Pinnacle Interview

[Sppedmode]

Congrats on gettting outta here....I sent you a PM...take care dude.

 

[dondk]

we have taken CFI's under 1200, closer to 1000. The 150 ME tends to be the tougher nut to break for CFI's.

the 135 guys automatically show up with more time and I agree with Lear on his assessment.

Reserve is slightly different.. MSP has not had a FO vacancy in several months and I doubt one is around the corner. DTW has been seeking 20+ FO's every month for the last 3-4 months and that should increase with the attrition.

Getting into MSP as an FO probably will take some time (6 months). MEM and DTW would be within a month (if that).

Reserve for FO's is running around 6 months with DTW down to less than 4 months.

The "most" junior FO base is MEM, with DTW on it's heels. We seem to be hiring more and more from the region that "favors" MEM as a domicile.

Commuting is what you make of it.. You can always find something commutable or semi-commutable. If you have special needs the overal chocies drop (need week ends off, specific days every month, other oddities). It also depends if your the crash pad type or the hotel type for the few nights you may need in domicile.

DTW is more commuter friendly than other domiciles, but all that means is we have more banks of flights than the other domiciles. Look at the flights from where you plan to live to which domicile you would choose...

See when the earliest you can get in and out.
Many trips can start as early as 0730 with an average of 0800-0900. The last flight of a trip ends anywhere from 1930-2030 on average. This is a rough average for all 3 domiciles and is what better than 1/2 of your trips would have in any given month.

If you can find flights that would answer your commutability question.

 

[Lear70]

DTW is more commuter friendly than other domiciles, but all that means is we have more banks of flights than the other domiciles. Look at the flights from where you plan to live to which domicile you would choose...

Everything he said is accurate except for this part. DTW is NOT commuter friendly UNLESS you live in the Easter time zone and have a 1 hour or less commute time.

See when the earliest you can get in and out.

That's the problem.

Many trips can start as early as 0730 with an average of 0800-0900. The last flight of a trip ends anywhere from 1930-2030 on average. This is a rough average for all 3 domiciles and is what better than 1/2 of your trips would have in any given month.

That's only true in DTW and MSP. MEM is different, VERY RARELY will you see trips with a release time after 1900, it's usually 1830 - 1845. I haven't had a release later than 1900 since I bid down to MEM last May.

MEM VERY RARELY has reports prior to 0800, except for the early hub-to-hub flights that report at 0530 and very few lines have these and, if they do, they're all on 4 or 5 lines out of 150 so you can bid away from them. I had two report times prior to 0800 since last May, and both of those were at 0750 or 0755.

Lines have gone to CRAP for commutability. I actually PREFER the DTW domicile (remote base management, crews hang out together more, if you're a single guy you'll like DTW best), but it's so uncommutable I lose 3 or 4 days off every month having to commute on off-days and burn a hotel room each time. In MEM, I've had to buy a grand total of 3 hotel rooms in the last year.

It really depends on where you live...

p.s. DonDK is right about the reserve situation, I hadn't realized all of our attrition was coming almost exclusively from MEM and DTW. I have to believe that's more coincidence than any kind of better quality of life in one base than another. Everyone's pissed right now about the lines and the decrease in QOL and it's going to get worse for the next 3 or 4 months before it gets better... always does this time of year.

 

[CrownandCoke]

what are the average times of new hires - TT/ME?

I just got hired with 560/30. If you have any CRJ experience, I know that will help you.

 

[Lear70]

Where did you come from before Pinnacle bgeist? 560/30 has to be the ERAU CAPT program or GIA...?

 

[undpilot]

I was hired a few weeks back with 560/50 right out of UND, none of that CAPT or GIA nonsense.

 

[Dodge]

Spoken like a true UND'er. You, friend, take the sport out of it. Only the Navy and UND think that their pilots are seasoned at 500 hours.

 

[undpilot]

I am not claiming that I am a seasoned pilot at 500 hours. I would have been happy flight instructing for another 500+ hours, but if an airline comes up here hiring at 500 tt, I am not going to turn that down.

 

[texarkana]

I was in MEM a month ago and talked to interviewees/new hires in training and there were plenty CFIs of the "100+ multi and less than 1000TT" variety....

 

[dondk]

I heard 19 UND people coming in the next month... That seem's to be our new pool of pilots. A handful of GIA and the rest are off the street.

the other part of the equation, some people have already withdrawn from classes (not UND, but others). The Mid April class only has 1 pilot currently and it is for 16.

Lear70.. I live with a 35 min flight to DTW, so yes it is more commutable for me than for some others. It only becomes difficult for those south of the mason-dixon line. If you live in a highspeed city you can usually find a way to cover the early shows and late releases.

I know MSP runs as early at 730 show and most releases are after 1930.

Regardless, Lear70 is on the money with QOL going south and quickly. DTW will be negative FO's in the very near future and based on current attrition and anticipated upgrades, we will fall into the negative CA region in the near future.

I would expect upgrades to increase in numbers, but it will still be a solid 2+ years.