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Is American Eagle that bad?

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frqtflyer

Active member
Joined
Oct 6, 2005
Posts
44
I was just reading on another forum and it basically indicated that Eagle was the worst regional to work for. Aside from the upgrade time at Eagle is it any worse than any other regional or our are the guys on that forum bitter because it is 7-10 years to upgrade? They also indicated that AMR pits AA mainline against AE. What is it really like at Eagle?
 
You won't be able to upgrade to the left seat of a 70/90 seater in 2 years, but at least Eagle is respected.
 
eagle is no different than any other regional. they all suck. they all are whipsawed against each other (kinky!). they all pay crappy. the work rules stink.
 
SkyBoy1981 said:
I disagree. How many regionals have you flown for besides Mesa?

I disagree..... Even Air Wiskey suxs... Not the pilots, it's just the whole regional legacy carrier thing is going thru a tough time....

All the regionals are pretty bad..... Can't expect much in this current environment...

We're all hoping it will get better....
 
Say what you wish. I am quite content at XJT. Of course the job security isn't perfect, but you can't expect it to be in aviation.
 
SkyBoy1981 said:
I disagree. How many regionals have you flown for besides Mesa?

XJT will be whipsawed (see ExpressJet Europe).

Your pay sucks (as do all regionals) compared to the enormous responsiblity you have.

How long is the upgrade at XJT? Pretty long (not as long as it is at eagle, but long enough).

The problem is you think XJT is "quite content" because the standards are so LOW.
 
CitationFlyer said:
The problem is you think XJT is "quite content" because the standards are so LOW.
What I said was that I am quite content at ExpressJet. That is my personal opinion that, from what I can tell, is shared with a large number of my co-workers. The bottom line is that I don't feel that the airline for which I work "sucks"...at least not for the time being. You are lumping all regional airlines into one group as if no particular ones are better than others. I'm sorry, but I don't agree with that.

Saying that they "all suck" based on what they SHOULD be is just counter productive and silly. We can only compare based on reality.
 
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Rez O. Lewshun said:
I disagree..... Even Air Wiskey suxs... Not the pilots, it's just the whole regional legacy carrier thing is going thru a tough time....

All the regionals are pretty bad..... Can't expect much in this current environment...

We're all hoping it will get better....

Problem is you have two kinds at all of the, what have become jet nationals...The pilots that realize that most of their group will not move on from their current job and thus 2 year upgrades dont matter and the rest that somehow believe that they are going to zip through eagle or asa or air wisconsin and on to southwest....not going to happen.....not anymore....never worked at eagle but I have bought a lot of tickets on them and they treat me respectfully, their flight crews act professionally, they have always gotten me and my stuff to my destination on the day that I bought my ticket(something that my current employer cant even come close to and is getting worse at by the month)their airplanes are clean and when they have a problem they seem to take the honest approach...now some eagle guy will come on and correct me but I am telling it to you from a passengers point of view which is probably a little more accurate than a 5 year 4000 hr angry co-pilot... bottom line make up your own mind
 
Is it?

Okay I have been at AE for 6.5 years. I have never been able to upgrade, I've never passed on an upgrade opportunity, I've been really really close (within 5 numbers), but never gotten the opportunity. That said I read and have heard a lot. I've had my share of reserve (granted only 1.5 years for the jet), but I've been there. Eagle is a good place to work. Now there will be people who disagree and think I'm some kinda of management or something, but I am just a line pilot. I will also say I hold good schedules, now, the 3 on 4 off can't be beat. In some months I work 12 days and get about 80 hours at $38.? /hour. Not what I want to make, everyone wants to be a capt. and make the six figures, I mean come on, but realistically in todays economic climate, it's not bad. Granted I live in TX where cost of living is CHEAP, but I do have a wife, 2 kids and 1 on the way.

Now there is a riff between the flowbacks and FOs and even CA, but they are all pilots like you and me, trying to feed there families and get back to AA as soon as recall will take them. They also have a union that has done a great job for them, and we all just have to deal with it until AA does recall. When the 430 AA flowbacks and the 473 flowthroughs and the 88 retirees from AE in 06 and 07 all leave the list will have 1000 different pilots near the top and with only 2900 pilots that's a lot of movement. Granted that could all change tomorrow, but when I came to Eagle they had the best contract, paid you during training without it being pay for training, and a flowthrough. (which at the time looked great).

Now the thing I've learned is gather as much information as you can and make the best decission with that info in front of you. Because tomorrow is a new day and everything can change.
 
Eagle will turn around. In my opinion all of these carriers that currently have the short upgrades have already passed the peak in their growth cycle. Eagle is one of the few that hasn't even started theirs yet.
 
well I was there for 2.5 years and I learned a bunch. great group of pilots overall. training is quite good compared to other carriers. for example ERJ training when i was there was 6 weeks followed by 25 hours of IOE. You get to fly with some really, and I mean really experienced pilots. Ex Pan-am and Eastern Captains, etc.

Sure there is lots of moaning and groaning about mgt., the contract, and the flowback, etc. But when it comes time to release the brake and go fly, it's professional, safe, and most important lots of FUN.
 
SkyBoy1981 said:
Eagle will turn around. In my opinion all of these carriers that currently have the short upgrades have already passed the peak in their growth cycle. Eagle is one of the few that hasn't even started theirs yet.

now we agree on something.

all regionals have the bar set way too low in terms of pay, QOL, etc. at both regionals i have worked at the people have been wonderful. eagle the corporate culture is the "weight" that bears down upon all (the amr everyone at each others throats concept). we got our 2.7% raise this year which was nice. i "am content" at eagle, however it could be WAY better and the same could be said for any regional.

all the short term jet upgrades are disappearing. mesa's deliveries have dried up. skywest has slowed to a crawl in hiring. chq just now had their first new class in awhile. colgan is the only "stable" quick upgrade out there.

where did some_other_dude come up with 450+ flowthroughs? i was under the impression that it was a quarter of that (~125 or so).
 
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flowthroughs

The 470 ish flowthroughs is how many Eagle Captains either have numbers at AA and are waiting to flow OR have said they are not Eagle Rights Captains and are waiting for numbers. I got the 470ish number from the most current seniority list on the Eagle/Alpa website.
 
Well, got some buddies that went to Comair, ASA and Expressjet thinking Eagle was a dead-end place. Ask'em now. They all wish they had stayed. Eagle is a good company to work for. Things have been rough for everyone in this industry but AMR Corp. is on the right track. They've avoided bankruptcy and do enjoy some stability that many out there lack. Give it some time and Eagle and AA will turn out to be one of the best places to be, if not already. Especially as soon as the AA recalls happen and the upgrade times get back to "normal". It will happen one day or another.
 
I went to ASA for that reason and I am now looking to go elsewhere. Just for kicks what type of line is a May 04 guy holding on the jet in DFW?
 
I'm June 2004, and been holding regular lines for several months now in DFW. Comp lines before that. This month: 14 days off...4 on, 3 off (tue, wed, thu) worth 78 h, but will surely well exceed that (lots of ORD thru flying).
 
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CitationLover said:
where did some_other_dude come up with 450+ flowthroughs? i was under the impression that it was a quarter of that (~125 or so).

There are 120+ on Dallas alone! Company-wide the total is in fact close to 500.

IHF
 
Willy21 said:
I went to ASA for that reason and I am now looking to go elsewhere. Just for kicks what type of line is a May 04 guy holding on the jet in DFW?

I am May 04 at Eagle and I hold 14-15 days off, 4-day trips, weekdays off. I am able to get a good bit of OT and average 90-95 hours per month.

Once AA recalls, and they will sooner or later, I should shoot up very fast. When all of the flowbacks are gone I will be 400 numbers from Captain.
 
"I guess somtimes you win, sometimes you loose and sometimes it rains."

Ebby "Nuke" LaLouch
 
Willy21 said:
I went to ASA for that reason and I am now looking to go elsewhere. Just for kicks what type of line is a May 04 guy holding on the jet in DFW?

Is working at ASA that bad? how long have you been there? I know about the interminable contract negociations, but what else is bothering you there? What is your schedule?

Just curious...
 
Some_Other_Dude said:
When the 430 AA flowbacks and the 473 flowthroughs and the 88 retirees from AE in 06 and 07 all leave the list will have 1000 different pilots near the top and with only 2900 pilots that's a lot of movement.

The 430 flushbAAcks I belive that.
The 88 retirees I believe that.
The 473 flowthroughs,NOT so fast there. Lots of them arent or dont wanna flow now. They are going to Biatch,moan, etc to stay. Why? $$. They will take a huge pay-cut plus problaby being on reserve at Lagarbage flying the 80.
 
i see the difference now IHF and SOD. my number is the people who actually have an employee number. i doubt the non numbered flowthroughs will ever see AA unless they interview as letter 3 will in all likelihood expire next year, but i hope your right.

pb's nonstop calls for lower expenses and ec whipsaw memos will only continue.

i like gavin's idea. goto www.aepa.org and show your support.
 

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