Wow, that's news to me. Then again considering I fly for the company I'm always the last to know. There's truth and fiction in the posts above, I've answered these questions before but I'll do it again. First and formost we're frieght dogs, take it or leave it. Like any such company there's pro's and con's. I've been very fortunate in my 2yrs here, I came in with a plan and I've stuck to it, you do this and you'll be fine. I've scene many an F/O use it as an opportunity to gain CRM, multi-turbine experience in a transport category airplane and then move onto a regional, not bad for coming in with 250hrsTT. That being said I should answer the PFT comment, yes we do use PFT's, but not soley. I was a direct hire with 700TT when I came aboard, some of those 250hr wonders were friends of mine who were hired with a recommendation and not as a PFT. With recent TSA changes now requiring a 45day FBI background check for foreign pilots in aircraft over 12,500lbs I can forsee a decline in the foreign PFT's however the past few that have come through have been American, one of whom left this week for a regional job with 500TT. Long and short of it (no pun intended) is that the Shorts' is a great initial aircraft. While I personally don't agree with the PFT aspect I have to be honest when I say that the money it generates for the company was a compontent in keeping everyone aboard after 9-11 and not laying anyone off. As far as a company profile there really isn't one, part of the drawback. If you can find yourself on one of our dedicated contract runs for UPS, DHL or Airbourne your quality of life is quite respectable. There's a seniority list but no real structure to it, if you're lucky enough to live in one of our contract locations theres a good chance of finding yourself flying there. I'm currently in such a situation, flying just over 3hrs a day, sleeping 8hrs a night and off for 12hrs during the day, essentially i'm only working 4hrs a day and not touching any boxes. This is when the salary pays dividends. Now the other side of the coin is the on demand charter work we do primarily for the auto industry, I've spent a fair amount of time there too. One of the positives is that it breaks the monotiny of going to the same place at the same time each day. Downside is that you could be flying anywhere from 20-100hrs a month, there's just no telling. In addition there's no set time as to when you'll be flying, essentially living the life of a pager, there's been many a time where i've been all set for bed only to have the pager go off. You learn to sleep when you can, whether you're tired or not. At times being on salary here can seem unjust, that is until you're sitting in a company provided hotel room for 7 weeks without flying yet still drawing a paycheck after 9-11. As for the pay itself its bad for F/O's, $300 a week salary, PIC is quite respectable. PM me for info. There is no bid structure for A/C or seat, if you have a Shorts type expect to find yourself in the left seat, perhaps after a week or two on the line. Upgrades vary depending on need. I was fortunate to be in the preverbial right place at the right time. The day of my Flightsafety type ride I had 1500TT. As you can see I've made the most out of my situation and can forsee myself sticking it out here at least another yr, why go else where when I'm now building PIC time at a decent pay while not working very much. A number my friends decided to go the other way and sidestep to the regionals, unfortunately they're now on the street. Long story short, if you have an opportunity to fly with us, why not, take the best job available, if you don't like it here, you can always move on.
Hope this helps clear up a few questions.
