Reserve for Newhires At ExpressJet

[Xtremepilot]

I appreciate answers to these questions! I am looking forward to my phase 4 interview next week. Thanks all!

• Does any ExpressJet pilot know how long a newhire would sit reserve in IAH, EWR, or CLE?
• Also, it has been said before that you "fly through" your hubs. Does this mean that a EWR pilot might make it to IAH and some of the cities served by IAH (Lubbock, Ontario CA)?
• At the phase 3 interview I was told 75 days for training and 39 of those days in class. How much time off during training? (weekends?)
• When do you get your ID to jumpseat?

 

[FSB99]

Just guessing here, but you'd probably sit reserve longest in cleveland, since that base is shrinking by the minute, unfortunately. Houston keeps growing, newark is sorta stagnant.

Flying through each hub is normal now. I can't remember the last time i had a 4 day trip that did just houston round trips. so yes, as a newark pilot, you could very well end up flying through houston and any of its destinations, california, boise, mexico, etc. as a houston pilot, you'll fly through newark, canada, etc.

Unless they changed things, I got my company i.d. after i passed the initial sim check. until that time, you're wearing a 'training' i.d., which really doesn't mean much, just lets you in the training center. they didn't issue it right then and there, of course. after the checkride was over, before i flew home, i stopped in the houston chief pilot's office, let him know I passed the checkride, he gave me a form, which i took to the badging office at the airport. snapped a pic, and there was the 'crew' i.d. tag.

can't speak for days off in training, though, but i thought i read some folks saying you get weekends off during the ground school.

good luck!

 

[imr125]

Cleveland?

The Cleveland base is shrinking you say? Thought that it was like Newark, just sorta stagnant. Looks like a bunch of growth in IAH.

Anybody know how Cleveland is to live in?

 

[JetPilot_Mike]

The Cleveland base is shrinking you say? Thought that it was like Newark, just sorta stagnant. Looks like a bunch of growth in IAH.

Anybody know how Cleveland is to live in?

Cleveland is a great city. It does get cold here though.

 

[imr125]

phase 4

Xtremepilot:Good luck on phase 4. I start groundschool on Monday. Just RELAX and talk in a conversational manner. Study the gouge as posted on aviationinterviews.com and be able to relate/talk about any present flying jobs. I'm hoping for Cleveland as a base myself.

IMR

 

[C-12Bubba]

Xtreme;


Good questions, anyone have some more input?

 

[imr125]

time off

As far as I remember we do get weekends off. I remember this by looking at the lunch menu: lunch is brought in ($6) Mondays through Fridays. While this isn't by any means the most definitive (or maybe since it involves food and money it is) way of determining whether weekends are off or not it is a solid indicator. I also recall talking with a couple of trainees and they also said yes to weekends off.

 

[ex208driver]

IAH based pilots are the only ones doing the redeyes to Ontario. Everything else is up for grabs. Be ready to go to Mexico City one day and then overnight in Toronto the next. Makes packing for a trip pretty hard. As far as reserve times in the different bases, I would think Ewr is usually the shortest to hold a line with Iah second followed by Cle. Having weekends off might depend on your seniority in the class. No company id till after the sim check, just saw a few new guys that had theirs before ac training. Good luck and just be yourself.

 

[nimtz]

I'm EWR based and only see the place when I start and end my trip. In the meantime I'm stuck in that sweltering sh*thole they call Houston. Flying between hubs is pretty much the norm not the exception these days. If you want to hold a line come to EWR, that is the bottom line. You'll be on reserve far longer in IAH or CLE. This newby the other day was b!tching to me about sitting reserve forever in IAH. Well that's what happens when you transfer first chance you get.

BTW, CLE blows. The flying out of the base is pretty miserable. Don't waste you're time trying to live there. Outside of LeBron James and the Cleveland Clinic there is nothing of value there...

 

[Xtremepilot]

A few more questions........

If you can think of it, what is a junior schedule like out of EWR? I know 11 days off for reserve, but does that hold true for a line holder as well? How commuter-friendly are the schedules out of EWR? I a typical schedule 4 on-3 off? I appreciate this as this is all a part of my decision for ExpressJet. I have spoken with a few of their competitors and think that XJT is the best fit. Thanks for the answers!

 

[Nova]

Min days off for a lineholder depend on the month. Some months there seems to be a number of 11 day off lines and other months when they don't build any and 12 days off is the minimum. If you're a lineholder it's pretty safe to assume you'll have at least 12 days off. Eventually 12 days off will be the minimum days off for a lineholder when/if a new contract is signed in.

 

[rumorhasit]

If you can think of it, what is a junior schedule like out of EWR? I know 11 days off for reserve, but does that hold true for a line holder as well? How commuter-friendly are the schedules out of EWR? I a typical schedule 4 on-3 off? I appreciate this as this is all a part of my decision for ExpressJet. I have spoken with a few of their competitors and think that XJT is the best fit. Thanks for the answers!

You will have phone availability from 3a-1800; 06002100;0800-2300;1000-2400 or 1200-2400
You may and will have various working days between days off. some 2 days off group or three days off group if you get really lucky more.

At some point you will receive a little white notebook with your contract in it(hopefully a new contract soon) L E A R N I T !!!! You will need it a lot as a reserve!!!

Good luck!!!

 

[boxjockey]

I was in class starting Feb. 16th, mixed in with the last of the recalls. Been sitting reserve in CLE for the last three months. Going to IAH in Aug and holding a relief line. Another guy one spot ahead of me is in EWR and is at least 15 spots from holding a relief line. Also I'm 35 spots from a line in CLE. I guess there are around 200 new captain spots on the next perm bid according to Jim Ream's voicemail, so that should move some people up over the next few months. Seems like most junior in the classes are coming to CLE, and most are bidding out and going to IAH. Reserve times will definitely go up for the folks hired from here on out, as there are 200 people below me on the list. Hope this helps.


box

 

[Xtremepilot]

Base Assignment

How do you get assigned a base in class? I have heard that those that start at the beginning of the month seem to get a better choice....any insight? Can you bid to a new base ASAP or is it only a yearly or monthly thing (obviously you can't split a month between two bases)

 

[coex]

You bid bases based on your birth date in each class. Oldest to youngest. When I was hired they wouldn't let any of us bid IAH so we all got to pick between EWR and CLE. I think they are letting people bid any of the bases, but obviously if they need X in IAH, X in EWR and X in CLE you will get what your seniority will hold.

 

[cardinalflyer]

xtremepilot,

what are your current flight times?

 

[upndsky]

I started June 7 and everyone in my class got their first choice. Some were even able to change afterwards. The class behind us got mostly CLE and EWR.

They have system-wide bids every 6 months or so, which is when you can bid into another base. The reason our class got what we wanted is that a system-wide bid just came out or is coming out (can someone on the line verify this?) and they said it was easier to give everyone in our class what they wanted right away than send someone to a base only to have them transfer out (mostly to IAH) less than a month later.

So even if you get your second or third choice, you should be able to bid to your first choice in six months or so, although you may sacrifice base seniority (ie. ability to hold a line vs reserve). Of course, if you are in the last group to get hired, you may not have that choice.

 

[Nova]

If you don't get what you want in class you also have the ability to base-trade with another pilot. There are senority issues with that as well.

 

[wahoo250]

waht are the chances of getting ewr if you want ewr as a new hire?

 

[contract2002]

Everyone who takes a job here is telling the world that $17,600 / 19.52 per hour is an acceptable wage for an international, 50 seat jet First Officer.


You are making it harder for labor to advance by accepting a pilot job at XJT's current wage structure.


Thanks