantair a year and I have never cleaned the lav. All I have done is simply remove the cartridge and give it to the linemen to change. I also simply wipe down the seat and bowl with disinfectant wipes. There has been no fluid changing or any direct contact with bodily fluids for me. Thats for the lineguys with the Lav cart.

I have also been involved in several situations where we opted not to fly due to maint or WX, and we have not had a problem. Of course we got a call from management, but as long as we had good reason, then there was no problem.

We also seem to have a much better handle on our spare parts situation. I guess Piaggio in Italy is finally pumping out spares.

Thats just a couple of improvements that I have noticed in my year here. Many more improvements to go. Like someone else stated, it wont take much to make this a really cool place to work.