Pinnacle Airlines

[Long-Gonner]

Questions for Pinnacle pilots.

1. Which bases are the most jr, or easiest to hold a line at?

2. How do your travel benefits work on NW and on your own aircraft?

3. How many aircraft do you currently have? How many are expected over the next few years.

Thanks for the info.

 

[dondk]

DTW is junior for both seats. Holding a line in DTW will take about 6 months for an FO.

Travel Bennies... Our own and Mesaba are free, Mainline is $25 r/t on the mainland, it increases to the south, Asia, and Europe. We get Continental and KLM bennies too. KLM is $60, and CAL is about $10 more than ours for mainline and increase greatly to other destinations other than continental US.

The best way to travel is JS on NWA... JS plus 2 is the rule.


We have about 49 or so... will go to 95 by this time in 2004. Last Saab flight is in 2 weeks.

 

[DoinTime]

MEM has actualy become the most junior FO base for becoming a line holder. For December this is how it panned out for line holders.

MEM FO: 3 months
DTW FO: 4 months
MSP FO: 18 months

MEM CA: 47 months
DTW CA: 20 months
MSP CA: 29 months

 

[Long-Gonner]

Thanks for the info. I have some more Q's if you have a minute.

Where do you do your ground training for the CRJ?

Do you have sims in MEM?

Is it true that the company doesn't pay for housing during training? If so, what do new hires usually do for shelter?

Thanks again for your time.

 

[dondk]

All training is now done in MEM, the days of ATL and ILG and anywhere else is long gone.

No pay, no per diem, no travel pass, no ID while in training until completion of checkride (about 6-8 weeks). Most N/H either find or form a crash pad, hotels (some are cheap), rent apartments or stay with friends or family.

With the displacements (mostly senior) and more than enough junior FO's bailing north in January I would expect to see some availability in MEM for a cheap place to stay.

Training has improved in the 18 months I have been around and they are getting more streamlined with each class.

To respond to doinTime... about time someone with less than 8 years can hold a line in MEM!!! Now only if they could get a FO under 6 months in MSP!!!

 

[othello]

WOW!

"No pay, no per diem, no travel pass, no ID while in training until completion of checkride (about 6-8 weeks)"

That is ridiculous! You folks are getting bent over.

When is your next contract due? soon I hope.
I allways thought Great Lakes had the worst contract.

I don't know too many people that can go 2 month with out pay. talk about selling your soul for a job. Sounds like a second rate operation.

 

[dondk]

Our next contract is due in May 05, but I would not count on that... Maybe within a year or two later (if we are lucky).

Second rate operation... I would not say that. Those hired right now will hold a seniority number in the low 600's. We are expected to go over 1300 pilot's in the next 18-24 months. So, for two months w/o pay you will hold seniority in the upper 50% in a all jet fleet. As seniority is everything, it is not a bad place to be.

I feel for the people who will get class dates next spring or summer. The bang for the buck will not be there.

As for the "worst" contract... We are a regional, with a regional contract. Signed well before many of the other contracts were signed. At the time of the signing it was not bad.

Maybe one day we will have a contract similar to Air Whiskey or Comair. Comair raised the bar for all of us, and for one, I am thankful. I support Mesaba in raising the bar a little further. Instead of commenting about OUR contract, you should be supporting our brothers and sisters to get better contract so all of us can enjoy our lives at the regional. A place many of will stay for our careers.

Othello... I thought you were Mesaba, you know our contract.

 

[othello]

Yes I do work for Mesaba, But I have no idea what your contract say's, other than what I hear second or third hand in the crew room exc. And you never know what is being exaggerated. I said "Sounds like a second rate operation." being the way your company treat's the new hire's. I know you folks have top of the line equipment and are good people.

I am still amazed at your lack of a trainning contract.
No pay, no per diem, no travel pass, no ID while in training until completion of checkride (about 6-8 weeks).

 

[acaTerry]

Is it true that th upgrades are still 8 or so months? What do you think for folks getting on board in Jan-Feb?
If it's true that's darn fast. Right now 18-20 mos just for J41, which will be gone in not too long, so who knows what for the jets.

 

[PCL_128]

Is it true that th upgrades are still 8 or so months? What do you think for folks getting on board in Jan-Feb?
If it's true that's darn fast. Right now 18-20 mos just for J41, which will be gone in not too long, so who knows what for the jets.

No, that's just the company's propaganda. Upgrade for a new hire is looking at around 1 1/2 years now. The guys already on the seniority list with the 3000 hour min for upgrade are looking at the end of next year for upgrade.