Champion Air

[Going2Baja]

Anyone know what the class date is that they are interviewing for?

 

[Workin'Stiff]

Anyone know what the class date is that they are interviewing for?

Right now we are interviewing for an October class. There is some talk that there may be another class after October, but yet this year... Just rumor mill right now.

The aircraft are indeed well maintained. With that being said, they are still 30-40 year old aircraft. Things break.

It was mentioned above about how the aircraft are equiped. No FMS, EFIS, etc. On ten of the aircraft, we have GPS and they do couple to the autopilot. But these are the old Trimble units... So nothing fancy. They are authoized for enroute only.

And Las Vegas was awarded to one guy in my class. But "junior" bases are DTW and STL right now. But this is subject to change with each base award.

 

[Going2Baja]

I'm asking for a friend that doesn't have internet (I know - who doesn't have web access.) I can say that the A/C seldom broke when I flew them for NWA prior to 9/11. The charter a/c are set up NICE!! And the trips were very fun if you are into sports. I would assume the mission is the same even though Champion is flying the trips now. I would think this job would be a good place to build jet time and improve your resume - as a career, I think I'd pass.

To all that are interested I'd say good luck - take the job, and keep your eyes open. Living in base will always improve QOL 10 fold.

Good luck to all!!

Baja.

 

[Workin'Stiff]

Yeah, the VIP aircraft are set up real nice. And when we fly those trips, we have a dedicated mechanic that flies with us. So when we land, he will jump right into fixing the write ups and keeping the aircraft in tip-top-shape.

The real sticker right now is a contractual issue with sports flying. Typically with the NBA flying, it is very short hops. You'll fly somewhere and sit for the rest of the day. We don't have Minimum Day guarantee here. So if you fly 45 minutes, you'll be paid for 45 minutes. When the NBA season rolls around, you're pretty much relegated to guarentee pay for the month... Someday, whenver a new contract is finished, we'll hopefully have better contractual language for this type of flying.

 

[Dix-Bag]

Baja,

You mentioned Vegas.

Have you looked into Allegiant?

 

[Going2Baja]

DB - actually the guy I fly with has a friend that works there and he is going to try and find out some hiring info for me. It's my friend that's looking for the new job - not me. He is just internet absent. Are you at Allegiant? If so -- what's the scoop? Feel free to PM. Thanks...Baja.

 

[tired_pilot]

Contract

Is a new contract even being worked on? The current one expired a few years ago correct?

How is the training dept, flying the 727 as long as Champion has I would assume the training would be top notch?

I was told Cass will be coming soon, is that true? Are Champion pilots flightdeck authorized on NWA presently?

Thanks for your help, looking forward to class...

 

[Workin'Stiff]

Is a new contract even being worked on? The current one expired a few years ago correct?

How is the training dept, flying the 727 as long as Champion has I would assume the training would be top notch?

I was told Cass will be coming soon, is that true? Are Champion pilots flightdeck authorized on NWA presently?

Thanks for your help, looking forward to class...

\

Yeah, the contract is in negotiations right now. Don't expect to see a TA anytime soon. I'd be willing to bet it'll be another year atleast. Yep, the current contract has been expired for about a year and a half now.

Training is really good, all things considered. The company is an absolute stickler with money. So don't expect anything fancy through training. Otherwise, the instructors are extremely knowledgable and overall very nice people.

CASS is just a big dream so far. It is all dependant on the implementation of our handheld PDA's for the cockpit. No one has any idea when those will be coming online. Once those are up and running, it'll be some time before everything gets approved by the TSA to start up the CASS program. No, we are not cockpit authorized with NW now because we don't have CASS. Cockpit seat = CASS.

Good luck in class!

 

[satlol]

Does Champion require the FE written to interview? Also, do they have any direct flights out of MSP to any of the bases? Is the upgrade to FO/CA much longer in MSP compared to the other bases? Thanks...

 

[Workin'Stiff]

Let me say maybe... The reason I say that is that I did not have it completed when I interviewed. But as we are getting a lot of applications lately, having it done will put you in the pile that gets the call first.

We do have some flights between bases. Pairings such as MSP-LAS or DTW-LAS. I can't think of a single time I've seen MSP-DTW other than for ferry/reposition flights.

MSP is currently the most senior base that we have. Right now to hold FO in MSP (a line that is), you'll need senority around the 6 year mark. We have an FO in DTW that was hired with me in June. But things more than likely will change soon as we just announced that LAS will be closing as a pilot base in December and DFW will be re-opening as a base in January 2007. So all of these dates for certain positions could change a lot within the next couple of months, depending on how base bids shake out.

Does Champion require the FE written to interview? Also, do they have any direct flights out of MSP to any of the bases? Is the upgrade to FO/CA much longer in MSP compared to the other bases? Thanks...