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CommutAir Hiring

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I'd probably be worried about the bases more than working conditions. That's a hazard right there, EWR with 21 dollars an hour.
 
The situation is this... you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't. What are your long term flying career goals? If you want to someday move onto a better paying more advanced flying job, other than flying for the military, the regionals are your most likely option at this point.

It's best thing to do is to apply for the pilot job at Commutair or Air Wisconsin if you meet or exceed their qualifications. If they call you in for an interview, see what the deal is. If they offer you a job, you can either accept or reject it. Entry level airline pilots at the regional level need to begin somewhere.

One of the problems is that entry level pilots on this web site constantly complain about is the pay issue and not the experience they are getting flying. The regionals aren't forever.
 
no1pilot2000 said:
The situation is this... you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't. What are your long term flying career goals? If you want to someday move onto a better paying more advanced flying job, other than flying for the military, the regionals are your most likely option at this point.

It's best thing to do is to apply for the pilot job at Commutair or Air Wisconsin if you meet or exceed their qualifications. If they call you in for an interview, see what the deal is. If they offer you a job, you can either accept or reject it. Entry level airline pilots at the regional level need to begin somewhere.

One of the problems is that entry level pilots on this web site constantly complain about is the pay issue and not the experience they are getting flying. The regionals aren't forever.
Click to expand...

Sorry but it might not be forever but you should plan on at least 10 years these days. Ask yourself can I make for 7 years as an fo and 3 years as captain before I move on?????
 
no1pilot2000 said:
The situation is this... you're damned if you do and you're damned if you don't. What are your long term flying career goals? If you want to someday move onto a better paying more advanced flying job, other than flying for the military, the regionals are your most likely option at this point.

It's best thing to do is to apply for the pilot job at Commutair or Air Wisconsin if you meet or exceed their qualifications. If they call you in for an interview, see what the deal is. If they offer you a job, you can either accept or reject it. Entry level airline pilots at the regional level need to begin somewhere.

One of the problems is that entry level pilots on this web site constantly complain about is the pay issue and not the experience they are getting flying. The regionals aren't forever.
Click to expand...

I don't think they're looking at "entry level pilots" right now. I would hope that not many would accept Commutair wages, but if I were sitting around with unemployment having run out I might be thinking otherwise too. In the meantime at 82 hours guarantee / $21 an hour unemployment DOES pay better than Commutair.
 
Some regional pilots who are unemployed might take their chances and try to get another regional pilot job, no matter what the pay is. Some pilots who are unemployed will find other flying jobs that hopefully pay more. Some pilots might leave the airline industy and look for a new career. I'm in a job with a crap company, crap pay, and no career or advancement potential. I also make the same basic LOW salary as a first officer working for a regional airline. Somehow, I get by and count my blessings that I have a job to go to eveyday. I am alwasy looking for better opportunity eventhough their not easy to find.

Are there any other flying jobs that pay a little better that can make use of the skills regional pilots have received? Keep your chin held high and hopefully things will work out for everyone!!
 
Keep in mind that smaller regional airlines don't necessarily like to hire more experienced pilots. People who have had years in this industry already tend to come in with expectations of pay, maintenance, QOL, etc. Not saying that Commutair treats its employees badly, as I have never worked there, but from a general standpoint companies like Commutair like having pilots who don't know better. A new hire coming from flight instructing or part 135 is more likely to be satisfied with the new job, and be more eager to get the job done the first time than a 10 year or 15 year "veteran" of the airlines. Less gets written up in out stations, there is less push for strong labor unions, less speaking up about pay issues, less grumbling over poor hotels, etc.

Not saying that prior 121 time won't be looked upon favorably, but it is easier to be "over qualified" for an entry level airline than you might think. New guys, you stand a fair chance of getting on.
 
I applied. I am not current. I did work there from 95 thru 00. It was a good place to work. The non-currency and recall rights are not going to help me. We shall see.
 
no1pilot2000 said:
Some regional pilots who are unemployed might take their chances and try to get another regional pilot job, no matter what the pay is. Some pilots who are unemployed will find other flying jobs that hopefully pay more. Some pilots might leave the airline industy and look for a new career. I'm in a job with a crap company, crap pay, and no career or advancement potential. I also make the same basic LOW salary as a first officer working for a regional airline. Somehow, I get by and count my blessings that I have a job to go to eveyday. I am alwasy looking for better opportunity eventhough their not easy to find.

Are there any other flying jobs that pay a little better that can make use of the skills regional pilots have received? Keep your chin held high and hopefully things will work out for everyone!!
Click to expand...


After you've put in a lot of time, money, effort and sacrifices to fly professionally, you won't hold the same sentiment. The job you have now most likely has a lot less responsibility and requires less training, so the pay may be more commensurate. Starting salary for regional pilots is too low. Way too low.
 
for who, USAir? aren't they USAir Express?

what happened to the 1900s? just curious.
thx,
73
 
aa73 said:
for who, USAir? aren't they USAir Express?
Click to expand...

The ceased to be US Air Express in late 2000, right after they bought a bunch of brand new 1900s. The codeshare was up for renewal, and US Airways wanted them to get bigger planes. They responded by buying 26 brand new 1900s. US responded by not renewing the codeshare, and signing Colgan instead, which was the beginning of their Saab era.

They managed to talk Continental into a codeshare, with the limitation that CommutAir couldn't fly into any of their hubs. They were later allowed into CLE in exchange for temporarily hiring a number of ExpressJet furloughees. They didn't repaint most of the planes, but just covered up the US logos, peeled off the red stripe, and put a sticker over it. Man, did that look sharp:

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/7062/844ca1.jpg


Meanwhile, US replaced CommutAir with Allegheny and Colgan Air, and US's passengers continued to fly on them. Meanwhile, CommutAir flew empty airplanes around New England for six months (I had the numbers for 0 pax/0 bags/3200lbs memorized), then finally furloughed half the pilots in August of 2001. I read the furlough notice in the PLB hangar, as the principals were fueling up their new CitationJet from the CommutAir fuel truck just outside.

That was about the end of it being a good job, sadly.

what happened to the 1900s? just curious.
Click to expand...
I think they're all finally sold now, but they were replaced with Q200s (with no APU) leased from Horizon Air.
 
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Two part question.

If you are a current or former regional pilot, which regional airline do/did you work for and why?

Ever since the Colgan Air crash earlier this year, poor pay (to say the least) is an issue among regional airline pilots. What would be a good starting salary for regional pilots?
 
aa73 said:
thanks CA1900! glad u ended up on your feet. are you safe from the furlough at NJA?
Click to expand...

Barely! But so far, still employed; thanks for the kind thoughts.

Hopefully things will get better at CA now that they've organized. It's going to be a long uphill climb to even get back to where they were, but at least they've started the journey.
 
Sorry didn't qoute, but this is the response to the guestion on how much a regional first year pilot should make.

I would say no less then 40k your first year. But hell, that ain't gonna happen! My first year at Piedmont back in early 2000's I was on reserve and flew my booty off, almost 900hrs that year and make 26k. Many people told me that was the highest first year pay of any regional.
And if you think about it, look at Republic flying EMB 175's and those guys are getting close to 26k there first year. And to think that was 10 years ago and I was flying a 37 seat turbo prop around. Sad isn't it?
 
What is the highest salary for a first officer before they get upgraded to captain? What is the highest salary of a captain before they leave regional airline?
 
no1pilot2000 said:
What is the highest salary for a first officer before they get upgraded to captain? What is the highest salary of a captain before they leave regional airline?
Click to expand...

well, we're paid hourly, not on salary. In terms of regionals, I made 55K as an FO one year. I worked a lot. I've heard some of our sim instructors make in the mid 200K range when they're super busy, doing doubles, only a few days off per month, etc. that hasn't been the case for awhile, though.

I'd guess most FOs make in the 40s, most captains in the 70k+ range for the SkyWest, XJET, Comair, ASA, AWAC, etc. crowd. If you get beyond 10 years, then I think it's normal to make over 100K. How much you work certainly depends, since we're hourly instead of salaried employees.
 

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