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Piedmont interview

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skyking

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 28, 2002
Posts
57
Any Piedmont pilots out there that can tell me the good and bad about Piedmont. I have an interview there next month. What do they pay during training, and any interview gouge. Thanks for your time.

Skyking
 
Minimum guarantee during training (72 hours). Interview starts with a written test. Questions from an ATP book, some tailored to PDT. If you pass, a face to face with HR and the Chief Pilot, nothing technical, just a normal conversation.

This was last year, check aviationinterviews.com for the latest.

The good is, well, what you make of it, I guess. If you live near one of the bases, that's good. If you have to commute, that's not so good.
A lot of attrition lately, so chances are you'll get a line soon, or at least a build up. So that's good.
Dash is fun to fly, very forgiving (except landings)
Pay is good, especially if you pick up open time and/or play the system right. Block or better, of course. I've only been juniormanned once, and made a killing on it. So far, had all the holidays off and most weekends I am home.

Upgrades are five years right now. Always subject to change, I suppose. No new planes yet, all hiring for attrition.

That's about it.
 
Know the difference between an inverter and TRU for the test. The most favorable temperature range for lightning to strike an aircraft. Calculate a VDP (HAT/300). Know the bases and the President of the company. Circling radii for a category B aircraft. What reduces the holdover time for a type I or type IV de-icing fluid... I can't remember which. These are some of the harder questions that I can remember. It may have changed since March... I'm not sure. I agree that if you live near a base than this job is great. Hopefully we get new airplanes and/or a flowthrough to mainline but I guess people have been talking about that since the beginning of time. Good luck!
 
If you bid EWN, you can fly with Wsurf. He claims New Bern, NC is very nice, and they stay away from PHL most of the time.

Bye Bye--General Lee
 
upgrades = not
jman = yea
hot young FAs = no way
alpo = yes :( = -2%
flow through = never
APU = nope
5am callout = yes
pay problems = yes
cool crews = yes
nice aircraft = no
new aircraft = no
more aircraft = no
chief pilot a fag = yes
HQ = in a old hanger
modern = no
warm fuzzy = no
get 500 more hours and quit to go somewhere real = YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
yep you area actually pretty correct to all of that, most of the crews are good, there are a few jerk, F.O, and Captains. some real ego maniacs that have always been at PDT. some real lifers here. but i spose PDT is for the most part not much different than other regionals
 
General Lee said:
If you bid EWN, you can fly with Wsurf. He claims New Bern, NC is very nice, and they stay away from PHL most of the time.

Bye Bye--General Lee
Click to expand...


Yea! However General we only tell junior people that EWN is nice!! So all you senior folks to me, remember......... EWN is a boring old redneck town, will absolutely nothing going on!!!
 
Terrain Terrain said:
upgrades = not
jman = yea
hot young FAs = no way
alpo = yes :( = -2%
flow through = never
APU = nope
5am callout = yes
pay problems = yes
cool crews = yes
nice aircraft = no
new aircraft = no
more aircraft = no
chief pilot a fag = yes
HQ = in a old hanger
modern = no
warm fuzzy = no
get 500 more hours and quit to go somewhere real = YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

APU's work! I haven't had a pay problem in over 2 years! 5am call outs, what airline doesn't have them (you might need to find new work outside the airlines)! Nice Aircraft (the dash is a nice plane... roomy cockpit and you don't have to wear David Clarks)! Hot young FA's(This is true, since B.T. left HR its gone down hill big time)!
Get your 500 hours and go where? A regional is a regional is a regional!! Some suck worse then others!! I know many that have left PDT to go fly a regional jet, and wish that they had never made the move! At the end of the month it doesn't matter what your flying, but how much money you have in your pocket and the time off!!
PDT is what it is! 55 Turbo props with a great pilot group, and a working contract that we can put up against anyones! You'll make more money here then almost all other regional airlines (Even those FO's flying the CJR900, you know the mesa folks).
Not a bad place, and if we do get new aircraft (being Q300's and 400's) moral will definitely get better!

Good Luck!
 
Straight from the Q & A webcast by Doug Parker and his team @ CLT this morning....


Q.When will the Dash 8 order be announced?


A.Kirby answered this one by saying we don't have an order to announce at this time
 
Dang, ceo beat me to it. There are no new airplanes coming to piedmont plain and simple. Why give new planes to piedmont when a contract carrier can fly them for less? The bottom line is always money
 
Terrain Terrain said:
upgrades = not
jman = yea
hot young FAs = no way
alpo = yes :( = -2%
flow through = never
APU = nope
5am callout = yes
pay problems = yes
cool crews = yes
nice aircraft = no
new aircraft = no
more aircraft = no
chief pilot a fag = yes
HQ = in a old hanger
modern = no
warm fuzzy = no
get 500 more hours and quit to go somewhere real = YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

It is all about perspective. There will always be someone with it better or worse than where you are at. PDT overall is a good place as long as you don't feel the need to fly a jet. Everyone I know at the other regionals complains about the same things we do. And Modern??? The dashes definately are not new, but have you ever ridden up front in one of NWA's dirty 9's? The dash looks like the space shuttle compared to those things.
 
Parker did say they're getting rid of four Mesa CRJs this year, and he wishes he could get rid of more contract flying.
 
ParrotheadPilot said:
Dang, ceo beat me to it. There are no new airplanes coming to piedmont plain and simple. Why give new planes to piedmont when a contract carrier can fly them for less? The bottom line is always money
Click to expand...

Not true! If someone could do it cheaper then PDT would have been gone a long time ago. PDT is a cash cow! How can a contract carrier do it cheaper? Please explain!

First we own a simulator in CLT, we have a AQP Program on the Dash! That saves tons of money alone.
Everyone is Typed (if we get Dash 8 400's, they have the captains ready to go) in the Dash 8's..... All cash that PDT makes goes right into US Airways pockets! A contract carrier has to be paid by US Airways!
I can see that argument 4 years ago, but in todays world with payrates sooo crappy its better for a mainline to own and operate its regionals! Look at CAL and American!!! Plus Frontier now wants to own and operate its own Dash 400 and CRJ fleet!!!
 
Last edited:
Why would there be Chautauqua, Mesa, Air Wisconsin (ok, they bought into Us Airways), Colgan, etc...if we could do it cheaper? Please explain that to me. I understand that we own an ancient Dash sim in CLT, and I understand that we have an AQP program. But let's be realistic...there will be no flow through, and there will be no new airplanes (straight from the mouth of Doug Parker!). I fly with so many captains that are holding on to the thought of a flow through. It makes me sick because it's all I ever hear about in the plane.

WSurf said:
Not true! If someone could do it cheaper then PDT would have been gone a long time ago. PDT is a cash cow! How can a contract carrier do it cheaper? Please explain!

First we own a simulator in CLT, we have a AQP Program on the Dash! That saves tons of money alone.
Everyone is Typed (if we get Dash 8 400's, they have the captains ready to go) in the Dash 8's..... All cash that PDT makes goes right into US Airways pockets! A contract carrier has to be paid by US Airways!
I can see that argument 4 years ago, but in todays world with payrates sooo crappy its better for a mainline to own and operate its regionals! Look at CAL and American!!! Plus Frontier now wants to own and operate its own Dash 400 and CRJ fleet!!!
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
WSurf said:
Two things are gonna happen at PDT! 1st--->We are gonna be gone in 2009! 2nd-->We are gonna get new turbo props and continue flying for US Airways!!!
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazet....html?id=59b562ec-9a9c-4dca-8d95-f6ad15d615d4
Thats the future here, like it or not! If people don't like it then you leave, if you do... then just stick it out and watch what happens without cryin or complaining!!!
Click to expand...


I wish everyone at pdt saw it this clearly, it would make trips much more enjoyable. If all of the pilots figured this out, we could move on from all the B.S. people complain about everyday that we can't do anything about and enjoy it as best we can until we hear some real news.
 
Terrain Terrain said:
upgrades = not
jman = yea
hot young FAs = no way
alpo = yes :( = -2%
flow through = never
APU = nope
5am callout = yes
pay problems = yes
cool crews = yes
nice aircraft = no
new aircraft = no
more aircraft = no
chief pilot a fag = yes
HQ = in a old hanger
modern = no
warm fuzzy = no
get 500 more hours and quit to go somewhere real = YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

Dont forget............
Dispatch = in a trailer park inside an old hanger.
 
Did anybody get that MEC e-mail about Mesaba? The MEC was saying we should "be on the lookout, as unlikely as it seems, for PDT airplanes in NWA Airlink colors and unusual trips out of MSP and DTW". WTF???

1. We don't have spare airplanes.
2. Why would Airways let us do anything like that?
3. Isn't that some sort of scope violation?
 
Last edited:
ParrotheadPilot said:
Why would there be Chautauqua, Mesa, Air Wisconsin (ok, they bought into Us Airways), Colgan, etc...if we could do it cheaper? Please explain that to me. I understand that we own an ancient Dash sim in CLT, and I understand that we have an AQP program. But let's be realistic...there will be no flow through, and there will be no new airplanes (straight from the mouth of Doug Parker!). I fly with so many captains that are holding on to the thought of a flow through. It makes me sick because it's all I ever hear about in the plane.
Click to expand...

I think I can address some of this...

Much of the current contract flying was born of long term contracts signed in order to better U's cash position in BK parts I and II. Air Willy is an example of this. They bought into to company for some paltry sum (I think it was $250M) and got a long term contract to fly 50 seat RJ's. If U hadn't desperately needed the operating capital, this probably wouldn't have occured.

The E170 flying at ShutRebaqua (or who ever they are) was much the same. U needed the capital so they sold off the E170 division to raise the money. I believe the E145 flying they do for U is on the way out, or so I'm told.

What will happen with PDT? Exactly what Surf said... We die in 09 or we get a mess of new airframes. No in between for us. So it's either pretty Q400 glass or a ferry flight to the desert with a detour the the Moonlight Bunny Ranch to celebrate our demise.

Either way, it'll be fun.
 
jvrac said:
Did anybody get that MEC e-mail about Mesaba? The MEC was saying we should "be on the lookout, as unlikely as it seems, for PDT airplanes in NWA Airlink colors and unusual trips out of MSP and DTW". WTF???
Click to expand...

I saw that too, seemed quite odd. Does that mean our old airplanes flying for someone else painted in NWA colors? I could maybe see that as a possiblity, but I don't think any of us will be be going to msp via PIT, DTW, and MKE anytime soon as PDT pilots. I've been wrong before, but hey, gotta take a guess.:rolleyes:
 
LowlyPropCapt said:
or a ferry flight to the desert with a detour the the Moonlight Bunny Ranch to celebrate our demise.

Either way, it'll be fun.
Click to expand...

Damn Prop! Now that's some thinkin'! Its that or 'Shady Diane's' in Montreal!!! We are there dude!!! lol
 
Both scheduling & dispatch have been moved out of the trailer and upstairs.

Also I don't know if it has anything to do with Mesaba but just this week I had 1/2 of my second day (3 legs) and the entire 3rd day of my trip (4 legs)canceled because of "maintenance". There was another crew on my DH back to EWN that had their crew canceled for the same reason. I assumed that a tug or bag cart slammed into an aircraft somewhere putting it out of service for several days, but who knows????????????????
 
NCFlyer said:
Both scheduling & dispatch have been moved out of the trailer and upstairs.

Also I don't know if it has anything to do with Mesaba but just this week I had 1/2 of my second day (3 legs) and the entire 3rd day of my trip (4 legs)canceled because of "maintenance". There was another crew on my DH back to EWN that had their crew canceled for the same reason. I assumed that a tug or bag cart slammed into an aircraft somewhere putting it out of service for several days, but who knows????????????????
Click to expand...

Well, you gotta love pay protection!!! I heard we had a couple of 300's down, and a bunch of crews were getting to chill at home!
 
G2T said:
Does that mean our old airplanes flying for someone else painted in NWA colors?
Click to expand...

Didn't somebody on here report seeing a US Dash in US sitting in MSP a while ago?
 

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