SouthernAir

[embpic1]

Good for you. Tell Adnan "I love you, man".

I do every time I bring a care package to our troops.

 

[Dumb Pilot]

9 Months Upgrade? Hum? I'm curious as to how you came to those numbers. Could it be that you are expected to upgrade in 9 months at you current seniority?
How many Capt. are they going to need with their current staffing and expected growth? I know #5 is coming soon. Are there more expected?

You are making it sound like the growth to be expected will make everyone in the current seniority list captains in the next year and that they will double the seniority list within two years. I'm I reading this wrong?

If they are planing to make all their current seniority pilots into captains within a years time. Why are they hiring folks with low time (For the position I mean) when they buy their Types If they are not expected to remain as F/O's for a while?

Not discrediting you folks statements, just curious as to why they are not hiring exclusively experienced drivers that could assume this position within a year, versus folks that don't necessarily have the experience to go from lets say, 3000 hour regional pilot to B747 captain within 9 months even buying the type themselves?

Or are they upgrading out of seniority?

Not flame bait, just curious

 

[27 driver]

Here is some of the basic facts on Southern. ...........

4 aircraft, all -200's freighters with the superior GE engines.

2 a/c on Korean Air flying Seoul - Inchon to Anchorage and the lower 48 and then return.

1 a/c on Cathay Pacific. This route goes Hong Kong-Dubai and Munich, Germany and return.

1 a/c on China Cargo. This a/c goes Shanghai to Anchorage and the lower 48 and then returns to Shanghai.

A/c #5 has been bought, delivered and is now in heavy acceptance check for an unknown customer contract.

On the crew side, not a bad place to work; not the best , but far from the worst. Training done at Aeroservice in Miami with Southern instructors.

And yes, some crewmembers are in the left seat after one year; upgrade is reasonably fast.

No pay in training, but $48.00 a day in perdiem and a hotel room until finished with IOE, then on the payroll.

A major pain right now is the 20 day on/11 day off schedule; however everybody does not fly a full 20 days on the road----a vast majority go home in 16 to 18 days. The pilot group is trying to get a 14 on/14 off schedule; the company has stated" we will look into it".

I have never been called out on my days off - the company respects days off.

The company puts crews in 5 star hotels everywhere we go, and full meal catering on all flights. All crewmembers are home based and everyone gets airline tickets to trip start destination and return to home base and 50% deadhead pay for the flight. You can keep all your airlines and hotel miles.

The management is friendly, courteous and always available; I have never had a hard time with any of the management, something very rare in this airline industry.

The pilot group - every outfit has some jerks and Southern is no different; there is a few around. The vast majority is former Southern Air Transport guys and a large group of former Emery,Polar/Atlas and Evergreen types.

All in all a good bunch to spend a trip with.

I am actually happy to be hear. I have always wanted to fly the meanest,baddest aircraft on the planet and I am - the mighty B-747.

If you want to fly junkyard jets, go to Kalitta, if you want to always worry about the next furlough, go to Evergreen and if you want to get into a union pissing contest and shoot the finger at everyone you see, go to the mess at Atlas/Polar.

Please do not attempt to paint me as a sunshine pump - I have my gripes like everyone else. I am stateing the straight facts.

Southern is not a bad place to be - not the best and far from the worst.

Best wishes.

1800, I just got back from my interview there and everyone seemed great. Nobody promised the world but it seems like it will be a good place to work. I don't know if I will be offered the job, but the interview was a pleasent experience.

 

[propsarebest]

Not to change the subject too much, but is Eddie Allen still working at SA??

 

[747flyboy]

Here is some of the basic facts on Southern. ...........

4 aircraft, all -200's freighters with the superior GE engines.

2 a/c on Korean Air flying Seoul - Inchon to Anchorage and the lower 48 and then return.

1 a/c on Cathay Pacific. This route goes Hong Kong-Dubai and Munich, Germany and return.

1 a/c on China Cargo. This a/c goes Shanghai to Anchorage and the lower 48 and then returns to Shanghai.

A/c #5 has been bought, delivered and is now in heavy acceptance check for an unknown customer contract.

On the crew side, not a bad place to work; not the best , but far from the worst. Training done at Aeroservice in Miami with Southern instructors.

And yes, some crewmembers are in the left seat after one year; upgrade is reasonably fast.

No pay in training, but $48.00 a day in perdiem and a hotel room until finished with IOE, then on the payroll.

A major pain right now is the 20 day on/11 day off schedule; however everybody does not fly a full 20 days on the road----a vast majority go home in 16 to 18 days. The pilot group is trying to get a 14 on/14 off schedule; the company has stated" we will look into it".

I have never been called out on my days off - the company respects days off.

The company puts crews in 5 star hotels everywhere we go, and full meal catering on all flights. All crewmembers are home based and everyone gets airline tickets to trip start destination and return to home base and 50% deadhead pay for the flight. You can keep all your airlines and hotel miles.

The management is friendly, courteous and always available; I have never had a hard time with any of the management, something very rare in this airline industry.

The pilot group - every outfit has some jerks and Southern is no different; there is a few around. The vast majority is former Southern Air Transport guys and a large group of former Emery,Polar/Atlas and Evergreen types.

All in all a good bunch to spend a trip with.

I am actually happy to be hear. I have always wanted to fly the meanest,baddest aircraft on the planet and I am - the mighty B-747.

If you want to fly junkyard jets, go to Kalitta, if you want to always worry about the next furlough, go to Evergreen and if you want to get into a union pissing contest and shoot the finger at everyone you see, go to the mess at Atlas/Polar.

Please do not attempt to paint me as a sunshine pump - I have my gripes like everyone else. I am stateing the straight facts.

Southern is not a bad place to be - not the best and far from the worst.

Best wishes.

I agree with all of that...except....I couldn't handle getting stuck out for up to 46 days and getting no overtime pay for the days "off" I had to miss. It happened two months in a row and I quit. 36 days the first time and 46 days the second time. Both times I had my bags packed and on my way to PANC and got a message from the airline not to get on the plane and to call the company. I put up with it twice and than told them f#%$ off.

I came from flying corporate jets though, PART 91, and I was used to the best schedules and almost triple the money with less than half the work, I also did it only to get type-rated, fly around the world in the Whale and build a bunch of time in that big b1tch.

Awesome bunch of crewmembers for sure though. Except a couple complete arrogant azzholes (1 check airmen who I'm sure you know, first name rhyms with DICK and thats what he is, other was an FE who is now at Focus), otherwise everyone I flew with was awesome. I now have some friends for life from SA. Four of which will be coming to my current company in or around September to fly corporate. They want to make low 6 figures and have a 2 week on/2 week off schedule now, they earned it.

And I heard that SA just bought 5 planes which will be coming on slowly over the next 1 1/2 years, who knows the truth though, its still the cargo industry.

 

[747flyboy]

Not to change the subject too much, but is Eddie Allen still working at SA??

You mean Earl Allen, little guy that does the Reno Air Racing? I think he retired last year in October. NOT POSITIVE THOUGH.

 

[747flyboy]

9 Months Upgrade? Hum? I'm curious as to how you came to those numbers. Could it be that you are expected to upgrade in 9 months at you current seniority?

If I wasn't screwed on my senoirity number because of my age when I was hired (35) I would have done my first captain trip about 6 months in.

 

[747flyboy]

Not discrediting you folks statements, just curious as to why they are not hiring exclusively experienced drivers that could assume this position within a year, versus folks that don't necessarily have the experience to go from lets say, 3000 hour regional pilot to B747 captain within 9 months even buying the type themselves?

Or are they upgrading out of seniority?

Not flame bait, just curious

The biggest plane I flew when I was hired and type-rated at SA was a Gulfstream 4. Never worked for any 121 carrier. 5,000+ total time but alot od jet PIC. Like I said, I would have started doing captain trips about 6 months in. Thats when everyone older than me from my class started getting phone calls in their hotel room saying "you're up" tomorrow. Crazy.

 

[propsarebest]

You mean Earl Allen, little guy that does the Reno Air Racing? I think he retired last year in October. NOT POSITIVE THOUGH.

Yea, that's the guy.

he ferried a starduster for a former customer of mine. CA to MA.

 

[747flyboy]

Yea, that's the guy.

he ferried a starduster for a former customer of mine. CA to MA.

Earl is one of the best people I've ever met, we flew together a few times at SA.