Corporate Airlines Interview

[Mason]

Got a call yesterday from them wanting to schedule an interview with me early next week. I've read some other threads on this board about them and I wanted some current info on them if possible such as interview questions, pay, upgrades, financial condition of the company, etc. Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Astra Guy]

Hey Mason,

Congrats on the opportunity.

First let me say that it is wise to learn as much about the company you are interviewing with as they want to learn about you. If they have a website go to it and gleen as much about their operation as possible. If not and they are a public company try to find out through the financial resources what they do and how they are doing. If neither of these methods are appropriate attempt to talk to someone who might be in the know about their core business. Get yourself educated as much as possible in these areas.

The same thing goes for doing a little background intelligence gathering about their flight operation. If they deal with a base FBO you might want to talk to one of the FBO's CSRs to get their take on how the operation conducts business with them. Keep in mind that one CSRs opinion is just that and put that in your memory bank.

Each company has certain traits they look for in their flight department associates. They will try to discern during your interview how your personal motivations fit into their scheme of things. Don't be too eager to ask the obvious question about how much you would make. Most will provide that type of data when talking to you voluntarily. I have also found that most Chief Pilots are eager to talk about their operation so you will probably learn a lot before they get down to asking you questions. He/she may tell you upfront what upgrading plans they would have for a new hire. As they are telling you this they may look for reactions from you, both verbal and non-verbal.

I would ask them if they are members of NBAA. I would ask them if they have a written description of the job you are interviewing for. I would ask them what their common destinations are.

The best advice I can give you is be honest and straight forward in your discussions with them. Be personable. Keep in mind that flying as a crewmember means you will be spending a lot of time with other crewmembers. They need to believe that you wouldn't be a pain to fly with. Make sure they understand that you would look forward to being a part of their team and you are eager to learn.

Based on your posted TT I assume that you will be interviewing for a SIC position. Most corporate operators' hiring mins are far above the airline mins.

Their corporate attitude might be that they hire low timers fully expecting that they will leave after gaining more experience. If that is true then they will not offer as much in terms of salary and benefits compared to others. Their attitude might be the opposite as well, which is better. In this case they are hiring for the long term and are willing to pay you above scale in the hope to retain you as a career member of their organization. Keep in mind that it is costly to replace pilots in terms of time spent training, educating and grooming each to fit into their corporate culture.

You need to be a team player in this business and if you aren't then you probably won't last long. Be willing to accept some ground responsibilities in addition to the flying. Every corporate department has additional ground duties for their members out of necessity. Think about what it takes to effectively keep a department running smoothly. Their are flight pubs to keep up to date, scheduling procedures to follow, maintenance contacts and procedures and a myriad of other things that the airline types don't have to deal with.

Good luck with your interview.

Feel free to PM me with any other questions you might have.

 

[JayDub]

Actually, he's referring to Corporate Airlines in Smyrna, TN. (right outside Nashville). Throttle Jockey and a few others recently had an excellent discussion on another thread Corporex . As far as I know, all information in that thread is current. The pay isn't un-frozen and morale (at least according to my bud) is atrocious.

Astra Guy,

You might want to re-post your response on the corporate board. There is some good stuff in there, but you might also want to discuss how to protect yourself if the company you are interviewing with is less than savory (i.e. get promises in writing, make sure you take a Part 91 gig in a town you are willing to move from if it doesn't work out, etc.). I think it could sprout a good thread.


Respectfully,

JayDub

 

[BoilerUP]

Mason,

Corporate Airlines flies Jetstream 32s as American Connection. Pilot bases are STL and BNA. Company HQ is MQY.

Pilot pay sucks...from what I hear, <1500 total time $17.00/hr, 1500-2000 $18.00/hr, >2000 $19.00/hr. Pay is STILL frozen for everybody (read non-MQY mgmt) at the company. One of the few pilots who post on this board can verify the pay for you.

We just had a class of 5 new hires finish IOE, and 3 of them already hold a line. They all got STL as their base, but were told they could try to bid back to BNA (most are from TN). Company is talking about growth, but I will believe it when I see it. Most newhires are for attrition, as FOs bail to greener pastures such as CMR, CHQ, and Mesa. CAs should begin bailing by April, in my estimation, as the LCCs start interviewing and hiring again. Movement is a good thing for everybody.

Corpex isn't a BAD company to work for depending on your current situation. It sux really bad for CAs that thought they would get their 1000 PIC and bail that are still making 2nd year pay @ $28-29/hr, and for FOs in the same boat with families. However, I'd say it sure beats starving as a CFI, and if you can pass the 121 ground school and checkride, and fly the J-ball well, then you'll be set.

Good luck on your interview! Hopefully (if you have no other options) you'll come aboard and join the team, and I'll meet you after IOE. Most all the employees get along well...cuz we get hosed by MGMT. There are a couple tools among us, but for the most part, everybody is a super guy or gal.


DISCLAIMER: I am a Corporate Airlines GSA (ground service agent) in Lafayette, IN. We were the best station, but MQY and American conspired to drop our loads 60% (yeah that much) with the new flight schedules. My pay is $6.50/hr and is $2/hr less than the Mesaba agents here before us. If I got $7.50, I would be giddy.

 

[Astra Guy]

Gosh JayDub,

I was so spring loaded to help an aspiring guy out that I didn't notice it was not from the corporate category. Egg on face!

I am reluctant to start a new thread simply because many of the comments lead off into never never land. Lots of pissed off folks and maybe for good reason on this site. I am willing to help anyone that I think needs it, though.

BTW I believe your operation and some others in the LCC category are right on target. Customer service, customer service and yes, even customer service wins in this business. You have it and my hat is off to you!

Fly Safely, Always!

 

[belchfire]

Mason

The financial status of corpex is not
published. It is a private company.
There have been no pay raises for
the flightcrews for two years and
the attempt to get per diem raised
to 1.25 was rejected last summer.
From the escalating penny-pinching,
it is my personal belief that the company
is or is pretending to be in the red.
Underfunded and incapable of making
any improvements without those
improvements being underwritten by
outside sources. Were it not for our
EAS contracts, IMHO the company would
have expired some time ago. We live on
the government cheese!

The company line toward crewmembers
is get your 1000 hrs turbine pic and
move on. Not bad, untill you consider
that 1) not many people are hiring,
2) it will probably take 18-24 months
to upgrade, another 18-24 months to
get that pic time.

FO pay is 17, 18 or 19 per hr, depending
on your total time at hire.

First year CA is 27.50 (I think). Regardless,
it is substandard...

You are looking to spend 3-4 years to get
the turbine pic time, which don't mean
what it did pre 9-11-01. Third year fo pay
at Mesa will be more than your CA pay, if
you upgrade.

Throttlejocky's eloquent and enlightened
post some time ago was probably the best
peice written about the establishment, and
should be a part of the memory items.

These things having been espressed, the
pilot group continues to be by and large
(only a few exceptions) one of the finest
collections of aviators I have ever worked
with, and at least two outstations went
well beyond the call of duty and provided
Christmas Eve supper for the crews! We
have some outstanding GSAs. I don't know
how we keep them. To quote an old Clint
Eastwood movie "I have never seen so
many good men wasted so badly." And
flying the mighty jetpig is some of the best
experience outthere.

good luck in your job search!

 

[JayDub]

Astra Guy,

No harm, no foul. Mason should have all the info he needs now, that is all that is important.

I am one of the folks that got into a part 91 gig from a jet charter operator, and wished I'd stayed right after I did it. I personally am not pissed off, just darn grateful things worked out for me personally. I think, however, there are a lot of corporate guys on this board that were lucky enough to get their dream gig right out of the gate. That is great for them but not very realistic, I think.

Respectfully,

JayDub

 

[petepilot]

check your pm

Hey Mason, check your PM

Anyone else in the pool heard anything yet on a class date?

 

[belchfire]

just for giggles, what is starving for a
chicken fried instructor? By way of
comparison, the top corpex fo pay
75 hr/moX12mo/yrX$19/hr=$17100

I figure that most cfi's don't get per
diem, but they don't have to move or
commute, buy $400+ worth of uniform,
eat in airports/outstations, pay for crash
pads, parking, etc.

Boilerup, keep em straight up there!

 

[Mason]

CFI Pay

Belchfire--


I'm one of the lucky ones with a CFI job that pays a great salary, benefits, free additional ratings..etc. so the prospect of making 17K year doesn't sound too appealing, especially if the pay is frozen right now. I guess that it's a risk vs. reward question.

 

[belchfire]

I can't figure risk/reward for you, that
is personal. I can tell you that most
regionals are getting their raises, and
that almost all 2nd or 3rd year FOs
meet or exceed corpex CA 1st year
pay.

 

[probablecause]

The top of this thread is continuing proof that our name su<ks.