Just to clarify what someone said above about not hiring furloughed pilots -- What the company has actually stated is that they will not hire any furloughed "Mainline Carrier" pilots as they seem to be the highest risk to cut and run if recalls commenced throughout the industry.
If you're on furlough from a National or a Regional (I'll go out on a limb and say "flying anything 50 seats or smaller") then by all means apply to ExpressJet.
We are currently in contract negotiations overseen by a Federal Mediator and have settled 15 sections for our upcoming contract.
Once all sections are settled, the entire package will be approved/disapproved by the pilot group thru democratic process.
Recently, we have been actively negotiating on the "tough stuff" -- Compensation, Scheduling, Scope, Retirement. There are a few small open items in other sections.
Our Negotiating Committee and ALPA advisors did an excellent job of representing, to managment, our pilots' belief that we are a different or "hybrid" airline -- making comparisons from everyone from Mesa and CHQ to Southwest, Airtran, and JetBlue to show how we are more like some (SWA, ATN, JBLU, COM) and less like others (CHQ, MESA). They compared more than just equip types and seats.......but included true economic indicators of airline perfomance and health (RASM, CASM, ASM, RPM, etc.).
The assistance that we have received from the ALPA E&FA Department has been outstanding to say the least.
No doubt about it.....ExpressJet pilots want a contract that breaks the 50-seat carrier paradigm and we're gonna have to fight hard to get it.
I believe the solidarity and resolve of this pilot group will rival what the professional men and women of Comair did in 2001. They did a d@mn good job of raising the bar and narrowing the disparity between Mainline and Regional pay and our pilots stand to close the gap.
But that should not deter anyone from coming here. Many of us, myself included, were hired during this exact same point in negotiations for Contract '97. Sure, managment tried to "scare" us into thinking we wouldn't have a job but they knew it's effect was limited since we couldn't vote yet and we were all just trying to stay off anyone's radar.
Your domicile as a new-hire will be determined by your seniority within your class (by age) and current staffing needs after all vacancies have first been offered to current line pilots.
During 2004, the IAH domicile is going to see massive growth, EWR will experience moderate growth, and CLE will see a little growth as well.
Where you are based will determine how long you sit reserve. I'm not even gonna shoot a number out there because any number of factors could change it overnight.
Currently, a September '99 hire holds the junior CA position so looking at that it's about 4.5 years to upgrade but to echo what CaptJim said above that could come down as a result of CAL Mainline recalls and possible feed for other carriers.
As far as how it is to work here -- based on what I've learned from counterparts at Mesaba, Pinnacle, Comair, ASA, ACA, Mesa, and TransStates -- it ain't so bad at ExpressJet. Sure we're working on a Contract that became amendable in Oct. '01 and has a lot of room to improve, but our managment team (for the most part) seems to have it's head screwed on straight and we have a pretty good deal going here....sure there are some naysayers who will tell you that this is the worst place on earth...but they're just bitter people and wouldn't be happy anywhere
Sorry this was so long but hopefully it helps some out with making a possible carreer decision.
I feel for ya man!
