Street Captain Question

[BugSmasher999]

I've read a bit about how small regionals out there are unable to upgrade thier FO's to Capt. as a result of insurance minimums. I'm reading a lot about how regionals are hiring street captains.

Are these companies hiring street captains very perticular about prior experience (ie solely 135), or is it just all about TT and Turbine Muli- time to satisfy the the insurance minima.

Example: Could a guy flying 135 w/boatloads of turbine time walk into a captain slot at a regional-if that company is hiring off the street?

 

[chperplt]

When Colgan would hire street captains in the past, they were primarily looking for people who were already typed in the airplane. If they weren't typed, they had to have quit a bit of time in it or a similar airplane.

 

[xdashdriver]

No union shop is going to hire street Captains. What is happening at places like Mesa is that Captain bids are going so junior, that people still in new hire training are getting the awards. Companies usually cannot or will not predict (at least not officially) whether this is going to happen to anyone in a particular class, all they can say is what has happened in previous classes / bids.

If they sense it is going to happen, or it has been happening and they have reason to believe it will continue, then they will route the higher time new hires into the aircraft type in question. Exactly what criteria they use is unknown but common sense would dictate that people who meet the minimums for Captain who have prior 121 time, prior company time (furloughed major pilots coming back to their "roots") would probably be the best suited candidates for the job, along with those who already typed / have experience in that aircraft type.

In reality it's almost impossible to really predict what criteria they're going to use because they themselves don't know exactly. They know what they like and need, but they're not going to know what plate of candidates they're going to get until it happens.

In the end, they will assign you an aircraft that they need you in. You can bid for whatever you want, but you cannot specifcally apply for a Capt. position.

As for non-union airlines, I don't know. Since they are not bound by a union contract, they can put whoever they want in the left seat, provided they meet insurance minimums and pass training and checkrides. In your example of a guy with boatloads of 135 time, then yeah, sure he could get on with them. However, if he's up against 25 guys who are typed / current in the aircraft they're hiring captains for and have been flying those aircraft under 121 for someone else, then I'd say your 135 Turbine Wonderboy isn't going to fair so well. BUT, having said all that, if the 135 Turbine Wonderboy knows the Chief Pilot real well or has some other solid connection with the company, then he's probably got a good a chance as any of the 25 121 Perfect Matches.

Hope this helps a little.

Ray

 

[Thedude]

I do believe that ASA in 1998-99 did hire off the street capts and they are union. I had a buddy at a previous airline get hired there...I missed the window by about six weeks. Unfornutaley he was a junior bitch for quite a while in but still in the left seat getting capts pay.

 

[ForgedBlade]

I was a street captain at Pinnacle from 6/01 to 3/01. They had hired about 30 or so of us and a big chunck are still there. It can happen, but it doesn't happen often!

 

[xdashdriver]

I guess the whole CQFO thing at Trans States was a roundabout way of hiring street captains. I think most contracts these days probably make it quite hard for companies to do it though.

Ray

 

[Hugh Jorgan]

No union shop is going to hire street Captains.

Sorry, but not so.
Case in point: Island Air, an ALPA company. Hiring minimums for F/Os are different than for Captains. There's usually a lot of movement at the company, so the only way (other than to lower upgrade minimums) to get enough people for the left seat is to hire high-time folks right into it. There's not a thing the union can do about it. The company can make it's own hiring minimums as it sees fit.

 

[xdashdriver]

Okey dokey, I stand corrected. Thanks for the info. You learn something every day.

 

[Hugh Jorgan]

Okey dokey, I stand corrected. Thanks for the info. You learn something every day.

Me too.

 

[TWA Dude]

I guess the whole CQFO thing at Trans States was a roundabout way of hiring street captains. I think most contracts these days probably make it quite hard for companies to do it though.

Almost. The cqfo provision in the contract was supposed to take existing TS fo's and make them cqfo's. The company is exploiting the fact that newhiring cqfo's isn't explicitly prohibited. That fact that cqfo's are also flying as fo's saves the company a whole lot of money.

Dude