Thinking about going over to Comair (they've sent me an interview letter) to get back into flying.
Was hoping I could get some facts before I go down there to interview..
-anyone know what their recent flight experience requirement is? Hours in the last so many months/years etc?
-anyone know what their junior schedule looks like (how commutabile is it from Phoenix?)
-anyone know what the upward movement / upgrade time is looking like?
-is their a training contract? if so how long?
anything else you can add to help would be good..
thanks.
Honestly, I don't think they're going to be too concerned with recency of experience. We are having trouble recruiting pilots due to the uncertainty surrounding our future.
In all likelihood you would be based in JFK, because that's where the growth is going. On reserve you would have a minimum of 11 days off in a 30 day month and 12 in a 31 day month. Seven days would be considered "hard" days and are not movable. The rest are soft days that the company can and will move around as needed to fit their "staffing model". Not sure how long reserve is running in JFK right now, but in the other bases (Cincy, Greensboro, and Orlando) it is pretty long. I've been at the company 3 years and was on reserve in Cincy for 1-1/2 years.
Upgrade time and upward movement is largely unknown right now. Delta recently put out a request for proposal to replace a lot of our flying with cheaper alternatives. Our future is yet to be determined as a result. Should Delta succeed in replacing our flying, the future will be pretty bleak here, if non-existant. Alternatively, if the unions are able to reach fair and equitable agreements with the company that keep our company's cost structure in line with "market rates" (I really am starting to despise that term), then Delta may throw some growth our way in order to sell us as part of their exit financing. No one really knows at this point.
There is no training contract.
Bottom line is if you are really interested in jumping back into the flying game, it might be a good time to come here in order to get the training and pick up some time in the airplane in order to make yourself more marketable. Just be advised that the bottom may very well fall out and you could find yourself furloughed, depending on what happens here. I do not know the specifics of your circumstances, but if you're in a stable position with a decent income I would not leave it to come to Comair until some of the big questions get answered by Delta management. Just my $.02; take it with a grain of salt.
Best of luck.
KAK
