I'm Here Doing It...at Avantair

[Nolife]

Rumor I heard on the street is that they don't want folks that will bail when recalled at better paying fractional operators. Sadly for most recalls are a long time away. Does Avair still require a training contract?

 

[hangarrat]

I have met pilots with past Frac, military, 121, 135, and 91 corporate at avantair. They are old, they are young, they are tall, short, fat, skinny, black, white, male, female and everything in between. 95% of the guysgals I meet are having a great time, smile, laugh and enjoy life both on tour and off tour.

I think the only hard and fast rule they have is that if you come across like an arrogant, self serving, prima donna with a sky god complex during the interview you are likely to have trouble getting a training slot.

And yes, due to a couple wanna-be-pilots who wasted company money and time a couple years back, they still have a one time, one year, pro-rated training contract.

 

[AftCG182]

Well I am not sure how to take this statement. Are you saying that because I am high time guy I can plan on not getting the call. I consider myself highly trainable and I am having a great time interacting with my passengers as a contract King Air driver. No Prima Dona airline attitude going on here, I just need a steady gig to pay the bills. As a matter a fact many of my hours were put together flying for a now defunct airline that many of your current pilots flew for as well. So I guess what I am saying is that it would be very disappointing to hear that a unofficial company policy is in place that would toss out a qualified applicant simply based on high flight time. Never a good idea to assume we are all uptight anal retentive Capt. types who don't know where the bags go or where the lav dump is located.
I'm Just Sayin

Please, don't anyone plan for anything based on what I type here. Experience is a great thing, having "too much experience" may have been a poor choice of words. Sorry for raising the overall stress level.

 

[PC12Cowboy]

anyone that applied during the window hear anything yet?

 

[surveypilot]

Unfortunately, nothing here.

anyone that applied during the window hear anything yet?

 

[johnsonrod]

Good luck Lear70 - I hope you get it!

Here's a preview of training for the Avanti II - not sure how current it is though:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PozsRQUjem4

Gotta like that Pro Line 21 system up front... Looks like a fun airplane to fly.

 

[Lear70]

Heh heh... sorry, tried to edit my post for typos this morning and accidentally deleted mine and Johnsonrod's in the process, then I got busy and forgot to finish reposting...

What I WAS saying,,,

Yes, Avantair is calling people for interviews, I was down there last week. What I didn't mention was that I didn't get the job, which was GREATLY disappointing, as I was HIGHLY impressed with the people and the operation. It looks as if they've spent a considerable amount of effort on the interview process and they're being highly selective of who they employ,,, which is a good thing.

The facility was top-notch; they gave us a tour of the new Operations Command Center, huge multi-tiered room with large screens they can track real-time flight status, maintenance issues, ATC issues, news, you name it. Nicer by far than the one we had at Flexjet (and yes, that means that Avantair IS interviewing people with previous frax experience).

Received a benefits briefing from the head of HR, pretty impressive list, the medical coverage sounds outstanding, the maintenance facility was impressive as well, they can do their own heavy C and D checks and have 121-style quality control for return to service chains, just an impressive operation.

The friendliness of everyone was very welcome as well. I've interviewed at quite a few places in my career, and usually it's a "oh God, another bunch of suits, gotta be the next interview class, here we go... *sigh*" This wasn't anything like that, they even bought us a nice, Italian lunch with some of the lead Captains who were there working in the OCC, guys who didn't even sit in to interview us; they just came and were sociable.

They flew us in the night before, had a chance to meet some of the Recurrent and Upgrading pilots as well as new-hires, a friendly group, although a little preoccupied to talk shop. Hotel van picks you up from TPA, takes you to the hotel, and also takes you with your interview group over to HQ. Morning is spent mostly doing PRIA paperwork and the grand tour, then lunch, then break off into interviews, etc. We didn't leave until a little after 5:00.

No, I'm not going to give details of the interview. Please don't PM me asking, I'm not going to tell you; they spend a lot of time preparing their interview questions and giving people the gouge will only make them spend time coming up with new interview questions. It's not a difficult process, everyone made us feel MORE than welcome, from the first phone contact and phone interview to the travel arrangements to the actual interview day and a PHONE CALL when I DIDN'T get the job. That's a first for me, and speaks very highly to their professionalism and the way they want to do business.

I'll definitely be reapplying in the future. Don't know if it will help, but with my "situation", I was d@mned impressed they were willing to look past it to see if I would be a good addition and fit. Speaks volumes to the character of the interview and selection group. Good luck to everyone else who applied and/or interviews!

:beer:

 

[C425Driver]

Lear,

Sorry you didn't get the offer. I was hoping it would go the other way for you. Good luck to you!

 

[Lear70]

Thanks, my friend. Like I said, great experience, great people, you never know what the future holds or why things turn out the way they do, just gotta keep plugging at it.

Fly safe out there!

 

[PC12Cowboy]

Well two and a half months later I got the thanks no thanks letter..BUMMER

 

[wacoflyr]

I am sorry. That truly sucks, but they have resumes coming out of their ears. Word is that they have gotten very picky. They had no choice, with classes of only six every three weeks or so.

Things will change, and the market will swing. ATP to be required at the regionals, age 65 in two years, and the puppy mills priced out of a market. The Vietnam vets are retiring, and the military doing all it can to hold on to their pilots. It will again be a pilot's market. My prediction is 2013. And you know how good my predictions are.

 

[PC12Cowboy]

Waco...
thanks for the support, but by 2013 I will be foreclosed on my house and living off of lawn mowing business I started..wont be able to afford to fly..Hoping one of the regional kicks in

 

[Whine Lover]

Avantair still have a training agreement for new hires?

Unfortunately...YES.

I successfully completed the phone interview and after being invited to Florida to interview the following week I was sent their briefing package which included the $22,000 one year training contract.

I called immediately and respectfully declined the offer.

I still believe Avantair is a class act, with a helluva business plan and product, and I would still love to work there.

However, I can not and will not sign a training agreement that could leave me on the street, jobless, and with a fresh new debt of many thousands of dollars.

And yes folks...training contracts ARE enforceable and Avantair's is written so well that you would have NO recourse if you decided to leave for personal reasons, lost your First Class medical (that's right having to default to a second class medical is grounds for termination ) or heaven forbid they just decided they didn't like you.

YKM

 

[BoilerUP]

$22k training contract....one year...for an airplane that doesn't require a type rating???

 

[netjetwife]

Sorry, Cowboy... Hopefully things will turn around in the next 2 years. Good luck with the new business.

WL....wow! A classic example of the need to read the fine print. That situation is just one more reason I'd like to see industry standards that provide a base level of fair treatment to frac pilots. Kudos to you for standing up for yourself. NJW

 

[gutshotdraw]

$22k training contract....one year...for an airplane that doesn't require a type rating???

I thought it weighs more than 12,500 lbs ergo type required. Anyone?

 

[gutshotdraw]

Of course, I'm not disputing the notion that a training contract, even in this economy, is TOTAL crap.

 

[hangarrat]

I thought it weighs more than 12,500 lbs ergo type required. Anyone?

12,100 - no type required. Training is at FSI.

 

[glasspilot]

No, it's a 12,100 lb plane. No type required.

Yeah, I'm not a fan of the training contract. Truth be told I thought they got rid of it. I think it's a hold over from when everyone was hiring and they were afraid folks would come here from 121 to get the corporate time and bail to some other frac or be a private Piaggio pilot in competition with them with their training.

Either way it's outdated in my opinion.

 

[wacoflyr]

12,100 pounds max gross, so no type required. Two plus years ago, when I hired in, the training contract was pro-rated over one year. My understanding is that people were let go within that time without the contract being enforced. I don't believe they would enforce it for an issue such as a medical. The contract, I think, is there to stop abuse. But I'm not management, so I can't say for certain.

A training contract is hardly unique. I'm not going to defend it or repudiate it, but I would rather work here than at various other fractionals that don't have training contracts. Industry wide standards on these matters would be a terrible mistake. I have standards that other pilots would not agree to, and I know that some of the fractionals have rules and unions that I don't want to work with. I respect the pilots who work there, and their right to choose. That would be pilots, by the way. Who work there.

The plane is fun, but busy. No type required, but the sim and checkride are more difficult than the only type I do have. Not much background to go on, but it certainly is more difficult than the four jets I have time in.