Pinnacle Upgrade

[MNPilot135]

How long for an upgrade of a new hire at Pinnacle with 3500TT plus?

 

[pa31350pilot]

I don't think it really matters about TT (somewhat)....all about seniority! Welcome to the airlines!

 

[Tarzan]

If there are no FO's who meet the mins then no, it's not about senority.

 

[MNPilot135]

That's exactly the situation I was wondering about. Are there enough FO's with the time to be Captain, or can a person with the time as a new hire move to the left seat in a hurry?

 

[pa31350pilot]

If there are no FO's who meet the mins then no, it's not about senority.

That's why I added the "Somewhat." This is why hiring guys with not enough time to meet ATP mins is a problem.

 

[Papps]

They lowered the upgrade mins, so a bunch of guys that have been lurking around in the right seat probably just put their stuff in for upgrade, but if nothing super crazy happens you would upgrade fast. probably less than a year if not quicker.

The only problem is that you will be on reserve for years, and believe me Pinnacle reserve (as a captain) is a miserable existance. You will be unhappy, and I would suggest that you avoid it if you can.

 

[Papps]

plus if you don't have any 121 time, you may want to spent a few months in the right seat anyway. 121 is actually easier than 135, but it is alittle different.

 

[MNPilot135]

How is reserve at MSP? Can anyone tell me what a typical reserve schedule is like? Thanks.

 

[Papps]

5 on 2 of then 5 on 3 off. They can and always do extend you into your day off, and you will end up with 7-9 days off a month. You can only be extended twice a month, and you can refuse 1 extention per month. It will be more like 6 on 1 off.

Scheduling will actually get annoyed on the phone when they realize that you need 1 day of in 7, or that you are totally out of flight time for the week/month. And they will schedule you for illegal assigments regularly and its up to you to catch it.

 

[MNPilot135]

OK...how bad is it when you live in base. How does the reserve work...Airport reserve/home reserve? I'll be pretty used to it. I'm on call basically all the time in the 135 world.

 

[MNPilot135]

It seems that scheduled 135 regs are fairly close to 121. I should pick up on it pretty fast. But you are right I do want some right seat time to figure out the whole process. Thanks for your replies.

 

[ataopsdave]

Upgrade went a little more senior in the last vacancy and when they fill the secondary spots I anticipate upgrade to go to 1 yr first officers

 

[Papps]

The schedule will still suck, but its not terrible. Dont settle on pinnacle just because you live in base. Thats a huge factor for sure, but make sure to look at a few other regionals before you make a decision.

Upgrades are quick everywhere right now. Some guys gleefully sign up and then are pissed about low pay and schedule within 1 week of finishing O.E. Just make sure you know what you are signing up for.

 

[another cfii]

I've done both MSP FO and CA reserve, and from what i've observed, it's all depends if you live in base or not. If you're lazy, you can bid airport PM reserve, and probably fly couple hi-speed once in a while, or if you like to fly a lot, you will fly a lot, i.e. 95 hr. a month. With 9E, you do need to know your rights and responsibility, because scheduling knows theirs, and will probably bet that you don't and intimidate you.

When you show up for a 5 day reserve stretch, be prepared to pack for 6 days, cuz you'll never know how a simple out and back turns into a full blown 29:59 6 days of fun.

If you know what you're entitled and what you're required to do, life ain't too bad. Just roll with the dice, try to play nice with sched, and you'll be fine. The good side of bidding reserve is knowing which days you'll have off, and it's generally easier to swap days off (staffing permitted

Hope it helped.