Island Air March 1st Class?

[ILStoMinimums]

Hey guys!

I've got a friend who got on with IA and the idea is there is a class on March 1st - true?

How long is upgrade? And anybody have the payscale?

Thanks!

 

[Sleepyhead]

Yes, there is a class on Mar 1. Calls went out a few days ago.

RE:upgrade
They will be training some of the high time new-hires as captains. they need to replace the ones who are leaving to Aloha and have more for the new routes.

 

[ILStoMinimums]

So your saying that there are no current FO's who can upgrade to CA?
Whats considered high time at IA?
Any payscales out there? Just wondering if you can survive with starting pay, etc.....

 

[English]

Just wondering if you can survive with starting pay, etc.....

Depends on what you mean by "survive", and your personal circumstance. Do you have money saved in the bank? Do you have a family to support? What are your quality of life needs?

I'm from LA, and real estate in Honolulu is EXPENSIVE. I just rented a one room studio for $1250 a month (negotiated down from $2850 a month). I guess you could get something cheaper if you shacked up with a bunch of guys, but I value my privacy (read the part above regarding quality of life needs). BTW, this studio costs more than my mortgage in SoCal, a new construction, 4 bedroom, 3 bath, 2100 sq. foot home.

If I were an FO at Island Air, I could only see it working if I were young, single and financially solid before going there, or if I had family living there already.

Your car will cost $950 to ship out there, plus Hawaiian insurance which is required and more expensive.

Island Air is a great stepping stone to Aloha. Keep that perspective and you'll be fine if you can afford it.

 

[Hugh Jorgan]

I'm from LA, and real estate in Honolulu is EXPENSIVE. I just rented a one room studio for $1250 a month (negotiated down from $2850 a month). I guess you could get something cheaper if you shacked up with a bunch of guys, but I value my privacy (read the part above regarding quality of life needs). BTW, this studio costs more than my mortgage in SoCal, a new construction, 4 bedroom, 3 bath, 2100 sq. foot home.

This is wayyyy atypical. For 1250/month, you can easily get a two bedroom Condo in Salt Lake or Aiea (decent areas within 15 minutes from the airport. I looked at a nice studio in a nice building in Salt Lake last year for 800/month. I looked at a lot of studios last year and found plenty in the 650 range in Pearl City. You pay more for downtown, generally. If you want to live further from the airport, you can find stuff that won't break the bank. Let's face it though, if you are a regional F/O, there are some luxuries (such as a place in Hawaii to yourself) that you must forego. But 1250.00 for a studio is far from the median price here. If you really NEED to live alone, you can do it for more like 600-800/month. And for that amount equaled by a roommate, you can live in a pretty nice place.

 

[English]

Hugh, you are right, it is atypical. The problem is, I'm commitment-phobic, and don't like to sign one-year leases. Also, I don't like to pay for furniture and appliances in a place that I know is short-term. So, I'm paying more for a furnished unit with lots of privacy and only a six month lease.

Sure, I've seen lots of $800 a month rents in high-rise buildings built in the 60s with no furniture. But most places want a one-year lease. So, as an Island Air FO shacking up with another FO, it might work. But I caution a guy coming out with five kids and a wife that doesn't work...

 

[ILStoMinimums]

I see, if its not a secret you guys mind mentioning first and 2nd year pay at IA? What do CA start out at? Correct me if I'm wrong, but is upgrade about 3 yrs at IA?

 

[Two Feathers]

First year F/O pay is $19.14 per flight hour. 70/85hr gurantee for reserve/line holder. Beyond that I'd like to know.

 

[Sleepyhead]

The current pay rates are:
1st yr FO 19.14 CA 37.41
2nd yr FO 20.26 CA 39.16

These will go up as soon as the new contract is signed.
reserve is 70 hrs and line holders 85

As for upgrade, that depends on several factors.
Current mins for upgrade 2500 total.
As far as I know, there are no current FOs ready to upgrade if they keep those mins.
That is why they have hired some high time pilots and trained them as CAs. So if you have the time, you could be a CA in a very short time.

 

[ILStoMinimums]

Ah ok.....

 

[topdawg]

capt

I heard that they might stop hiring street Capt. becuase the F/O's are getting closer to upgrading.

 

[Sleepyhead]

As long as the expansion plan continues they will need some street CAs. The reason; they will lose about 10 pilots to Aloha from Jan thru April, before the Jan class started there were only about 20 FOs. They said they plan to hire about 40 new pilots. That would make the total number of pilots around 80-90.
So they will need about 40-45 CAs, they would have to upgrade almost every FO to get that number, so you can see they will have to hire a bunch of street CAs or lower the mins.
(FYI, in Dec ALPA asked the company to lower the upgrade mins and they said no)

 

[av8tortype]

As long as the expansion plan continues they will need some street CAs .... snip snip snip ....

Curious if the expansion plans are going as announced back in December. Been watching the tide rise and fall as a poolie for the last 2 years and reserved my opinion about the latest hiring news until some of the smoke cleared. Still can't make alot of sense of the need for 4-5 more planes just to cover the big island and possibly LIH. Is the scope clause still being kicked around?

On another note, are there CAs and FOs commuting from the surrounding islands? Real estate is still pretty cheap in Hilo and Puna and for someone with a family you could almost drop anchor there if commuting were an option. Wonder if Pac Wings would let you js out of Kamuela? (NOT!)

Lastly, does IA still allow their pilots to take a leave if they want to bid up for an AQ slot but still retain seniority in the event they get bumped by Aloha? That was a real sore subject awhile back.

 

[ILStoMinimums]

How much cheaper is it to live on the other islands? Just wondering if starting pay will allow you a new hire pull through if its 2 people?

 

[Sleepyhead]

there are a few IA pilots that commute from the other islands, but they are not doing it to save money. You still would need to have a crash pad, because you need to be in Oahu the night before a morning shift (no flights early enough to get you there) and if you are reserve you only have an hour to report.

IA will allow you a LOA until you finish IOE at Aloha.