Commutair Crew Bases

[Geronimo4497]

Anyone have an updated crew base list for Commutair? Thanks.

 

[CA1900]

Sure thing:

PLB, BOS, CLE, ALB.

Always subject to change, usually on short notice and right after you sign a lease or buy a house. We've closed down more domiciles than I can count since I've been here.

The bulk of the eastern flying recently moved from ALB to BOS, so I wouldn't be surprised if ALB were next to close.

 

[AutoBus]

Sure thing:

PLB, BOS, CLE, ALB.

Always subject to change, usually on short notice and right after you sign a lease or buy a house. We've closed down more domiciles than I can count since I've been here.

The bulk of the eastern flying recently moved from ALB to BOS, so I wouldn't be surprised if ALB were next to close.

No UCA or EWR bases?

 

[Com840]

How is hiring going at Commuteair? Have they been hiring pilots every month?. Thanks

 

[CA1900]

No UCA or EWR bases?

We've never had a EWR base, and we don't fly in there. We used to do ALB-EWR for USAir, but that was a long time ago.

We used to have a combined UCA/SYR base (you were on your own dime to get between them, ~50 miles away, so it wasn't such a great deal), but it closed a while back. (A couple years, I think?) UCA lost its air service as soon as the federal subsidy went away. No loss, truly -- we were flying empty planes to JFK, while people in UCA were driving to SYR to take the cheap JetBlue flight......to JFK. Your tax dollars at work.

As for hiring, I have no idea. We're still advertising for pilots and I see some new faces here and there, but I'm not sure what the current hiring picture is.

 

[AutoBus]

We've never had a EWR base, and we don't fly in there. We used to do ALB-EWR for USAir, but that was a long time ago.

We used to have a combined UCA/SYR base (you were on your own dime to get between them, ~50 miles away, so it wasn't such a great deal), but it closed a while back. (A couple years, I think?) UCA lost its air service as soon as the federal subsidy went away. No loss, truly -- we were flying empty planes to JFK, while people in UCA were driving to SYR to take the cheap JetBlue flight......to JFK. Your tax dollars at work.

As for hiring, I have no idea. We're still advertising for pilots and I see some new faces here and there, but I'm not sure what the current hiring picture is.

Actually you did have a EWR base, after CommutAir took over the old Holiday Airlines EWR to PVD run.

 

[jws717]

Hows the pay, life and pass benis? I am planning on getting furloughed soon.

 

[CA1900]

Actually you did have a EWR base, after CommutAir took over the old Holiday Airlines EWR to PVD run.

No, we didn't. We served Newark, from ALB and (as you pointed out) PVD, and I've personally flown both city pairs. I assure you, CommutAir never had a crew base there. Metro or Brockway might have; I don't know. But those were different companies.

 

[CA1900]

Hows the pay, life and pass benis? I am planning on getting furloughed soon.

Well, pay and benefits are better than a furloughee, I guess.

Pay's atrocious -- $16/hr for the first 90 days, $18/hr after that. $1/hour/year raise until upgrade, which goes anywhere from 1 year to 3 right now. Captains are $30/hr for the first year as captain (no matter how many years you've been with the company), $1.20/hour/year raise after that. The annual increase is not quite enough to compensate for inflation.

Quality of life isn't bad once you get into the top half of your base's seniority. Everybody works 16 out of 28 days, minimum. No extra days off for seniority. Everybody has the same minimum hours per bid. No shorter months for seniority, either.

Pass benefits are fair. We get non-rev travel for free on CommutAir for pilots, their spouses, kids, and parents. We can non-rev on Continental for their regular pass prices, which run (I believe) $12.50 one-way coach, $42.50 first-class, for domestic travel. International is substantially more. Our boarding priority is behind Continental's employees, Expressjet's employees, and behind retirees. We're dead last, and usually get left behind if the flight's even close to full.

So there you go. It's not a bad place to work at all -- the people are nice, the airplanes are well-maintained. But pay and benefits aren't one of the top reasons I'd use to pick it.

 

[shamrock]

So there you go. It's not a bad place to work at all -- the people are nice, the airplanes are well-maintained.

OK, who kidnapped CA1900 and replaced him with this guy?

 

[CA1900]

LOL... Shamrock, I think everybody was happier at CommutAir than you were.

Did you ever see The Shawshank Redemption? Kinda reminds me of this place....

"Believe what you want. These walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. After long enough, you get so you depend on 'em."

That pretty well sums it up. Don't worry, though, I'm still trying to tunnel my way out.

 

[AutoBus]

No, we didn't. We served Newark, from ALB and (as you pointed out) PVD, and I've personally flown both city pairs. I assure you, CommutAir never had a crew base there. Metro or Brockway might have; I don't know. But those were different companies.

Dude, I'm to busy for this, check your facts (not that anyone really cares at this point) but commutair did have a EWR base it was the SECOND outstation base opened (early 1990), the first was ALB in late 1989. No, it was not Metro/Brockway/Clinton AERO/Air North.

It was probably before your time, so in YOUR MIND it did not exist.

Who is this CA1900? another talking head expert?

 

[CA1900]

Dude, I'm to {sic} busy for this...

And yet you still found time for a flippant remark. I guess you aren't too busy for it, or you wouldn't be posting.

If my facts are in error, so be it. I've been here long enough to see a dozen crew bases close. I guess I wasn't here quite long enough to see that one die, too. I wasn't here when the headquarters was still in a single-wide.

 

[jws717]

Thanks, how do the upgrades vary from 1-3 years, kinda a big spread?

 

[Geronimo4497]

Thanks, how do the upgrades vary from 1-3 years, kinda a big spread?

Thanks for the info. I am also curious about the above question.

 

[CA1900]

How can it vary so much? It all depends on how the company's doing, and whether people are moving out to other companies or not. In 2000, we had people upgrading who had been there about 14 months. People hired a year later than them waited almost three years for upgrade, because the company furloughed half the pilots and cut the fleet in half in August of 2001. (Yes, we planned ahead for 9/11. Har.)

A couple of years later, we were able to enter the Cleveland market. Continental Express's union was able to negotiate jobs for their furloughees with CommutAir as part of that deal. Those folks were caught up in our rapid expansion, and upgraded in less than a year.

So things change very quickly, and with very little notice. For all I know, half a dozen Dash-8s could show up on property, and we'd have a big hiring/upgrade spree. I wouldn't count on that , but you never know.

Right now, it's mainly FOs that are leaving for other regionals, so while there are new-hires, there are few upgrades. The company's not expanding right now, and there's talk of reducing the number of airplanes. Obviously, that hurts upgrades.

I think the current group that just upgraded has been here a little over a year and a half.

 

[Geronimo4497]

Continental Express's union was able to negotiate jobs for their furloughees with CommutAir as part of that deal. Those folks were caught up in our rapid expansion, and upgraded in less than a year.

Oops, that must have made some people real happy! I really appreciate the good info.

 

[CA1900]

Glad to help, and yes, it sure did make those folks happy. The bulk of them ended up going back to the right seat in the RJ at Continental Express, but we had half a dozen that stayed on here as captains instead. It's all a gamble.

 

[wanabe_fo]

seniority number

out of pure curiosity, as a former UCA guy, what is the current most junior captains seniority number?

 

[Insatiable]

I believe it's in the 750's