Empire 121 PICs

[ATRCAPT]

I wouldn't call the Evil Empire a career killer. I know a few guys who were there including me, who have gotten on with Major Carriers.
I understand what you are all saying, and yes it can suck. You just have to remember its a Supplemental Carrier, and there are very few nice Supplementals.
The schedules are always harsh, time off always bad, equipment just slightly better than junk.
They have in the past been the breeding grounds (before the RJ) for the Majors. That is what Empire has not figured out. Its not 1985 and Tprops aren't ruling the sky, or even really desirable time.
I just want to remind guys you can move on. The majority of you who know me, I think somewhat respect me so just my .02

F&B

I know you, and I have absolutely no respect for you whatsoever....just kidding. Congrats on the new gig. I agree with you and the worm. Empire still seems to think it's a privilege to work for them. You would think that people leaving to fly ATR's in India of all places would clue them in. After it's all said and done, I think those of us who were able to leave Empire for a major carrier are darned lucky. I agree with Worm that flying for Empire can be a violation waiting to happen.

There was a time that it was decent, especially the SEA base. For a while there we had a cool group of dudes flying the SE Alaska stuff. Sadly, the demise of the F and the hiring of a certain HR beotch put a stop to it.

Cheers,

C

 

[photopilot]

Also EA is a career killer

The biggest obstacle I see with the is lack of connections. I have friends at the regionals and they may know 10-20 people at the various majors. As it is now, I do not know anyone who has left here for a major airline that I can get to walk in a resume for me. All the ATR PIC time in the world isn't going to help if you do not have someone on the inside to take your resume to the CP/HR. I can see how it would be real easy to stagnate at a Feeder. If you hire on as a street Captain I would do it with the idea that you may have to step back to a regional after you get the PIC time to make the connections and get jet time.

 

[fokkers&beer]

I don't know if you have to go to Regional and fly an RJ. You however will have to go somewhere I think. There were a couple of Captains that went to Alaska right from Empire last year, but I think the chances of that is few and far between.
Both me and ATR Capt went and flew for another supplemental flying Heavy Jets around the world before we got the jobs.

 

[jmreii]

The biggest obstacle I see with the is lack of connections. I have friends at the regionals and they may know 10-20 people at the various majors. As it is now, I do not know anyone who has left here for a major airline that I can get to walk in a resume for me. All the ATR PIC time in the world isn't going to help if you do not have someone on the inside to take your resume to the CP/HR. I can see how it would be real easy to stagnate at a Feeder. If you hire on as a street Captain I would do it with the idea that you may have to step back to a regional after you get the PIC time to make the connections and get jet time.[/quote


You could fly 747's from the left seat, and it won't mean a thing unless you got that swing(knowing somebody).

 

[thunderworm]

se alaska did make it oh so much better, in the summer that is. i do miss the challenging flying of the winter and the free brews at the brewery but there are other things to see. glad to see f&b and atrcpt doing well. the knowing someone issue is a big thing and a empire it is very hard to get connections. since leaving i have way more options than i did there because i know more people with cooler jobs. something to think about before making the plunge into empire's boiling water.

 

[rod farva]

Anybody know how senior the Casper to Jackson run goes?

 

[dillfer]

Not very. Both captains were hired within the last 3 years, maybe the last two years.

 

[Juan Trippe]

F&B, Thunder, ATRCapt.......how's it hangin'?
I've been under a rock for a while here.
How's life treating you folks in the bigger world?
I've been pondering what to do next. Qual-o-life has been pretty good for me, but it's just feeling kinda stagnant around here now.
Must be time to re-evaluate my goals in life. I sure wouldn't mind being one of those "taste-testers" up at the brewery.
P.S. I'm gonna be Rockin' On at the White River Amphitheatre on Friday the 20th!!!! Oh, yeah!!
P.S. Remember The Fokkers

 

[blingair]

Anybody know how senior the Casper to Jackson run goes?

Its not really like that. The term "Airline" is a little misleading. We are more of a "Pilot Services" kind of company. They hire into a base that has a open position. You can higher into a base and wait for an opening to where you want to go. The problem is there is a long list of people for the good bases and the employees are not notified of base openings unless it is a new base so you might not ever know it was open and miss your chance.
Because of the way the company operates and because of the contracts, Empire is a 3-5 year commitment so be sure its the place you and your family want to spend that much time in.
The ATR contract is 18K, pro rated 1K for every month you work after your checkride. If you upgrade you full-fill whats left of your 18 months and then start working off the 1 year upgrade contract. So thats almost 3 years but since the routes are 14 hour duty days but only 1.5 hours flown per that duty day you will need almost 2 full years just to get your 1000 TPIC.

Empire is a good fit for some and not so good for others. It is a very management heavy company in so much that you must do as told and be willing to give in and flawlessly serve many masters. The pay is sub-par ( 56K is the American average income and you wont make that until year 8).

Personally, with the record breaking hiring boom going on right now, I'm not quite sure why we have so many resumes coming in. I guess its because we have lowered our mins and many of the new hires have very little experiance other than Comair Academy low time CFI's and such. But thats just my opionion. I'm just joking, please dont put me on the OAK spare for the next year, please no. Craap!

 

[blingair]

Nope, I just made my last trip with them. I'm sorry things have gone so bad there.
Being able to fly in SE does make some things better however. I miss that place.

"Hey man, cant you see theres a beverage involved here." Sorry, I couldn't resist. The Dude or White Russian is my new favorite drink BTW .
So where did you get hired at? Where ever it is, congrats! I'll have to drink two bottles of Makers Mark and then go shooting in honor of your new job.

The Donger.