Pinnacle info

[freighthumper]

Can someone give me the lowdown on Pinnacle? Bases, pay, upgrade time, quality of life and such...

 

[JJJ]

Do a search on Pinnacle. I think it may have been discussed once or twice. If you have more questions ask away, there are several of us PCL pilots that frequent this board.

 

[freighthumper]

I did a search but didnt come up with too much... Is 3000 tot. 1250 tubine PIC competitive there? Do you have any west coast bases? IS quality of life good as far as being able to get some time at home?(currently doing 5 overnights a week..)

 

[norskman2]

Yo, Humper,

do a search on the board for previous PCL threads. PCL has bases at MSP, DTW, MEM. West Coast? Dream on! Nothing west of the Mighty Mississippi!

 

[NDPILOT]

Is 3000 tot. 1250 tubine PIC competitive there?

A good friend just got hired there, his times...1700 Total, 375me, and 90 hours of turbine SIC.

Although, another friend of mine was told he was over qualified with 3700 total and about 1700 me.

Who knows.

 

[B190Captain]

freighthumper,


Well I can tell you some things that some of my buddies have told me about them.

As for your quals yes, they are good. I have seen peeps hired with less time than you.

You DO NOT get paid while in training. All your living expenses such as room and board and meals and so on are costs out of your pocket. So correct me if I am wrong it's about 2 months without a paycheck?

Reserve forever. I have spoken to guys that have been there about 2 years and they are still in DTW sitting on reserve. You probably wouldn't be flying 5 overnights a week at PCL but you will be sitting on your @ss on ready reserve in DTW.

1st year pay is an insult to all right seaters of a CL-65.

But aside from that life is good.

 

[LITCHAT7]

What the f? Where do you get your info? I've been at pinnacle for almost a year. NEVER SAT RESERVE!

 

[freighthumper]

Thanks for the info.

 

[B190Captain]

What the f? Where do you get your info? I've been at pinnacle for almost a year. NEVER SAT RESERVE!

Well maybe things are moving along now but that was the info I got from some of your PCL peers. Is any other part of my previous post innacurate?

 

[DTWFO]

"Is any other part of my previous post innacurate?"


Just some explanation/clarification. Depending on which domicile you are awarded, reserve times can vary GREATLY!! I just got a line for the first time this month and that was after 13 months on reserve in Detroit. This is not typical of other bases in MSP and MEM. Some FO's never sat reserve while we did for 13 months. It all depends where you are at. Also, complications in mngmts "staffing model" contributed to my long reserve time. You probably got your info from an "off-the-street" captain. A couple years back the company got into a bind and hired captains directly into the left seat. Due to complications with the elimination of the SAAB last December and the company's captain displacements to FO, this group of "off-the-street" captains have had to wait for all the FO's that have the seniority and time to upgrade to do so before they will be able to hold a line. They have been on reserve for an unreal 3 years with Pinnacle! That is who you probably heard that from. This is not typical at Pinnacle however. Yes, there is no pay during training until you pass your checkride. Yes, the pay sucks for FO's but you have to understand that our contract is coming due soon and the one we have now was signed before the addition of the CRJ to the fleet and is outdated. And yes you can fly 5 day trips if you want to. I have one next week. In fact, even when I was on reserve I rarely did anything but overnight trips. Quality of life isn't the best but it's a regional airline people. None of them are that great. The people that work here are the best and make it all worth while.

 

[tittyjet]

The current published mins are 1500/300 (for non-Gulfstream PFTers). You can bet that you won't get a call back with those numbers unless someone walks your stuff in.

 

[ForgedBlade]

Us "off-the-street" captains were the red-headed step-children and were for the most part stuck on reserve for a very long time. It was almost two years of it for me before I left. I'm not sure how all the other regionals are since Pinnacle was my first (and last) regional, but reserve there was brutal, especially since the bulk of it is spent sitting at the airport!! Many FO's had lines a few months in, but again, it varied. You got the rest.

 

[DoinTime]

Us "off-the-street" captains were the red-headed step-children and were for the most part stuck on reserve for a very long time.

You guys weren't the red headed step children you were the most junior captains in the company. There is a place for the most junior people in there status. Its called RESERVE. I have a hard time believing that you had no concept of the seniority system before starting here.

 

[T-Gates]

Us reserves at this company ARE the red-headed step children.

 

[ForgedBlade]

There is a place for the most junior people in there status. Its called RESERVE.

Therein lies the problems with Pinnacle's logic. Being junior does not necessarily mean you are to be punished with reserve. At many airlines, senior pilots take reserve, making it harder for some junior guys to get. It's not entirely meant as a way to prove who is stuck at the bottom and who isn't. Maybe some day you'll grasp that.

And yes, we were the step-children of the company - many of the "older" pilots looked at us like we hadn't paid our dues in this industry. Had the company not needed a bunch of experienced pilots, they wouldn't have hired us off-the-street into the left seat.