To the Avantair guys/gals

[Capt. JD]

Safe

I was a Captain at Avantair and I left for another Fractional. We fly heavier jets that require all the performance numbers that the part 23 Piaggio does not. That being said, I DO NOT FEEL ANY MORE COMFORTABLE TAKING OFF IN AN AIRPLANE HERE THAN I DID AT AVANTAIR.

Performance numbers, weather and situation analysis are all the jobs of the crew. Lets face it, a monkey could fly an airplane. But only an experienced pilot can make good judgment calls. Have a backbone, and stand up to management if you genuinely feel that a situation is unsafe. Its all up to you! Yes, sometimes management/dispatch can ask you to do some pretty crazy stuff. But, often times they don't know any better. They don't have the perspective of being down in the trenches doing the dirty work that we the crews are. No one will ever intentionally try to endanger you, the passengers or the airplane.

If you as a pilot feel that the 2 out of 3 rule is unsafe, then don't do it. Get another job! Its really simple. Complaining on FI does no good.

Avantair was one of the best flying jobs I ever had. I will forever miss the Piaggio and the excelent pilot group. There are higher paying jobs out there. Lets face it, Avantair sells shares of 6 million dollar airplanes while other fractionals sell shares of 20+ million dollar airplanes. There is alot more money at other jobs, but to some, money isnt everything. I happen to be a bit greedy....


To any potential Avantair new hires: Avantair is a great place to work. Every employer has room for improvement, but overall the working environment is great. No one will ever force you to do anything remotely unsafe. The decision of being safe or unsafe is purely yours... Have fun, its why we do this, right?


One more thing, haven't you all ever heard of the old saying "never hang out your dirty laundry"?

Well said, in short this job like all flying jobs that I have ever worked is as SAFE as you want to make it!!

 

[jaxpilot]

I wish I could get a call from elizabeth... I figured I would with 2750 TT 800 ME 2580 PIC 140 JET and an ATP LR-JET but still waiting... do I need a referral to get contacted?

 

[utahrpm]

I know it's been asked before so I'll post what I think is the most current info. Some gateways may have changed but this was current within a few months.

Atlanta, GA (ATL) Albany, NY- (ALB) Baltimore, MD (BWI)
Boston, Ma (BOS) Burbank, CA – (BUR) Charlotte, NC (CLT)
Chicago, IL (ORD) Chicago, IL – (MDW) Cleveland, OH (CLE)
Columbus, OH (CMH) Dallas-Fort Worth, TX (DFW) Denver, CO (DEN)
Durham, NC – (RDU) Houston, TX (IAH) Indianapolis, IN – (IND)
Kansas City, MO – (MCI) Las Vegas, NV (LAS) Little Rock, AR – (LIT)
Los Angeles, CA (LAX) Louisville, KY – (SDF) Memphis, TN – (MEM)
Nashville, TN – (BNA) New Orleans, LA – (MSY) New York, NY (JFK) (LGA)
Newark, NJ (EWR) Omaha, NE – (OMA) Orlando, FL (MCO)
Philadelphia, PA – (PHL) Phoenix, AZ (PHX) Pittsburgh, PA – (PIT)
Portland, OR – (PDX) Rochester, NY – (ROC) Salt Lake City, UT – (SLC)
San Diego, CA – (SAN) San Francisco, CA (SFO) Seattle, WA – (SEA)
St Louis, MO (STL) Tampa, FL (TPA) Tucson, AZ – (TUS)
West Palm Beach, FL (PBI)​

If one is hired, is it for a specific "gateway", or can you live in any of these? Thanks.

 

[C425Driver]

Utah,

They open and close gateways depending on where we need pilots at the time - I guess they're looking for more pilots in the midwest and western states right now. New pilots are given the choice of open gateways - this discussion starts at the phone interview so it's not something you bid on after you start here. You'll confirm your gateway when the offer is made. Gateways are usually closed when we have too many pilots in that area (such as St. Pete, FL) or if airline prices and/or availability is lacking. If you are awarded a gateway and it closes, that just means that no one else will be hired into that gateway - you will not be required to change gateeways. So, yes, you are hired into a specific gateway.

 

[glasspilot]

I wish I could get a call from elizabeth... I figured I would with 2750 TT 800 ME 2580 PIC 140 JET and an ATP LR-JET but still waiting... do I need a referral to get contacted?

I don't want to come of as belittling, but you're times are very low. Avantair, as all the other fractionals out there, have THOUSANDS of resumes on file.

I'm not saying you won't get a call, Avantair hires from a spectrum...but nobody without a referral is getting contacted right now.

For perspective, I was hired over two years ago with twice your hours, just under 4,000 Jet, over 1,000 hours jet PIC and I was the low time guy in my hire class. Again, that was over two YEARS ago! I suggest you re-evaluate the state of the industry.

 

[Bulldog Price]

If one is hired, is it for a specific "gateway", or can you live in any of these? Thanks.

I interviewed September 3rd and was contacted one week later offering a job. I asked for Atlanta, because that is where I live, but the recruiter informed me that Atlanta was not available now. I asked why not, and she told me that it is too expensive in Atlanta now, and she was told by management to put Atlanta on hold. 90% of the other bases had at least 1 slot available though.

Does anyone at Avantair know what is expensive about Atlanta? Flights are cheap with AirTran and Delta flying all over the nation. It doesn't make sense to me. If anyone has any information about commuting with Avantair please pm me. It looks like I'll have to drive at least 4 hours to commute to work.

 

[johnsonrod]

I interviewed September 3rd and was contacted one week later offering a job. I asked for Atlanta, because that is where I live, but the recruiter informed me that Atlanta was not available now. I asked why not, and she told me that it is too expensive in Atlanta now, and she was told by management to put Atlanta on hold. 90% of the other bases had at least 1 slot available though.

Does anyone at Avantair know what is expensive about Atlanta? Flights are cheap with AirTran and Delta flying all over the nation. It doesn't make sense to me. If anyone has any information about commuting with Avantair please pm me. It looks like I'll have to drive at least 4 hours to commute to work.

That sucks. Tell the recruiter that you applied based upon the availability of ATL. It was available when you applied and you were under the impression that it would remain that way. You might not have applied otherwise... The fact that they would change it now is ludicrous given that so many potential pilots (Airtran, ASA, etc.) come from the ATL area. If you were buying something they would call that "bait and switch."

I hope you have your resume in with Netjets, Citationshares and XOJet as well because I believe they all offer ATL domiciles. Good luck!