Pinnacle Air Services

[starcheckdriver]

Priceline

How do you use priceline effectively? I was looking around on it for the PBI hotels and priceline was quoting the same rate as the hotels' websites. For example, the Holiday Inn Conference Center was $74 a night on both the hotel website and priceline. The Marriott West Palm Beach (where we stayed for 4 nights this past weekend) was $159 a night on Marriott's website and on priceline. We got it for $99 from the FBO.

Am I not using priceline correctlt to get a better rate? I saw the bid function that priceline has, but it would not let me bid on a specific hotel. It would only allow a bid for a general area and then you are stuck with whatever hotel it assigns you. Is this normal?

 

[GREAT LAKES]

Priceline

You are correct, you cannot bid for a particular hotel, only the star level and the location. What I normally do is check orbitz for hotels in the area and prices. As a general rule of thumb you should bid 40-50 percent less than the sugested RETAIL price. There are alot of "little things" to using priceline that you need to understand. I no longer work for Pinnacle, but I would be happy to talk with you. PM your phone # and I'll call you.

 

[macpilot]

does bidding 50% less work for airline tickets?
I would like to ask jet ride guys if they know anything about a wilmington delaware base? Congrats on the senority if thats correct. I think it's a fare deal to.

 

[Downwind]

Why would the acquiring party place the acquired parties pilots in higher seniority? I have a hard time believing this. If it is true, then maybe it's time to polish up the old resume.

Pinnacle guys should be first. I have no problem with a one to one, but a PA guy should be no. 1, not a JR guy. This is not a merger. It is an acquisition.

Nothing against JR guys. But you don't buy someone out and then hose your own people. But I'll save final judgment until after the official word.

 

[TennLear60]

Why would the acquiring party place the acquired parties pilots in higher seniority? I have a hard time believing this. If it is true, then maybe it's time to polish up the old resume.

Pinnacle guys should be first. I have no problem with a one to one, but a PA guy should be no. 1, not a JR guy. This is not a merger. It is an acquisition.

Nothing against JR guys. But you don't buy someone out and then hose your own people. But I'll save final judgment until after the official word.

Possibly their (JR) number one guy has been with the company longer than Pinnacle has been in existance. Or it was part of the negotiations in the sale. Just guesses. Nonetheless, niether JetRide or Pinnacle are union. So, 1:1 is completely fair. I'll take it if that is indeed the real situation. Sorry for coming across somewhat pessimistic in the last part here. I have learned to believe it when I see it.

J

 

[Dave J]

Possibly their (JR) number one guy has been with the company longer than Pinnacle has been in existance. Or it was part of the negotiations in the sale. Just guesses. Nonetheless, niether JetRide or Pinnacle are union. So, 1:1 is completely fair. I'll take it if that is indeed the real situation. Sorry for coming across somewhat pessimistic in the last part here. I have learned to believe it when I see it.

J

It might have been in the Negotiations, but I believe all the JR pilots received a job letter offer offering them a job one who I spoke with told be he was offered in his letter 1000 more a year then what he was makeing. I didn't see the letter so I have to take his word on it. In any case that makes them all new hires just like anyone else. I beleive that the JR pilots have already seen the list may have a copy of it even. I have seen it and unless it gets revamped that is the way it is a JR pilot will be #1 on PA's list. That is weird but true.

 

[AirplanesSuck]

This is what our management has told us as a certainty. It seems very fair. They told us that it was a condition of sale in the deal.

If they are lying, everyone at JR and Nelson can kiss my ass. I'll be gone like a fart in the wind.

I'm sorry to see that you PA guys seemingly haven't been told anything about what's coming up. It seems they haven't been informing you like the JR guys are us.

Again, though, the JR guys could be lying... but they will pay seriously for that, and I think they know it.

 

[Dave J]

When do you guys get on the internet to do Priceline? This is another issue of mine.... I don't feel as if we should fly all day and then worry about finding ourselves a hotel within our per diem amount. The good folks in the office who have a phone and internet readily available can do that much more easily.

We don't do to many 10-12 duty days we know about most of are trips in advace 24 hours. Fly are trip duty off go to the hotel we don't sit around the airport and wait not saying that is what you guys do like Net Jet crews. I don't know if your dispatch keeps you on all day or not.

 

[AirplanesSuck]

Cool.

 

[NYRANGERS]

I guess this is the problem. The Jetride pilots (at least several I spoke with)were under the assumption that the Pinnacle pilots were getting pay raises to match the JR pilot salaries. Is this not the case? Most pilots at Jetride break even on the meal allowance ($36 a day) and therefore do not add per diem as part of the salary or take home pay. Based on the above post, I assume PA pilots are adding per diem into their salary when they figure out take home pay amounts.

.

Unless you guys get $75,000 for a first year 60 captain, it would not be a pay raise to adopt JR's pay. This is NOT including per diem. With minimal effort, I manage to make a few hundred or more a month with the per diem, some guys make much more.......conclusion....most of our 60 captains can make over $80,000 (first year)....and as for working 2 on 1 off........no thanks.

As for the hotel thing, I was apprehensive about getting my own room, until I did it a few times......it's easy and quick, you choose the hotel you want...typically 60-80 dollars a night (Hilton properties), pocket the rest.

My opinion is, if we adopt the JR model our quality of life will go way down. 15-17 days off in a row every month would be hard to see go away. 2 on 1 off is a joke.

As to what is going on with the whole JR/PA deal, our company is telling us nothing, many of our pilots are worried about their jobs, which is a shame.

good luck to everyone,

NYR

 

[MNR]

lots of random thoughts...

2 on 1 off at Jetride is a bit different than your 2 on 2 off at PA. JR crews are more likely to be home when not flying. At PA Your 2 week rotation you know you will be gone for 2 weeks straight. I prefer being home more and being on call. I could see how some would prefer being on the road 2 weeks straight. What Im saying is the JR 2 on 1 off vs the PA 2 on 2 off is not quite compareing apples to apples. Your 2 on 2 off is more like our reserve pilot 8 days on 6 days off schedule.

The Senority is right from a weekly memo. How they are doing it as explained to us at Jetride is exactly as was posted here.

If you could bid across cirtificates you would only bid open positions. It would be silly to rebid every base and every plane, not to mention cost prohibitive paying for all those moves. If however you could bid across cirtificates at some point if a spot came open in a city you wanted you would get it if you were highest on the senority list at that point.

The biggest problem with priceline is 1. you pay for the room when you book it. If you don't use it you lose the money. Good way to get screwed unless you wait until dispatch sayd you are released and can go to the hotel. Which means shopping for a hotel at the very last minute every time. 2. No points. If I book a room on priceline I don't get the hotel points, priceline does. Now I can use a card that generates points but I would prefer to pay directly and get 4x the points.

Dispatch usually releases us to the hotel but keeps the duty clock running until we get to 12 hours or so, around dinner time. Then you can call 'em and ask to be off duty or they will tell you ahead of time at 7 or 8 pm if you don't hear from us your off for the night. Allows for one to consume a few cold ones without being on call. Of course if they adopt the PA 12 hour rule you wont be able to do that anymore.

It is really too bad you guys at Pinnacle sound like you are getting absolutely no information whatsoever. Jetride has had at least half a dozen conference calls where we could call in and ask all the questions we wanted and the CP, DO, and VP were there to answer them. Not to mention the weekly memo we get.

 

[Dave J]

This is where things are better for us at least for now as far as duty times. We don't call in to dispatch Example this last trip hear to ASE from HOU I dutied us on at 9 AM CT flew 2.5 to ASE dutied us off about 45 minutes after block in fax in my paper work and went to the hotel done the only call is to a machine turning in my aircraft times my block in time my duty off time and when I will be leagal, so that dispatch can listen to the message and not bother me while I am in rest. Very seldome do we ever need approval to duty off they don't like the idea of us just sitting around an airport waiting. I guess it is looked at like well the sooner you are off the sooner you can come back on. If a trip popped up dispatch calls when they see us hit the ground or leaves us a message on are phone that we will get when we land. We can go online and see what we have comeing up for a month in advace if it is scheduled that far out. This is not to say we don't get pop ups we do but most of the time we know in advance by just getting on line and takeing a look. It is also not 12 but 10 so you can sneak a quick one in. lol

 

[macpilot]

Not all the PA pilots are on the 2week schedule and make all the extra perdiem and day pay money. I am really excited about all this, anyway it works out. I am a 31 f.o. at asg and make just under 40k when salary perdiem and day pay is all said and done.
My 2 week on/ off counter part:
1. Actually has some kind of a schedule
2. Gets to live anywhere they want
3. Is lower on our senoirty list
4. Makes about 10 - 20k per year more.

So its not that pa is not being fare to their on the road pilots after the merge if we adopt jrs salary and perdiem, its that pa has not been fare to everyone else befor the merge and now everyone is mad because we may be going to an industry standard. I think I speak for all the asg bassed crew on this. No angry phone calls please.

Whats industry standard you ask, if you ask the on the road pilots you will get an answer, if you ask jet ride and ASG bassed pilots you will get a different answer.

just making an observation, I promise Im not just trying to cause trouble between to two companies

 

[Dave J]

Not all the PA pilots are on the 2week schedule and make all the extra perdiem and day pay money. I am really excited about all this, anyway it works out. I am a 31 f.o. at asg and make just under 40k when salary perdiem and day pay is all said and done. My 2 week on/ off counter part who actually has some kind of a schedule, flys the same amout and lower on our senoirty makes about 50 - 60k. So its not that pa is not being fare to PA on the road pilots after the merge, the its that pa has not been fare to everyone else befor the merge. I think I speak for all the asg bassed crew on this.

Ahh suffer junior LOL it is true ASG crews do get the screws put to them, but no simpathy from me I did it a long time LOL the figure you are throwing out of 50 - 60 is with a per diem and you can't do that you will end up F...ing your self because it is not a consistant that is why I call it play money but yea because of the day pay road 31 FO If I remember that base pay is 35000 plus he will make another 9000 in day pay where asg base may only make and extra 3000-4000 in day pay because of less nights away. I would love to see you guys get day pay every day you fly instead of having to spend a night out before it starts, but it was worse in the past an asg based pilot had to spend 3 night out before they started getting day pay.

 

[macpilot]

Ahh suffer junior LOL it is true ASG crews do get the screws put to them. I would love to see you guys get day pay every day you fly instead of having to spend a night out before it starts.

why should a company be expected to pay their pilots extra money to do their job.