Flops Called...help!!!!

[Flybet3]

Hey guys, I just got a call from the HR lady at flight ops, and scheduled a phone interview with the CP for today!!! cn anyone help me??!!! Can anyone tell me from recent experience what to expect for the interview!!!!!????? The interview is this afternoon....so I need help quick!!! THANX
__________________
My name is Maria

 

[blue_side_up]

Relax. I just did it. Its no big deal. Its all personality or what they can at least hear over the phone. Just flight experience, flight time, stuff like that.

 

[ghostrider64]

take a deep breath and relax. If they can hear you have a pulse over the phone and thet you will do everything they ask of you, you are in.

 

[Flybet3]

take a deep breath and relax. If they can hear you have a pulse over the phone and thet you will do everything they ask of you, you are in.

ooooooooh, ok....I feel a bit better. Did you recently have the interview?

 

[WrknStff]

Lots of negativity has been all managements fault and has been pretty much developed over the past year. Like anything with management it's all based on personality, our "interim" CEO was fired from USAir regional operations where he ran that into the ground and seems to think doing that to Flops will win him the full time job. How he got the job no one knows, everyone, pilots and owners I think, just want him gone. Hopefully this guy is on the way out as soon as they can get rid of him couldn't be soon enough. Just as quickly as it has gone bad, it can also turn around just as quick with a new attitude in the front office. Fingers crossed.

The biggest gripes have been the domicile issue. A lot of long time options pilots have lost their domiciles. Granted these are some pretty out of the way airports, but they were hired with the agreement that they could fly out of there and management reneged on that. That's a lot of bad blood to stir up. Now there are about 22 what they call Tier 1 domiciles that they are requiring new hires to declare as their domicile. Make sure you are willing to live out of one of those before you hire on.

You also won't be working an 8 and 7 schedule. Now they have what they are calling the "Flex" schedule which will be mandatory for new hires. It's based on a 30 day rotation. You have a guaranteed 9 straight days off somewhere in the 30 days and that will be the same every rotation (days 11-19 off every 30 days for example) and that won't change, although you will originally be assigned which 9 days by scheduling your days won't change. The other times you go to work can vary depending on demand each rotation, but you'll never be home for less than 3 days at a time, you'll never be away more than 8 and you'll only work a total of 15 days out of the 30 so you'll be working 1 day less than on the current schedule in 30 days. If you don't mind a little uncertainty about days home, it's not that bad a schedule, especially compared to a lot of aviation jobs out there. I would think it would be better for anyone with kids because you'd be home more often and would probably only work 8 days in a row rarely (if they give you 8 days in a row you get a minimum of 6 off). I guess the worst you could get in a month would be 7on, 6 off, 8 on then 9 off.

But, all negativity aside, the job itself hasn't changed much and I still enjoy it. We fly a lot of interesting places, the days aren't too long and the pay is still decent, especially compared to most regional jobs where you are putting in 16 hour days, 20 days a month, for an 18k paycheck

 

[Hogprint]

our "interim" CEO was fired from USAir regional operations where he ran that into the ground and seems to think doing that to Flops will win him the full time job. How he got the job no one knows, everyone, pilots and owners I think, just want him gone.

Whoa Nelly!!! You know what that means? He's there for the duration! Promoted with honors!

I gotta go back to school and get me one of these CEO degrees. You can run a bakers dozen companies into the ground and still get hired to do it again.

The guy that started Marquis...SIX, count 'em, SIX companies...straight into the ground. Seven times lucky I guess...

 

[psysicx]

Does everyone start in the Beechjet? I'm surprised that there mins are so low.

 

[WrknStff]

Supposedly everyone will start in the beechjet now. All the other small cabins are on the way out. Supposedly.

 

[illeagle]

What is the pay for 1st year FO? What are the current domiciles? Do you have to live in domicile? What are the complaints causing the exodus? Any other experiences from FLOPS pilots would be of interest as I attempt to navigate my way in this crazy business. Thanks

 

[leardawg]

I left FLOPS recently after almost 3 years. 90% of the reason for my leaving was upgrade time. I was told to expect 12 - 18 months to upgrade to PIC; after 3 years, I was still looking at at least another 2 years, by my estimate. With a family to support, I just could not get by on SIC pay (36K after 3 yrs) any more. I was initially attracted by the promise of long-term security, quality of life, and work conditions described to me by friends already working there. The other 10% of my reason to quit was how much the job changed, especially in the last year I was there. Once Scheeringa took over, a lot of nasty rumors started to fly. Many of them started showing signs of becoming reality. When I was hired, Flight Options was described as a "Pilot's Paradise". We could live where we wanted, fly state-of-the-art equipment, and have 14 days off a month. We would stay in decent hotels, and accumulate airline and hotel points. FLOPS claimed to seek to attract and keep the best pilots in the industry; I counted myself among that group, and can attest that the vast majority of those I had the privilege to fly with fit that description. During my last year there, things started to go downhill. One by one, the benefits and perks that attracted most of us to the job started showing signs of going by the wayside. I became appalled at the level of dis-service to the owners, which led me to the conclusion that FLOPS was headed to hell in a hand basket.It seemed as if the MO at the Operations Control Center was to say anything to the owners or pilots, in order to get throughyour shift and and let the next shift deal with the clusterf**k. There seemed to be a complete lack of quality control, supervision and accountability.

My advice to anyone considering working at FLOPS is to go in with both eyes open. It's a much different environment than it was a couple of years ago. It's probably still a good entry-level job, better than flying freight or checks. When I first got hired, the pay was 34K plus per-diem, which amounted to another 8k per year. I have heard that the first year pay may be going down, and that pilots will be expected to spend most of the per-diem on meals (whereas previously we could count on pocketing about half of that amount, on the average, because our crew meals were usually catered at company expense). You will not be able to live where you want any more. I am totally convinced that the current management team led by Scheeringa will drive the company into a deep, smelly grave. Only a drastic change bought about by the current board members will turn things around. This could still happen, and I could be kicking myself in a couple of years for leaving (although I can attest to the fact that there is great life after Flight Options; my professional and personal life have improved dramatically since leaving). If you have an "IN" with Citation Shares or Flexjet, I would consider those first. Hiring on with FLOPS is a gamble which could pay off, or result in a sh**ty experience in your promising career. Right now, it's a real crap-shoot.

Good Luck!