Express Jet Hiring Update...

[wannab0133]

yep

i talked to one of the iah cp's in the interview and he was not talking the company line. He told me that life will definitely suck for at the next few years, b/c of long reserve, long upgrade, and slow deliveries, etc.

almost talked me out of it....

not really

 

[Who Dey]

How do you know the chief pilot is not full of BS. You have not been around long enough to see. You need to put the Kool-aid down!!! I bet if you sit down with Nides he will seem great too. Remember he is management looking out for his paycheck not yours. He'll tell you anything you want to hear and then tell you some rough stuff to make himself sound like he is not BSing you. Take everything you hear with a grain of salt. Also last year while visiting the training deptartment they also said we will have 737 soon. Don't believe what you hear over there.

I do welcome you back or welcome for the first time I am just giving you advice. While in training you will here all kinds of crazy stuff. About .001% is true. As for the contract, the CP saying within 6 months, don't bet your life savings on that one.

 

[wannab0133]

actually, they were quite the opposite, almost painting a scary picture and to be prepared for very difficult first few years.

 

[TOGA]

If you ask 20 line pilots about uniform pieces, you'll get 20 opinions. Here's mine: Get as little as you can from the uniform guy. Go buy a black clip-on or zipper tie and black cuffless pleat-front pants from a department store (JC Penney "Wet Weather Wool" are a perfect match for 70% less, and they're machine washable). I've never used my blazer . . . not once. Get the leather jacket so you don't have to pack another jacket for overnights. Get the best quality leather Perrone offers, the cheaper ones look, well . . . cheap. Buy your own black leather gloves. Don't get the uniform sweater, it'll rub black fuzzies all over your shirts. Buy your own uniform shirts. Get the short-sleeved ones with the embroidered holes for your wings. For pete's sake, don't buy the shirts with the embroidered wings, the wings fade badly before the shirt would otherwise need to be replaced. Welcome aboard!!

Who dey, you're scaring the new people! It's not that bad, man! We work for a great company. Not perfect, great.

 

[Who Dey]

Toga,

I am not trying to scare. It is a good place to work. I just don't want people to think management is looking out for us. Good luck to everyone hope all goes well and make sure you read your contract before sitting reserve.

Oh by the way the emroidered shirts will be bad when we switch our brass soon. I hope they buy me new shirts with the new emblem.

 

[jrcpilot]

To all who have posted great stuff on here I would like to buy you guys a beer sometime. I am coming through on the March 8th class. Sounds like the INDOC is just as boring as the Delta indoc. I am not a furloughed guy. I was a ground instructor at DL. Good news about the embroidered wings. I could not believe it when I walked on board the ERJ out of ATL and saw the shirts. They looked kinda cheezy in my eyes. Glad to here we are going to brass wings. Can anyone tell me anything about this Commuter pass? Whats the deal with that? I guess I am really going to miss my travel bennies from DL. Does that commuter pass get you a parking sticker at your home airport? Looking forward to learning the ERJ. It's actually a lot better airplane than the B757/767 in respect to the glass. I hear the Honeywell system is quite nice. Does anyone have the training schedule? I am trying to see how it pans out after the 1st 21 days. It looks like we get a day off right before the Oral then its on to the FTD's and sims. Well good luck to everyone who is already in class and anybody scheduled to report on the 8th drop me a line. 1st round is on me!!

Take Care

 

[Nova]

We've always had the brass wings but as an option you can just wear the embroidered shirts.

 

[Mr Hat]

The switching of brass is a rumor. I checked it.

 

[Who Dey]

Yes I checked it at union headquarters and Dana said they are in the process of doing it. I thought she was a good source.

 

[Nova]

When would the new wings go public or at least be annouced to us?

 

[Future SNA]

...

Little update, we've been told specifically NOT to get embroidered shirts, since they are switching their logo, trying to move away from the continental stuff I guess. EVERYONE in the training department, hr, has said this, so get plain shirts for now. We've also been told the commuter pass is not really necessary for the most part. Essentially you can jumpseat for free on ANY expressjet and continental trip in ANY seat in the cabin. I'm commuting, and don't plan on getting it, 6 flights a day to nearly all the hubs, from this lowlife town, can't imagine Ill have a problem. After the interview where they brought up the commuter pass, everyone has since told us, to give commuting a try for 6 months, if it's not working, get the commuter pass, but I've heard you won't need it.

 

[Ben Franklin]

Why would you get the commuter pass when it costs the same as just listing yourself anyways?

If you get the pass, you're locked in for a year. Then when you have vacation or are sick, you still pay for your pass even though you don't use it.

It's cheaper to list for each round trip when you fly.



Sincerely,

B. Franklin

 

[vmc-hound]

Toga,

I am not trying to scare. It is a good place to work. I just don't want people to think management is looking out for us. Good luck to everyone hope all goes well and make sure you read your contract before sitting reserve.

Oh by the way the emroidered shirts will be bad when we switch our brass soon. I hope they buy me new shirts with the new emblem.

==============================================
you must be a cal flow back...or someone who hates their job...

if so please get out and let the new guys(hopefully myself) in the door...this company is not going to give you everything!!!Here's a little secret Management does not want you to know...pilots and mechs have this company by the short and curlys.... hands down...the no strike clause in the continental agreement does not allow a strike for more than 24hrs or xjt will loose all planes gates everything...the end of the airline....and of course all the jobs as well

 

[TOGA]

VMC Hound,
I'm not quite sure how to take that, but it didn't sound very nice . . . care to elaborate?

Future SNA,
Nice change to your "Flown:" heading under your avatar! However, you'd be doing yourself a favor by not even getting in the habit of calling it an "RJ", "ERJ", or anything with that self-defeating "R" word in it. It's a tough, and necessary, habit to break. You and I do not work for a regional airline. We broke the $1 billion annual revenue mark last year . . . that, according to the DOT, makes ExpressJet a "Major Airline". No, I do not expect to be paid as much as a 777 pilot. However, I do not expect to be paid as much as a Beech pilot, either. Welcome!

 

[d.fitz]

TOGA:

So what should we call it? a 'J' woudn't really differentiate it from anything....

 

[91100 100 set]

before this thread goes astray...

...I'll try to rein it back in. For all you folks talking about March classes, what kind of timeline were you all looking at with the phone screening, interviews, etc? I got the phone screening from the HR company in early January (the 5th?) and was told that I'd be contacted in 60-90 days. So here we are, approaching the 60 days, and I'm starting to get a little squirmy in my seat. So whats the word?

 

[Future SNA]

If it makes you feel any better....

I've seen the interviewing over the past few week dwindle down to what seems like a trickly. Better put, the "initial" interviewees have dwindled down to none, seems they are concentrating all their efforts on getting orientation done for the 100 some people starting class in March! Like I said before, no call to interview back several weeks ago, and more than likely you'll get some sort of call around March 1st, since this is when they're "supposed" to, read what I've heard, start calling to interview for the next classes. Sit back and wait, it's all you can do.

Toga, your advice is noted It's soon to say 145LR in the "fixed position" format.

 

[Sam Fisher]

==============================================
you must be a cal flow back...or someone who hates their job...

if so please get out and let the new guys(hopefully myself) in the door...this company is not going to give you everything!!!Here's a little secret Management does not want you to know...pilots and mechs have this company by the short and curlys.... hands down...the no strike clause in the continental agreement does not allow a strike for more than 24hrs or xjt will loose all planes gates everything...the end of the airline....and of course all the jobs as well

I didn't read TOGA's post to sound bitter at all. It was quite realistic. Your attitude isn't one that I would look forward to spending a few days with on a 4-day trip.

You are referring to the Capacity Purchase Agreement between CAL and XJT, I believe you are slightly misled on a) the actual clause that allows CAL to take back airplanes and b) on the significance of this clause.

I don't think you have any true idea of what this pilot group is trying to accomplish in this contract negotiation. There is a reason that us human beings have 2 years and only 1 mouth. Keep your ears open dude....

Sam

 

[BigShotXJTdrvr]

Toga,

I am not trying to scare. It is a good place to work. I just don't want people to think management is looking out for us. Good luck to everyone hope all goes well and make sure you read your contract before sitting reserve.

Oh by the way the emroidered shirts will be bad when we switch our brass soon. I hope they buy me new shirts with the new emblem.

Management not looking out for us? Remember that airplane that ran off the end of 6L at high speed and destoyed the Loc antenna in CLE last year? The feds wanted the heads of those pilots. Jim Nides stuck up for them and SAVED their CAREERS. He stuck up for them as they sat through a CVR recording that had more transcripted text in 30 minutes of flying than any other CVR in the history of CVRs! And they were saying nasty, filthy, cockpit talk about Nides, about the company about a lot of things. Not a lot of CPs would have done that. I'm no koolaid drinker, but Nides was a line pilot with Comair for a long time. He knows what we do out there, and what we have to do sometimes to get it done. He is management, but he is about as good as you will find anywhere, and for the most part he hires base CPs that are good guys too. The only reason he was able to help those two pilots is because they didn't kill anybody that day. That was pure luck, and those two idiots are still working here because JN gave them a second chance.

 

[ATRCA]

VMC,

Your understanding of our Capacity Purchase Agreement is seriously flawed. Under said agreement it takes greater than a 90 day work stopage for CAL to repatriate our aircraft and facilities.

Needless to say a 90 day strike at CAL would put them comfortably in court with UAL and USA. The repo clause is not the poison pill that some (CAL mgt) would like it to be. We have a great deal of leverage as a result of our size and scope. With our 238 aircraft, we operate almost 1/3rd of CAL's domestice market.

The problem we face is getting relaesed for self help by the current NMB leadership. Time will tell.

If you care to know the details you can find the CPA located in an XJT stock prospective or XJT annual report. See yah.