Pinnacle Interview

[Detroitpilot22]

Don't go there unless you are ready to be treated like a slave. I didn't work there but I did work for the other Airlink. Work rules at 9e are not that good. Let tankcommander(9e right or are you xj) comment on the state of the company. Me personally, I wouldn't go even if it was the only company hiring. Just my thought.

You know, it cracks me up when you Mesaba guys bash our company. I will admit this place needs some work, but your place is not exactly the place to be lately as well. Thats why some of us pinnacle guys were there to support you at the ralleys that were recently held. So instead of bashing each other, maybe we can support each other.

 

[Lear70]

Lost 5 pilots today, 2 to terminations, 3 resigned. About 40 so far this month at the current rate.

It's a good place to build time and get out, as long as you ignore the b.s. and don't get too into the crap they throw at you, the people you fly with are good and you'll have a good time.

Good luck!

 

[breds98]

Has anyone recently had an interview with Pinnacle, and if they have any new gouge to add, or tips for the interview process?

Thanks.

 

[AvroGuy]

You know, it cracks me up when you Mesaba guys bash our company. I will admit this place needs some work, but your place is not exactly the place to be lately as well. Thats why some of us pinnacle guys were there to support you at the ralleys that were recently held. So instead of bashing each other, maybe we can support each other.

You were there to support the pilot group or the company. there is a difference. I didn't say anything bad about the pilot group. My comments were on the company. And so you know, I wouildn't recommend Mesaba to anyone right now. If mgmt gets what they want, I would sooner recommend Mesa as to Mesaba.

Any way I don't work there any more. What I typed is what your fellow 9e pilots told me.

If this makes you feel better, I think the pilot group as a whole is just fine. Most are. BUT as in any pilot group, you will have some bad individuals that make the pilot group look bad. I was not bashing your pilot group, I was bashing your company and its work rules. Look at your attrition rate, what does that say about your company or look at what one of your own says about the company. Like I said earlier, I am not bashing the pilot group, it is the company you work for.

 

[AvroGuy]

Don't go there unless you are ready to be treated like a slave. I didn't work there but I did work for the other Airlink. Work rules at 9e are not that good. Let tankcommander(9e right or are you xj) comment on the state of the company. Me personally, I wouldn't go even if it was the only company hiring. Just my thought.

 

[dondk]

I work here and I could knock the company... but I got better things to do...

The stuff on aviationinterviews is accurate.

With the exceptions of...
we are only accepting about 1/3 of those who interview, the other 2/3 are sent packing.
If you live near one of the domiciles it will not be too bad, movement is swift with us losing about a pilot per day to attrition.

Just make sure you have no skeletons and your odd's improve for getting hired.

 

[OMG7778]

Is most of the attrition still from the bottom quarter of the list? Last I heard we are losing new hire Fo's almost faster than we can train them.

 

[OMG7778]

Oh and Upgrades have slowed way down to a trickle

 

[dondk]

actually it is a mix... it is about 40/60 presently. Those FO's that are bolting tend to be the bottom 20% give or take.

Upgrades are a different story, really cannot get a handle on what the company is doing. We are losing CA's at a rate beyond what we can train. Although we still have a lot of CA's on reserve system wide. I would guess come the usual summer rush, upgrades "should" pick up.

 

[MarineGrunt]

Anyone know what the current upgrades are running? Airlinepilotcentral.com says most junior captin hired April or 2005, but I've been hearing 5 years on this forum.

 

[Lear70]

That's because we hired street Captains again this time last year, mostly furloughed Indy Air guys, that's where the April '05 CA comes from.

Most junior CA on the last award was in the low 700's of about 1,200 ACTIVE pilots on the seniority list (a lot on the list are on long-term medical, military, or Association leave / vacation / etc). I think his seniority date was early '04, so about 2 years.

I look for that to stay the same or even drop slightly under 2 years with all the attrition we're facing. The company hasn't woken up and smelled the vacuum of 20+ Captains per month quitting - my phone rings on every day off I have just about for a Junior Assignment this last month. Those "faster" upgrades probably won't last past the summer though, depending on how many pilots keep leaving.

Too many variables to predict long-term, whether we get more aircraft or lose some we already have with the RFP, whether the new contract they're claiming to "probably" have a T.A. on by the end of the year is something we can live with and the mass exodus out the door slows, whether the terminations slow, etc.

If you come here I wouldn't "plan" on upgrading any less than 3 years from DOH, maybe 4. That way you won't be disappointed.

Good luck,

 

[MarineGrunt]

Thanks Lear. My interview is sometime in April, so maybe I will see you soon....

 

[Lear70]

Thanks Lear. My interview is sometime in April, so maybe I will see you soon....

No offense (truly), but fortunately... nope. You won't see me.

I got a better job, put in my 2 week's notice on Monday. My last flying day is April Fool's Day!

Good luck to you, it's a decent place to build time, a good airplane, GREAT crews to work with, if we could just fix senior management, it'd be a FANTASTIC place to work! :uzi:

 

[NYCPilot]

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

 

[CaptainMark]

No offense (truly), but fortunately... nope. You won't see me.

I got a better job, put in my 2 week's notice on Monday. My last flying day is April Fool's Day!

Good luck to you, it's a decent place to build time, a good airplane, GREAT crews to work with, if we could just fix senior management, it'd be a FANTASTIC place to work! :uzi:

congrats on the new job...!!!

 

[Lear70]

Thanks Mark, I'm really psyched to be moving on, can't WAIT!!!

NYC, depends... GIA or non-GIA?

 

[NYCPilot]

Thanks Mark, I'm really psyched to be moving on, can't WAIT!!!

NYC, depends... GIA or non-GIA?

non-GIA. Just the avg. CFI off the street with scraps of ME and less than 1000 TT.

 

[MarineGrunt]

As long as we're at it I have a few more Q's:

1) How is life for the commuters? If hired, I'd be doing 1 leg and 1 time zone.
2) How long are you on reserve?
3) What is the junior base?

 

[BOHICAgain]

As long as we're at it I have a few more Q's:

1) How is life for the commuters? If hired, I'd be doing 1 leg and 1 time zone.
2) How long are you on reserve?
3) What is the junior base?

1. It depends where you commute to, but as reserve it suxs big ass 2 off 5 on 3 off 5 on ect.. and now a days I hear its 7am-7pm reserve all 5 days not like the old where first day was late reserve and fifth day was early reserve.

2. Depends on the flying and on the bases. Like MSP reserve looks a little long...also for MEM... but detroit it is hit or miss. For March not enough FO to cover the lines. In the summer more flying so Reserve is slimm but winter it could be long

3. DTW...but all three bases are easy to get. You might just have to have a month or two until u get what you want.

 

[Lear70]

1. It depends where you commute to, but as reserve it suxs big ass 2 off 5 on 3 off 5 on ect.. and now a days I hear its 7am-7pm reserve all 5 days not like the old where first day was late reserve and fifth day was early reserve.

Careful what you ask for. On the "old system" all 5 days were 9 hours at the airport on ready reserve. For ALL the reserve pilots. It sucked. Worse than now. Trust me on this one, I did it for 3 years.

He's right about where you commute from/to, and as a line holder it gets even more interesting on commuting.

2. Depends on the flying and on the bases. Like MSP reserve looks a little long...also for MEM... but detroit it is hit or miss. For March not enough FO to cover the lines. In the summer more flying so Reserve is slimm but winter it could be long

All 3 bases are going about the same time on reserve, 4-6 months unless the f/o attrition rate keeps up, then only 2 or 3.

3. DTW...but all three bases are easy to get. You might just have to have a month or two until u get what you want.

What he said.

Average times for CFI's and such are going 1,500 to 2,000 hours total and minimum multi required. Average times for freighter guys (310's, etc) are going about 2,000 - 2,500. Probably more of an experience range than anything else, just timing and having an extra 2 or 3 years before deciding that a regional is the way to go for the freighter guy thinking he's gonna get into a Lear or something soon.

Good luck!

 

[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.