Gulfstream Airlines to Major?

[avrodriver]

That's crap, I know of two of them there right now. Met one in STL at Chilli's 2. He was a young looking captain. Asked how his career path got him to SWA. He said GIA."

He said if it was up to him.

F these guys.......if you meet the minimums and have contacts at your dream career airline, you have just as good of a chance as everyone else.

 

[islandhoper]

I would stay away. You'll spend the rest of your career explaining how you may have worked there but you weren't PFT. It really is a big black mark, for right or wrong.

Never had to explain myself, except at Flightinfo; Gulfstream is a regular 121 regional airline that codeshares with Continental, United, Northwest and Copa Airlines.


No flames, just truth

 

[Helos2Galaxy]

I was a direct entry Captain in 1997 (though I did a right seat gig for 3 months) and did not have to pay for training.

I went from GIA to the right seat of a 747. Did that for 6 months and then got on at Delta. Nobody ever questioned my career path, though a few delta Captains were asking if it was worth sending their kids there as 250 hour F/Os.

If you can deal with the laid back life style, the GIA Key West crew base is a blast. Most of the pilots party together a few times a week and chase the Michigan girls down on vacation. It's the closest thing to comraderie in an airline you'll ever see.

Back in '97, Tom was paying the Key West bubbas an extra three bucks an hour as a cost of living offset.

 

[YourPilotFriend]

I just don't understand why anybody would pay to work at a regional. I don;t see anybody paying to work at mcdonalds, which, has comparable pay.

 

[islandhoper]

I just don't understand why anybody would pay to work at a regional. I don;t see anybody paying to work at mcdonalds, which, has comparable pay.

Mypilotfriend,

You have no idea how Gulfstream International Airlines and Gulfstream Training academy work. They are 2 different things...

The airline is great I think. And they only hire "academy graduates" WHEN AND IF they need pilots.

 

[Benhuntn]

I personally don't like flying with people who have flown other than Boeing aircraft, are democrats, sleep on the left side of the bed, pay for sex, chew with their mouths open, or say "hey dude". Pay for training isn't on that list is it?

 

[PCL_128]

Ask PCL-128, He has been there. He also has said that he did not understand the situation before he entered into the program. Not sure if he would do it again if he had the chance , but get his perspective.


AA

All correct. I would not do the PFT program again knowing what I know now, but citabriapilot seems to be going the non-PFT route. GIA has occassionally hired pilots into the left seat without PFTing. Not sure if they are now, but if so, it might work out for you.

The idea that GIA looks bad on your resume is ridiculous. I flew at GIA prior to 9/11 when the major airline hiring machine was still humming along. Every CA I flew with that had his 1000 PIC either had an interview or an offer from one of the majors. A typical conversation started with the CA saying something like "I've got job offers from Delta, American, and UPS. Which one do you think is best?" None of the majors care one bit where you got your PIC time.

That being said, I haven't worked at GIA in 4 years, so I'm not really up on how things are going down there right now. The IBT signed their first CBA with GIA shortly after I left, and I remember that it was a pretty good deal for a BE-1900 operator. Trips/duty rigs, min day, decent pay, etc... Schedules were all pretty good, as long as you don't mind working hard on the days you work. You'd fly 6-9 legs a day, buy you'd get 16 days off even as a junior line-holder. Again, not sure if that's still the case.

I believe that The_Russian still works at GIA, so she might be able to give you the latest info. You could try PMing her for the latest. Good luck.

P.S. AAflyer, what's up with the recall petition in your signature? I don't keep up much on APA politics, so I didn't know you guys were having problems with the leadership. We would love to have you back at ALPA even after all these decades.

 

[AAflyer]

All correct. I would not do the PFT program again knowing what I know now, but citabriapilot seems to be going the non-PFT route. GIA has occassionally hired pilots into the left seat without PFTing. Not sure if they are now, but if so, it might work out for you.

The idea that GIA looks bad on your resume is ridiculous. I flew at GIA prior to 9/11 when the major airline hiring machine was still humming along. Every CA I flew with that had his 1000 PIC either had an interview or an offer from one of the majors. A typical conversation started with the CA saying something like "I've got job offers from Delta, American, and UPS. Which one do you think is best?" None of the majors care one bit where you got your PIC time.

That being said, I haven't worked at GIA in 4 years, so I'm not really up on how things are going down there right now. The IBT signed their first CBA with GIA shortly after I left, and I remember that it was a pretty good deal for a BE-1900 operator. Trips/duty rigs, min day, decent pay, etc... Schedules were all pretty good, as long as you don't mind working hard on the days you work. You'd fly 6-9 legs a day, buy you'd get 16 days off even as a junior line-holder. Again, not sure if that's still the case.

I believe that The_Russian still works at GIA, so she might be able to give you the latest info. You could try PMing her for the latest. Good luck.

P.S. AAflyer, what's up with the recall petition in your signature? I don't keep up much on APA politics, so I didn't know you guys were having problems with the leadership. We would love to have you back at ALPA even after all these decades.

PCL

Many feel the current APA administration is to management friendly. Many feel they are simply parroting what management says they want and need to stay competitive. There seems to be a large discord among the pilot group. After NWA and DAL settle CAL and AA will have industry leading contracts in respect to the legacy carriers (not talking about UPS,FEDEX or even SWA). There will be more of a pressure to stay competitive. Many do not realize we can early open Section 6 this May, however there seems to be a consensus that now would not be a good time.

The petition is to re-call the president, however we have domicile elections this month and there may be enough of a shake up to the BOD to squash what our president is trying to slip past us. Many are convinced he is trying to weasel his way into a management position. These are just thoughts and comments I have heard.

I have heard some of the current BOD say we need some type of national pilot union, there was a strong push here a couple years ago, thousands signed a petition, however the many current BOD members and the president squashed the idea. Not sure what the future holds.

regards,

AA

 

[PCL_128]

Thanks for the update. Interesting stuff.

 

[(o) (o)]

Buddy of mine had an ex Gulfstream B1900 F/O in his CONTINENTAL AIRLINES NEW-HIRE CLASS (the 3rd class of their hiring spree)

25 year old..son of a senior Captain.

So it's not the end of the world if you worked there, as long as your dad knows someone.