Commutair ..............the latest

[rway36]

Just wondering the latest on Commutair. Hiring or interviewing? Any Movement

 

[NEDude]

No classes planned at the moment.

 

[beech1900kid]

Get out while you still have time!!!

 

[Jetlag]

?

what's the life style at commutair (upgrade times, pay, reserve, etc.)?

 

[beech1900kid]

Upgrade is generally quick but all the airlines that have historically hired pilots out of the 1900 tell you get more experience...i.e., fly something bigger.

Pay sucks. FO is $18/hr 1st yr, $19/hr 2nd yr, $20/hr 3rd year

Domiciles blow. Albany is $hithole, cleveland is a $hithole masquerading around as a city, and who the hell has ever heard of Plattsburgh unless you've lived in upstate NY?

Quality of life sucks, but it's do-able if you look at it what it is...it is solely a means to an end. Great way to build some multi turbine, $hitty way to spend your twilight years. Plan on moving to a bigger regional once you build the time

 

[LaxPilot]

Just wait for the verdict of the law suit that is in federal court. If a guilty verdict comes back, Commutair is bye, bye. The plantiffs have a strong case against the owners. Also, Continental is, shall I say, very unhappy with how Commutair is running there operation. And that contract is up in '05

 

[NEDude]

Also, Continental is, shall I say, very unhappy with how Commutair is running there operation. And that contract is up in '05

Funny, they keep offering us more flying.

 

[WSurf]

Flew there a long time ago. Fun company back in the day, but since the owners got gready and stopped being active with the everyday ops, i think its pretty much has gone to Sh$t.....

 

[WSurf]

sry Geedy

 

[Airpiraterob]

domiciles?

like the outdoors?
PLB is 45 mins from lake placid.
everyone i met living there was great. great people. (no i didnt work there) and the owners were nowhere to be seen.
pack a snowboard and go ride on your days off.
hike the adirondaks when its warm (the other 6 months)
dosent get much better than that.

 

[LaxPilot]

AirpirateBob...... Drink much cool aid?

JK

 

[Airpiraterob]

i know....its a joke
lemon flavored...sometimes the pink lemonade is better.

im just tellin what the area is like.
and the people i met while living there.....

DISCLAIMER:
PLB as a LOCATION.....if you like the outside youll love the LOCATION....the people were nice....that in no way means i like cool-aid or endorse the company.

i never worked for em if that says anything about em.

that region is beautiful.....the company...that may be different entirely nowdays. I understand theres a lawsuit...and know about its particulars. i think the employment got the wrong end of the stick. im with you on that one alright.

they got great weather flying if youre lookin for it.

 

[Smacktard]

Just wait for the verdict of the law suit that is in federal court. If a guilty verdict comes back, Commutair is bye, bye.

Always love hearing that one. Not informed, but fun to entertain.

As for QoL, you folks are high on crack if you think a commutable schedule, 4 on 3 off with 2 nights away from home sucks. Duty in around 3:30, get off the next day at noon, commute home by 6:00pm. Back up the next day for the same thing.

Great people, reasonable pay FOR WHAT YOU FLY. All in all, not a bad place to start IF you want to move up to bigger and better things. I wouldn't advocate retiring there, but getting good experience and moving on works well.

It's what you make it.

 

[Obi-Wan]

Funny, they keep offering us more flying.

If new flying opens up for bidding it does not mean it is offered to a particular airline. So far there has been a reduction after the initial expansion in CLE. Those markets are all but dead now. The 1900's however have allowed XJT to more efficiently use their AC for Expansion into new markets. CAL does not really need the beech in CLE. They codeshare with NWA and DAL to all those cities. To get the codeshare approved by the GOV. however, they have to maintain a certain level of service in cities they serve. Eventually they can bring back the RJ if the loads increase or drop them all together if they stay low, like they currently are. They do not offer anyone anything. What they do is expand XJT and if its to low of a load for the RJ they offer them to smaller airlines out of IAH or CLE (no props allowed in EWR) once the loads pick back up, its back to the jet. XJT has already started flying back to Kileen and we share ABI with Skywest( the rest they can have, no $$$ there) Also, the michigan cities for Commutair were not profitable. As far as the level of service goes, I believe its good on the Connection side. They do what they do well(the PAX prefer the jet non the less) I would not believe your mgt's promisses of more flying for now. Just do your time and get out.

As for QoL, you folks are high on crack if you think a commutable schedule, 4 on 3 off with 2 nights away from home sucks. Duty in around 3:30, get off the next day at noon, commute home by 6:00pm. Back up the next day for the same thing.

You failed to mention only 12 day off no matter how senior. Long sits without compensation. Non commutable lines ( for the most part) awful bidding system. Nazi scheduler!!! no veriety of flying. No APU/FA/AP. etc. etc... Most people are pretty fun to fly with though.

 

[Nova]

Funny, they keep offering us more flying.

And what flying would that be?

 

[WSurf]

Here's the bottom line. Hand flying a beech in the Northeast is good experience, well it was about 5-10 years ago. Now, that flying doesn't mean squat to a pilot that is trying to move on to a major. Plus making 15k as a pilot really sticks.

So if you can get hired by the ton of airlines that are getting new nice RJ's, go there and fly that for 30k(you can then afford you own apartment, instead of sleeping in a crash pad with 20 other of our pilot nerd friends. Plus, these days majors want to see Glass Flying, Auto Pilots and FMS's on the resume. Hand flying is now for the Crazy & Insane.....

It's almost to the point that PIC in a 1900 was awesome a few years ago, but now it doesn't mean as much as the FO flying the new video game Cockpits of the RJ's.

Good Luck However in this Profession you has chosen...... You'll need it.

 

[AftCG182]

You know, calling someone's home a "$hithole" might offend the people who grew up here. Having lived in several regions of the US, I can say that the Northeast offers the best combination of climate and lifestyle. For my tastes, anyway.

 

[burrito]

I'm soooo glad that Laxpilot knows what CO mgmt thinks about CommutAir's operations. And I'm soooo glad that beech1900kid is giving him a reacharound.

Is the company perfect? No. Do they pay a ton? No. However, it's gonna be hard to find a better all around compensation package. I do enjoy having my medical insurance paid for me.

Look, it's a small plane and you know it's not going to have APU/FA/AP. etc. etc.
The plane is a blast to fly and you'll learn a ton doing it.

There's no doubt that CommutAir has it's problems, but you talk to any pilot group and you'll find people that love their airline and people that hate it. It's what you make of it. It seems to me that the people who are unhappy with CommutAir either have jet envy or feel they are entitled to much more just because they think they're special.

As far as Cleveland masquerading as a city, it just isn't true. I think I saw one chick last week who wasn't 300lbs, missing all of her teeth and totally covered in tattoos.

I really didn't want to get sucked into this. What a moron.

 

[Smacktard]

You failed to mention only 12 day off no matter how senior. Long sits without compensation. Non commutable lines ( for the most part) awful bidding system. Nazi scheduler!!! no veriety of flying. No APU/FA/AP. etc. etc... Most people are pretty fun to fly with though.

Yeah the 12 days for everyone would be nice to change but 12 out of 28 still isn't bad. (Considering where you are.)

CA has no control over the long sits, Tues/Wed is reduced schedule, even the Coex guys are sitting. Talk to your basic Coex guy, and he's bitching about 18 hour overnights and nothing to do. It's all relative.

Non commutable lines? Who are you kidding? As for an awful bidding system, I have to disagree. You get to pick your days! Most places you pick a whole months worth of flying. If you aren't brand new or recently upgraded, how many OFF days are listed in your bid? I know I could get anything I wanted and I was middle of the pack.

The easiest way to deal with Te...the nazi, is to not make stupid requests every month. As for the no variety, no APU...WHAT THE HELL DID YOU EXPECT WHEN YOU TOOK THE JOB@! It's a small commuter with THE SAME PLANE THAT THEY'VE ALWAYS HAD. Did you forget that when you took the job?

 

[I.P. Freley]

There ya go, interrupting a good rant with "facts".

Seriously... Where else do you get to pick your days off? And never you mind the "only 12 days off" thing, it's actually 13 of course. While we're on that topic, at least the guarantee is around 82 hrs/mo (76 hrs per bid period, 13 bid periods per year).

More o' dem pesky facts...

And truly, having ALL your health insurance paid for is SWEET. That's worth a buck-fifty an hour right there, at least compared to most "we'll pay half" operations.

Yes, it's "only a Beech". Unless you start getting too worked up about your friends flying CRJ's, it's not as bad as many would have you believe.