AWAC info

[Binger]

I would like to hear from some people at AWAC what the feeling is around the club house about the move to USAir flying. Is there a feeling of uncertainty about the future or was this a good move? Are the lines and schedules improved or is there more time between flights, a/c swaps and deadheads? Is there still a commuter policy in place, and any details on it? Is it realistic to think that many of the senior pilots will not be moving or commuting to the new domiciles? From the outside looking in..making an unbiased comparison AWAC seems to still be a strong company with good people and work rules. I am just looking for some insight from within. Thanks

 

[DASHDRIVER]

I have really enjoyed my time at AWAC. Good company, good work rules, ok pay. It is better than most for quality of life issues. Right noe we are in the middle of transitioning the fleet so lines are bad and not really commutable. I just read a blurb from the union saying that they have spoken to the company and they are doin gthier best and that it should get better as more of our planes come out of paint shop. Take that for what it is worth... Yes, there is a commuter policy its got standard wording, two flights prior on any airline the company will positive space you if they can on U or UAL while we still work for them. Attrition is still high, mostly captains leaving for greener pastures ut there are a few junior fo's leaving trying to catch a faster upgrade. Right now that sits about 3.5 to 4 years, however it will be dropping in the short term at least to about 3 years because of a recent upgrade bid adding 40 captains.

AWAC is a good place to be. we have set ourselves up to not have to play musical rj's with our 50 seaters, and have a fairly good shot at growth with the new US Airways entity. good luck with your decision.

DD

 

[Mayday911]

The last bid that closed this past Friday only added 20 Capts. The results have not been published yet.

 

[FrozenPilot]

My cousin said they have picked up a few at 300TT. Not sure exactly where they came from or how they got it, but considering he's Capt on the RJ, I'd say thats fairly reliable. He's been there a few years now and seems to like it, minus the usual ups and downs of the uncertain business.

 

[Binger]

Thanks for the input. I posted more out of curiosity than anything else. Several years ago I worked at a USAirways express carrier and there were several guys who moved over to AWAC, all of which stated that they liked it much better. Deadheads, aircraft swaps and even double-deadheads seemd like a daily occurance. So I wanted to see if anyone currently in sencing a difference in the daily operation, schedules, flow of the day, etc. I noticed that Airways currently has nine different companies pulling the express banner through the sky. I guess I was surprised the number was so high..but what do I know.

 

[Twotter76]

From my one trip I have flown so far I like the USAir side more - we almost always get a jetbridge and everyone i have dealt with so far has been very welcoming. That being said PHL is a disaster but I think we all knew that going in to it. The majority of us are less than thrilled about being displaced to the east coast (the west coast would likely be a different story) and because of that you get the attrition that we are currently seeing. Seems to average between 25-35 a month which doesn't seem like much until you realize that we only have around 800 pilots. We have hired some low time people, both from the CAE program (bad) and just regular flight instructor types, though everyone I have met that was hired under 1000 hours and didnt PFT had a personal recommendation from a current line pilot. Our fleet is currently shrinking with the loss of the 146 flying but on the line we really aren't seeing any effects of it due to the rapid attrition. It is a decent place to work, I would say better than most other regional type jobs - especially if you live out east. Decent money (regionally speaking), decent QOL - isn't that why we got into this?

 

[check6]

A friend of mine got hired recently. He had over 400 total time, wrote a cover letter saying he wanted to work for the company but he didn't have the mins. Also, he would update his information with HR once he had the time. A week later he got the call for an interview. He did fine at the interview. He also had some previous CRJ training which helped. I hope he does alright for the rest of us lowtimers!!

 

[Illini Pilot]

are all new hires going straight out to the east coast bases? or are the midwest bases still available?

 

[Twotter76]

Newhires have been getting PHL but they will likely be displaced out as the rest of us are forced to bid into the new bases. All of our current bases (DEN, IAD, ORD, ATW) will be closed by april so to answer your question a newhire should expect to be based in either ORF, PHL, or DCA.

 

[logolight]

Pretty good airline. I was furloughed from Independence and hired on right after that. Because I was still current and qualified in the CRJ, they put me through the short course training which was only 3 1/2 weeks. Attrition is high because of the domicile changes. The new domiciles aren't very commutable So they need pilots bad. Right now they can't find enough pilots to fill their classes so they're lowering their mins. I've heard well below 1000TT.

One caution. The wash out rate has somewhat increased to about 30% because of the low time pilots being hired. I don't know if it's the inexperienced pilots or the training department causing it. So the company is hiring 2 classes of about 20 per month and expecting about 43 or 5 pilots to wash out of each class.

Good luck.

 

[Beechnut]

Pretty good airline. I was furloughed from Independence and hired on right after that. Because I was still current and qualified in the CRJ, they put me through the short course training which was only 3 1/2 weeks. Attrition is high because of the domicile changes. The new domiciles aren't very commutable So they need pilots bad. Right now they can't find enough pilots to fill their classes so they're lowering their mins. I've heard well below 1000TT.

One caution. The wash out rate has somewhat increased to about 30% because of the low time pilots being hired. I don't know if it's the inexperienced pilots or the training department causing it. So the company is hiring 2 classes of about 20 per month and expecting about 43 or 5 pilots to wash out of each class.

Good luck.

Read: Don't come here if you can't do the job.

S.

 

[Kenny]

Anyone who's thinking of coming here had better like Norfolk because you'll probably be there for a while. PHL and DCA are senior bases; I've been around the 30's in IAD and just got reserve in DCA and that's after over 18 months with the company.

 

[WhiteCloud]

One caution. The wash out rate has somewhat increased to about 30% because of the low time pilots being hired. I don't know if it's the inexperienced pilots or the training department causing it. So the company is hiring 2 classes of about 20 per month and expecting about 43 or 5 pilots to wash out of each class.Good luck.

AWAC was really proud of their low washout rate. I'm surprised that it's gone to 30%. Does that 30% figure include pilots who voluntarily leave AWAC during training for other jobs? That's a little different than those who can't complete training.

 

[mycfitrips]

Anyone who's thinking of coming here had better like Norfolk because you'll probably be there for a while. PHL and DCA are senior bases; I've been around the 30's in IAD and just got reserve in DCA and that's after over 18 months with the company.

When did the results come out including DCA an ORF???

 

[Mongolikecandy]

Anyone who's thinking of coming here had better like Norfolk because you'll probably be there for a while. PHL and DCA are senior bases; I've been around the 30's in IAD and just got reserve in DCA and that's after over 18 months with the company.

When did the realignment come out? Hasn't been a PIF about it.

 

[Kenny]

Times are certainly changing!

AWAC used to proud of a lot of things; 4 years ago you had to have been at another regional to have stood any chance of getting an interview. Not like now where we'll take guys with less than a 1000TT. The captains I fly with at the moment were at another regional for at least a year before spending around 3 years in the right seat here. They know their sh!t and are a pleasure to fly with. Unfortunately they're the pilots we're losing to Airtran, Jetblue and Southwest. It's great for them but we're losing that experience base at a time when we're lowering our minmums and taking guys who think it's a right to get a job flying a SJ.

The whole RAA PFT was a disaster and most of the pilot group was p!ssed off about the whole thing. It's done with now, so at least we don't have to contend with 300 hour FO's.

With the way the industry is right now, pride has less of a place than it used but I'm still proud to be an AWAC pilot. We're just going through a huge transition, moving from Yonited to Useless, so a certain amount of growing pains are inevitable.

Commuting to reserve should be the definition of hell in the dictionary. I did it at ACA and hated every minute. I was only on reserve here for a month but it was 5 on 2/3 off if I remember right. I'm pretty sure you'll be in ORF as a new hire right now and commuting there is probably going to be a 2-legger. Not good!

ORF is going to be an MX base so we're expecting early shows, late finishes, out and backs and day-trips. That means commuting is going to be an even bigger nightmare. On the plus side if you're single and don't mind moving ORF sounds like it'll turn into the AWAC singles club.

BTW the pif isn't out but log onto spikemail, go to bidding and it shows "future postion" at the top of the page.

 

[Smarta$$]

I'm glad to see that nobody has bad things to say about the company, just the new bases and schedules. If anyone cares to share, what is the reserve looking like for new hires? Is it comutable? What are the junior lines like after reserve? or what do you think the lines will be like after things settle down(4on,3off or something)? Thanks

 

[KFpilot]

Hey..When are you guys going to start flying out of ORF?

If anyone needs a crashpad....get in touch with me.
I am about 20 min from the airport down at the oceanfront.
[email protected]

good luck,
KF

 

[FlyinPiker]

Commuting to reserve should be the definition of hell in the dictionary. I did it at ACA and hated every minute. I was only on reserve here for a month but it was 5 on 2/3 off if I remember right.

.

You hopefully this won't last more than a month or two for you. They have always had a history of going nuts with the reserve positions as they transition to new bases in the past (ATL & IAD). The same thing showed up with PHL, ORF, and DCA.

Also...if you are in IAD, even though your future position is DCA Reserve....you do not know when you will be going there. Effective dates are going to be spaced out over the period of 4-5 months for that particular base. With any luck you will find yourself as a IAD lineholder for a few more months.

I'm pretty sure you'll be in ORF as a new hire right now and commuting there is probably going to be a 2-legger. Not good!

Any base is possible. Newhires are still getting PHL reserve....many of the F/O's I've talked to will do anything to stay off reserve so even though some of the top DCA reserve holders may be at 18 months sen the bottom may still consist of newhires. If you are looking to get off reserve anytime soon ORF is going to be your base.

You can adjust your bid so you are automatically transferred to the first base you can hold a line if that is your wish, and your "line holder" status cannot be taken away from you unless there is a displacement. "Reserve" and "Line Holder" are concidered two seperate positions.

Piker

 

[illeagle]

I'm looking at AWAC for the PHL base, wondering how long the reserve callout is. I live 90 minutes away with no traffic. Is PHL a long time reserve base or are pilots holding lines there pretty quickly. Thanks..