Don't interview at PSA!!!

[tarheel87]

Guys you will see a lot of people dish this post... They all work for PSA. I'm a experienced pilot (over 200 students as a CFI) with lots of friends and a family. The week of my simulator checkride my partner and I were canned (Turn-in your ID and resign or be fired). I'm not going to get specific or call names. We were not the only ones we just did not know it at the time. Basically the company got scared when Mesa got their jets so they sent people home at sim training to avoid a furlough... you are not a fulough unless they give you the checkride. IF YOU HAVE A JOB IN AVIATION WAIT ON ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY! or risk sitting at home wondering where you went wrong and how you are going to make that house payment delivering pizzas. Hey we have heard good and bad about all companies but these guys did several good pilots WRONG! I'm not out get revenge on PSA. I feel it is my duty to inform some fellow pilots trying to get to the flight deck of a real airplane the trouble of making the phone call from Dayton to their wives that I did after years of suffering for aviation.

 

[Flywspeed]

Tarhell=PSA Washout!

Sorry to hear that you was let go from PSA. I am not sure when you went to class or sim but I know for a FACT that the September & October classes did no such thing. I was in the new hire October class(last class of the year). And it was not even until November when U started passing out more RJs to Mesa and other contract carriers. You had to be a real jerk for PSA to tell you to go home from the sim, because some of us had some problems with the sim (PSA sim training is pretty ROUGH!!) and they worked with us and until we got it. So I am guessing that your attitude had alot to do with it.

PSA has been known to run the flight crew staffing pretty lean to keep cost down. In the Fall they were in need of flight crews just to get there staffing back up to sufficent levels and I cant believe that they spent the time and money on you in ground school and some sim just to turn around and let you go. Also, when I was down at sim in Dec. they was talk of my class being furloughed due to the threat of U being liquidated and PSA starting to lose airplanes but we were also told that we would be put on furlough status to come back and pick up where we left off. I finished IOE at the end of Jan. and sit reserve for ONLY 3 DAYS! before my hard line started in FEB.

Dont blame PSA for your lack of...............PSA is a pretty **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** good company to work for in my opinion. Yeah it has its problems but I have worked for several other companies that were much worse. PSA also has a promising future right now so my advice to everybody get your resume in as soon as possible. PSA is interviewing again.

Oh Yeah, as for the REAL AIRPLANE tarheel. I cant help to believe that you could not fly the sim and now you want to blame it on the airplane. The Do 328 is amazing airplane by far the BEST Turboprop out there!!!! Hands down!!!

Till next time,
Fly with speed

 

[DorkProp]

Tarheel knows the reason he and his partner were canned, and so do I. The company was very careful not to divulge any details or names, but the gist I got through the grapevine was that the attitudes of the pilots involved had everything to do with their termination/resignation. Something about an attitude that regional flying was beneath them. Therefore they did not apply themselves in ground school and were not prepared when they got to the sim. Simple as that.

There have been no furloughs or planned staff reductions since last spring. Let's call a spade a spade, and a wash-out a wash-out.

 

[exeagle]

off the subject a bit, but ive always wondered, what does psa stand for?

 

[Spartus]

Pacific Southeast (or Southwest) Airlines.


Hmm and there on the east coast.....

 

[tarheel87]

Pretty Sucky Airline

I told you honest folk I would be persecuted by guys who have DO 328's under planes flown. They work for PSA...DAAA! Please refer to my initial post it's the Gods honest truth. As for my attitude.... as a Mid thirties father, Army Officer, 20 year pilot, ATP, CFI, and self employed business owner I'm willing do what ever it takes to be sucessful with absolutely no whining. Cooperate and Graduate! PSA did not give me and some other good people a chance to prove that.

 

[psacowboy]

Sorry to hear about your situation Tarheel. But I would say to any wannabe airline pilots not to follow his advice. You should apply to all the regionals and get on wherever you can. There are slight differneces between all the regionals but basically they are all the same. I would say that a large number of pilots at any regional are there because that is where they were hired first.

PSA has been known for having a rather difficult training process mainly due to lots of memory items. We have now dropped most of those and adopted a new performace data system as well. The sim is a beautiful full color day or night Class D sim set in a brand new building in DFW. The airlplane is a blast to fly.

PSA is a pretty good place to work. Some things suck while other things are nice. But the future looks good and the pilot group is great. Good luck to all trying to find a job and please don't count any company out on one guys experience.

By the way.....PSA used to stand for Pacific Soutwest Airlines of course but now it is nothing more than an acronym for nothing. The official name of the company is PSA Airlines, Inc. where the PSA stands for nothing. US Airways named all of its wholly owned carriers after companies it had aquired , Piedmont, Allegheney and PSA. Obviously since our flying is on the east coast they had to drop the acronym. Interesting though that our old name used to be Jetstream International Airlines and is still listed that way on our Jepps as well as on ATC flight plans, JS4168, etc. which is why they can never get our callsign of bluestreak right. Always calling us JetLink or blueridge.

 

[Smoking Man]

Tarheel 78

Mesa got jets in October big deal. This would have nothing to do with possible furloughs, or you Choking in training. Until January of this year only PSA, ALG and PDT, were on board with JfJ. This means only 70rj were allowed to be flown under U. S. Airways express. (I know freedom had agreed but that was not going to happen).

So your statement "Basically the company got scared when Mesa got their jets so they sent people home at sim training to avoid a furlough..." Is as factual and accurate as Jim Jones and his vision of the future.

Regardless there is a new Director of training at PSA.

 

[Floyd94]

Re: Pretty Sucky Airline

I'm willing do what ever it takes to be sucessful with absolutely no whining.

I'm sorry, anybody with a name like "Tarheel87" that tells you he didn't whine, one would have to be skeptical. Everybody that goes to Carowhina whines. Just ask Matt Doherty..

Just kidding, sorry to hear you lost your job.

 

[tarheel87]

You are right...No Jets for Jobs at PSA

Smoldering Man

I do here by retract my comment regarding Mesa getting PSA's jets as a reason for my termination at the end of my training. I think everyone will agree that an aviation failure would be a: failed checkride or written test. FACT: I had already passed my ground school and oral portion of my checkride. FACT: I finished my last sim session and met the requirements for my checkride. FACT: I was not given the checkride. Period. Why? Why would a company find you and your partner's attitudes so bad as to waste $40k on training with no return I don't know.
FACT: This exact same course of events occured with five other pilots between October and November at the sim. This is the truth the whole truth so help me GOD.

 

[Cmdr Taggart]

Gota chime in on this one. Please note airplanes I fly Dornier 328. Tarheel, sorry it did not work out for you, but you do not have to be such a baby, suck it and drive on there high speed. Everybody at PSA knows why you were fired and your post pretty much shows it: bad ATTITUDE. Please do not pass on your problems to your students, we do not need pilots out there that are so negative.

 

[Smoking Man]

Tarfoot 78

Now this is a statment that I can work with.

First off I am sorry that you put forth the effort and did not recieve the reward.

Now for the core event, it is my understanding that PSA recieves educational tax credits, for everyone that requires training. I.E. (pilots, F/A's mechanics, etc). So are they out 40K, I doubt it.

As for the frequency that this occurs I have no idea.

I did however state that there is a NEW director of training at PSA, .

 

[Dr.Hwang]

I used to fly for PSA...so here are my two cents.
PSA's training program is one of the hardest I have ever heard of but if you give it everything you have, including a good attitude, you should get through it. Smokingman called it for sure. Your training is a tax write off for continuing your education. So they didn't lose a dime. When I went through training one guy was washed out on lesson seven or eight. Common sense would say, hey, I made it this far and the company has invested so much in me why would they can me now? Won't they atleast work with me a little bit longer? NOPE. For what ever reason they didn't think twice about asking you to leave. They didn't lose a dime.

As for not being a furlough until you pass your checkride that is wrong. When I went through I was given a seniority number which equalls recall rights unless I am fired. I passed my ground training, took my oral exam, and was then released to take my checkride on 09-10-01. Then September 11th happened and I WAS FURLOUGHED. I don't know why I wasn't fired, but I was on the seniority list, and if furloughed I was entitled to recall rights.

Like they say: check your attitude at the door, grab your Preperation H and KY jelly and cooperate/graduate. PSA has a great group of pilots, and I do miss that at my new company. Sorry you got canned, but take a look a yourself before you start blaming oters.

 

[Snakum]

Mid thirties father, Army Officer, 20 year pilot, ATP, CFI, and self employed business owner

Sounds like someone who has all the answers to me.

Minh

 

[FlyLawyer]

New Director of Training at PSA

I'm curioius, what happened to Bradley S.?

 

[Smoking Man]

Some things are better left untold.

 

[120% Torque]

It never ceases to amaze me how other pilots will kick a fellow pilot when he is down! Whether you believe tarheel87 or not at least show him a little respect. I see no serious libel here on the part of tarheel87. Only stating the facts as he sees them. He didn't do any name calling or hurl any truley defamatory insults. He was trying to warn other pilots of a potientially bad situation that he personally experienced. Bottom line, if you dont have exact details and haven't walked in anothers shoes, keep your mouth shut. Historically speaking management has been caught not playing fair much more often than pilots. Think about it.

 

[Mookie]

As a former 328 Cowboy, I had a dude in my class with almost the exact same qualifications wash out of training, pre 911. Made it through every single phase of training except the checkride. I guess, to borrow a Dicky Vitale line, he wasn't a "Prime time Player." The writing was on the wall for him as well way before the checkride. Just ask any pilot, just because one can pass a ground school, sim prep, and an oral, checkride, it doesn't make one a decent pilot!!! As Agassi says..."attitude is everything."

BTW...PSA 328 training is THE most brutal in the industry....at least it was when I went through.



Mookie

 

[bluestreaking]

Tarheel 87,

If what you claim is true, why did you wait months later to post this story of your poor treatment? I have a feeling you're not telling us the whole truth.

 

[tarheel87]

Bluestreak

Hey guys I did post 3.5 months ago...when one of my fellow PSA pilots posted if any one had heard about guys taking it in the gut at the end of the sim phase. And to try to add some credit to my story, I WAS NOT THE ONLY PERSON THIS HAPPENED TO!!!!!!!!!!!!