Pinnacle Airlines

[ataopsdave]

I know that Pinnacle has some sort of agreement to get some of their pilots from Gulfstream Academy. Does anyone know when they will be going back there for interviews.

 

[Saabslime]

Does anyone know when they will be going back there for interviews.

Yeah...., when the next punk with a check for several thousand dollars steps forward and says that they would gladly BUY a job instead of earn it.

 

[JJJ]

The mgmt at Pinnacle doesn't talk about the Gulfstream deal. No one know what the details or the number$ are for the deal.

My conspiracy theory is that Gulfstream is paying Pinnacle/NWA to hire some of their F/O's. There is not much hiring at the regionals for low time F/O's, like the ones at Gulfstream. Gulfstream relies partly on money from fresh meat coming into the program. Glfstream will lose revenue if no F/O's get hired at other airlines. Gulfstream pays Pinnacle/NWA to hire some of their pilots so they can bring new people into their program.

 

[Simon Says]

Does anyone know when they will be going back there for interviews.

HOPEFULLY NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You need to get your CFI, instruct or fly cargo. Or if your lucky enough to have the money buy or rent an airplane and fly around for at least 1000 hours.

Flame away all you PFT lovers.

 

[Cadillac]

Like Simon Says

I was reading a flying magazine where they interviewed a gulfstream pft'er. She had quit a successful job after earning a good chunk of money and was now extremely excited about becoming a regional pilot soon. I wish I had the article to quote word for word, but to paraphrase:
"I know the pay is not going to be as good as I was used to at my old job. But this is not about money, this about doing what I've chosen to do."

(so screw all of you who are already there, and those of you who want to get there someday and make a decent living. I'm going to be an airline pilot even if I have to pay the AIRLINE for the job.)

PFT should be illegal. I would like to see the FAA would raise the 121 mins for FO's to 1200 TT like part 135.

(but then these pft'ers would probably just pencil-whip the time to meet their goals)

 

[100LL... Again!]

1200/200



I'll agree with cadillac.

This would be one way to stop the "race to the bottom."

ALPA could probably successfully lobby for this, the general public would not likely object.

Alternately, how about requiring an ATP. We all know you don;t really need it, but it would stop a fair amount of these bridge programs COLD. Not too many will to P-F-T all the way to 1500hrs.
HAH!

 

[BRA]

Colgan is a haven for former gulfstream people. But now that colgan is PFT, i don't think the gulfstream people are getting in here anymore. Not positive though. My guess is they can only get in now if they pay the 18K to TAB. Colgan is probably a better choice for a 250 hour commercial pilot than gulfstream. the 18K gets you in the 1900 for as long as you can keep your job, gulfsteam just gets you 240 or so hours....am i right?? The new PFTers here are coming in with as low as 500TT. May be lower, but 500 was the lowest i heard so far.

 

[ASH]

What??

I think it is a pretty ignorant statement that because someone PFT, they would pencil whip their logbook. It is a decision just like anything else, it does not indicate a complete moral abcense.
By the way if you "rented" a plane for 1000 hours......oh my....did you PAY for that 1000 hours. We critisize PFT's as the people they look up to at there regional they are going to vote in poverty TA's. Six in one hand half a dozen in the other. Whatever

 

[BRA]

I have a neutral opinion on PFT as of now. He did write "probably would pencil whip" not "absolutely would pencil wip". If you are 20 years old and your dad says he will pick up the bill and pay for your job at colgan or where ever.........how many of us would acutally say no? How many of us know the industry well enough to elect to say no? I bet i would say yes. But if southwest was asking for 30K to get in there....and my dad offered to pay for it...based on what i know now, i would not accept it.

 

[dondk]

JJJ is on the money as far as I am concerned and I would "second" his conspiracy theory.

The only thing I sort of heard on the sly was... GIA was funding "some" of the sim time for those new hires. How much is some? It was not too much, but then again we just about own the sim's in MEM.

When will they be returning to GIA for more? Once they run out of the list they have (supposedly 20 more), or when corporate realizes they need 3+ year guaranteed FO's...

 

[SpocksBeard]

I think the 1200 and 200 idea would be great - but there are a lot of currently employed 121 FOs that got in legitametly at possibly less than those times very recently. It would have to grandfather those people in of course. Also - paying for 1000 hours in a rental airplane is not as bad as gulfstream but I think it is in the same poor judgement. A commercial pilot should get paid to fly - not the other way around. It comes down to self-worth. Don't you think you're worth more than that?

 

[flyin4jsus]

Hey guys just wanted to write some stuff and see what you guys thought? I'm not trying to start anything just have some questions. I know the PFT is a sore subject to alot of people and everyone has there belief about it. But wasn't it in the late 80's and early 90's that's how it was. I was still in elementary then still. But since then I've had 6 years in the airline industry as ramp and gate lead agent and flight attendant. And that was how I understood it. Cause Atlantic Coast Airlines that I used to work for used to be PFT in the early years. Just thought I would ask? Pleas correct me if I'm wrong.

Keep Flying Higher,
B

 

[efiscompmon]

...and so did a lot of people at Pinnacle with seniority numbers (roughly) between 80 something and 220.

Live and let live. But when your 350 hour ex-"Fighting Okra" intern tries a forward slip to a landing in your RJ at MGM one night after the tower is closed....well, not sure PFT is your biggest problem.

 

[flyin4jsus]

That would be a problem! A fwd slip!

 

[Simon Says]

... But when your 350 hour ex-"Fighting Okra" intern tries a forward slip to a landing in your RJ at MGM one night after the tower is closed

HEHEHE.........Thats kinda funny.

 

[Fallingbrick]

“I know that Pinnacle has some sort of agreement to get some of their pilots from Gulfstream Academy. Does anyone know when they will be going back there for interviews.”


This is the kind of thinking that Pi$$es CFIs off. I recently talked a buddy of mine out of paying GA so he could "get to the right seat fast!" Get a CFI, pay your dues, and exercise a little patience. When are people going to realize that the days of getting hired below 1000 hours are over? Yes it sucks but that’s the way it is. My CFI was flying 121 by the time he had 600 hours. Times have changed! It took me years of instructing to finally get a FO job offer (and I’m still waiting in the pool).

I’m curious how Pinnacle pilots treat the GA new hires. Has anyone had problems with them? I just think it would be a recipe for disaster having a 300 hour pilot go into CRJ ground school.

My $0.02

 

[dondk]

Has any pinnacle pilot treated a GIA dude poorly...

Not to my knowledge, I know a few are still sore about how they "bumped" some of our buddies, but that is about it. Some of the GIA people are really sharp, some have attitudes, some are.. well slackers.. But then again I just described the better part of our non GIA people!

Now.. down in MEM I have personally (unfortunately) witnessed some GIA wash out, so they never get to the line to be a problem. Our training is not known to be the best, heck I think most of us would like it to be decent. Our company is also not known to "go the extra mile" and I have seen that first hand many times.

As a CFI I agree, the fast track is gone... Even IF you are lucky enough to fast track you will be warming the right seat for years on end barely making enough to survive.

 

[DoinTime]

I've flown with quite a few of our GIA guys and they are indistinguishable from any other new hire. If someone can make it through Pinnacle's southern style (read backwards) training program, they must have something going on upstairs.

Most guys that I have talked to have regreted their decision to go to GIA but there isn't much they can about it after they are finished and are thrown out into the real world. As long as people realize their mistakes and learn from them you won't catch me riding them for it.

 

[100LL... Again!]

Are they also indistinguishable from the new hires that come over after being furloughed from other airlines? I.e.: NWA.

There are a lot of qualified people out there, in other words.

I think we can leave the 500 hr pilots to the cessna for a while, hmm?

 

[KeroseneDream]

Re: Like Simon Says

I would like to see the FAA would raise the 121 mins for FO's to 1200 TT like part 135.

Not defending PFT in anyway. Just wanted to clarify that the 1200 TT is only for Part 135 IFR PIC, has nothing to do with FO's