Trans State Airlines

[BrokeAssPilot]

Any body got anything p[ositive to say about these guys?

 

[RUhiring?]

No.....

I was in MSP Saturday morning for the flight to PIT. Agent said it cancelled.....for the third day in a row.

I was not impressed.

 

[I.P. Freley]

Well I CAN tell you they laid me off out of seniority order post-9/11(laid off by WHOOPS!!! equipment type...). Said they'd have us back "by November".

They were true to their word, back "by November" was the absolute truth.

Only they didn't specify WHICH YEAR.

At least they offered me my seat back a year later.

I understand it's a great place to be now that they have a UAL contract and are going to hire a gazillion pilots... But I will say that I, too, remain unimpressed.

Hulas (sp.?) will keep the company going no matter what, so if you are lucky, you can be employed there for a very long time. Just watch yer back.

 

[TWA Dude]

I'll say something positive: they've been giving preferential hiring to furloughed TWA pilots. I'm still in training so I can't give a full report but I've played the commuter/regional game before. It's tough going back once you've "hit the big time". There's worse places to work than TSA but there's also plenty better. If you're lucky enough to have a choice then enjoy.

Dude

 

[Long-Gonner]

They will hire until they loose the USAirways code share in January, and then furlough. Watch out

 

[NoName]

If that is true, dont you think TSA would know that before you? A few months ago folks were saying it was going to be 4Q2003 that TSA was going to be out of the U system. Last i hear they are actually adding planes, j41s, to the U system. Whats your source?

 

[TSA ERJ]

Adding to I. P. Freley's story, the company was taken to task for furloughing out of seniority. In a settlement the company restored the seniority list to the pre 9/11 order and gave longevity to all pilots on furlough. It was wrong and they should not have done it but it worked to the pilot group's advantage. That settlement is also now part of our contract. If at any time the company furloughs under the current contract, the furloughees will accrue longevity.

Trans States is a solid airline. We don't have the best contract but we don't have the worst. Taking into consideration that our current contract is only our second ALPA contract, it's pretty decent. We are about middle of the pack or higher among the regionals. We don't have the best management either but again we don't have the worst.

Believe it or not we have excellent performance. I'm not saying it's not true but I have a hard time believing a flight cancelled three days in a row. One thing Trans States doesn't do is cancel flights. In theory the company would run a flight even if it is hours late because we are fee per departure. As long as the flight runs we get paid, if it cancells we don't.

The only way TSA is going to lose the US Airways code share is if Airways buys it out. There are still several years left on the agreement.

Management came to the union last spring looking for concessions and the union told them no way. The company has wanted a 70 seat pay rate for quite some time and offered Mesa pay. The union again told them no way. We have a very strong and unified pilot group that stands firm behind our MEC. In fact, during our last contract negotiations, a strike vote was taken and Trans States pilots returned an unprecedented 100% strike authorization vote.

All in all I am very happy with my decision to accept the offer from TSA and I think you would be too. You may be able to do better but you could do a hell of a lot worse.

 

[350DRIVER]

I'll say something positive: they've been giving preferential hiring to furloughed TWA pilots. I'm still in training so I can't give a full report but I've played the commuter/regional game before. It's tough going back once you've "hit the big time". There's worse places to work than TSA but there's also plenty better. If you're lucky enough to have a choice then enjoy.

After speaking with Michael Swoboda(sp?) last year in STL I was pretty impressed and ever since I have always respected the entire TSA group. You will not find a more dedicated and hard working group of pilots and people in the industry. I will support them whenever I have the chance to purchase a ticket on them (not often though). I really hope that TSA is around for years to come. Still sick to my stomach over what AA did and got away with and how 75+ years of "tradition" came so abruptly to an end.. I guess memories can still last.... I truly hope the TWA group can find some sort of justice some way and some how.

3 5 0

 

[atpcliff]

Hi!

Go to www.tsalounge.com

That board is owned by the MEC chair. It'll have a lot of info and good contacts.

CLiff
GRB

PS-I liked them better than the Air Force.

 

[BuckMurdock1]

On their co. website, they indicate after the total time requirement, "individuals with lower times may be considered at the discretion of mgmt"
Any idea what the lowest they'll consider is? Is this only if you have your stuff walked in internally?
thanks

 

[POKEY]

I think the lowest time i've heard of is about 2000TT. Most "new hires" are from TWA and alot of them used to work at TSA. I think the line about hiring people with lower times may have been left over from the last time they were hiring. And about the canceled flights, I've been here for awhile now and I've only had 3 flights canceled EVER, so I have a hard time believing there were 3 in a row.

 

[ProPilot5]

Who is contact person in Pilot Recruiting? What are competitives now? Do you need previouse 121 or are they looking at 135'rs also?

Thanks.

 

[acaTerry]

They will hire until they loose the USAirways code share in January, and then furlough. Watch out



"loose"?

 

[socalpilot]

Adding to I. P. Freley's story, the company was taken to task for furloughing out of seniority. In a settlement the company restored the seniority list to the pre 9/11 order and gave longevity to all pilots on furlough. It was wrong and they should not have done it but it worked to the pilot group's advantage. That settlement is also now part of our contract. If at any time the company furloughs under the current contract, the furloughees will accrue longevity.

How was the company taken to task? What did restoring the list do to show the company that furloughing by equipment is not acceptable? What about the jet guys who got to keep getting a paycheck for a month after the turboprop guys hit the street? Where is the backpay? Bypassing seniority is not right and the union let them get away with it. The company is still screwing with the pilots seniority and hiring CQFO's(captain qualified first officer) instead of upgrading the current FO's. The way it works at TSA is the company does what they want, the union files a grievance, 6 months to a year passes and everyone forgets what the company did because they are all pissed at the latest contract violation. The union makes a deal regarding the old grievance in exchange for a remedy to the latest contract violation. This is just my observation and may not reflect the opinion of others.

 

[teedub]

positive tsa comments

There are lots of positive things to say about tsa
There are lots of negative things too!

I'm not there any more but have friends who are still flying there since I left for big red in 2000......spent three years there out of jfk on the j41......they say things are much like they were before.......so.......

you will always get a pay check
it will never bounce and can be paid direct to your bank
you will fly state of the art a/c (hey at least the j41 has efis and an autopilot)
you will NEVER fly with such a great bunch of pilots in your career (probably still one or two d#$@heads around but hey!)
you will get juniored but not as much as you think
you will be respected by ATC...they love waterskii
you will get an intense survival of the fittest training experience BUT if you study your butt off you will get all the help in the world and THEY DO NOT WANT TO BUST PEOPLE but also do not like folks with a bad attitude
you will hate the job
you will love the job
you will have flown the ranks of one of the most repsected pilot groups in the industry, in part coz the industry knows "our/their" pain
you will have fun
you will learn alot! especially if you go left seat
you will wish you never went there
you will be so glad you did

you will come to love st louis........I promise!
you will find "scooners".....an aviation landmark

and most of all my son, you will be a man (Rudyard Kippling)

seriously though its a place to go to get seriously good hard 121 east coast/commuter time with plenty of ifr and ice....I know folks who will probably stay til 60 at least in the jets......hey you could be looking at 1900's and 5000feet

go for it bud.......

and if you get the j41 remember 8 5 8 for the sim

good luck

Trans States "were not happy til you're not happy"
(dont use in an interview)

 

[purduedchi]

Some of you people are just plain ignorant. Yes, I fly for TSA...and yes it has it's pro's and con's. But guess what...It's just like EVERY OTHER REGIONAL out there. Yes...not everything is perfect here. The CQFO thing is still being debated and it is something that is ongoing right now. We really don't know how it will turn out. Yes the furloughing out of seniority sucked...but how are we any worse then CHQ who fired all their Saab drivers...then rehired them at SA under lower pay rates. To me that's more shady. After all when we were recalled we had accrued seniority...so most of us were on 2nd or 3rd year pay. Let me think...backpay for a month at 20/hr (total = apprx $1600.00), or the difference between 24/hr and 31/hr for an entire year(Quick math says 7/hr @80/mo = $560.00/mo x 12 = apprx $6500.00). You draw your own conclusions. All I know is that the comraderie and bonds between crewmembers here is incredable. You will not not find a finer group of pilots out there(Yes it's only my opinion...but it's what keeps me here). Does scheduling suc...YES Does management suck...YES. Do they everywhere else...Proabably yes. I think Teedub summed everything up in a nutshell.

To those who think we are losing US Air flying...DONT THINK SO. We are adding 1 or 2 planes this year under J4J just to comply with the contract. Furthermore US Air needs contract carriers so they can whipsaw their wholly owned carriers. I know it's shady. But that's the way they try to keep costs down just like the Nazi's at AMR do.

To those wondering about competative mins. Last people I heard that were getting hired were former TSA pilots that have been "furholed" from TWA. The ones who are not former waterski drivers have had about 3000 total...mostly 121. But the only way to know is to send it in. The only sure way to not get hired is to not send in the resume.

I apologize if I seem opinionated, but some people talk from inexperience and/or grudges and/or flamebait

 

[teedub]

sheep on the freq

Purduechi

chill bro'

waterskii rocks!

is that sheep still on the freq!! with his pipe!!!

and is captain (sorry commander) carter still with you. the lass in the back with the scary eye glasses!!!!

keep the faith

hullas!

 

[I.P. Freley]

So, purduechi, the opinions of someone who got furloughed out of seniority order, for instance, are less valid than your opinions?

Do I have a grudge? Sure. Not a huge one, but enough of one that I am going to answer when someone asks about the company. The fact that their NOT going by seniority order cost me five or six months of car payments is enough of a reason to hold a grudge, don't you think? If someone asks about TSA and I feel like sharing the absolute truth of what they did to me, well, that's not being opinionated, that's sharing a true story... A story I haven't shared on flightinfo in nearly two years, I might add, but there ya go. At least I don't REMEMBER sharing it.

But... It DID happen. Grudge or not. That is what I mean by "unimpressed", which is hardly slamming the whole company on the basis of what they did to me (and quite a number of others).

Now, about those fired Saab drivers at CHQ:

The Saab drivers fired by CHQ and hired by SA got a RAISE, not a cut, unless CHQ were inexplicably paying the jet FO's less than the Saab guys were making. I know someone over there now who is an FO (RJ obviously) and makes something over $2/hr less than a Saab FO at Shuttle (can't speak for CHQ Saab Captain rates, but most CHQ drivers didn't come to SA as Captains). Even with the NEW TA, a first-year CHQ FO will still make less in the RJ than a first-year Saab FO at SA. Second year the CHQ FO will make about a dollar an hour more than a second year Saab FO at SA.

 

[atpcliff]

Hi!

PREVIOUSLY, TSA was hiring low time guys, some as low as 200/? I knew of a guy who had less than 20 ME. He didn't make it through the sim.

They were taking a lot of flt instructors and some 135 guys. You did not need 121 THEN.

I'd assume they'll go back to hiring those types of pilots when they need to. If you want to work there, I'd send in my app. It may take a while to run out of 121 higher time guys, who it sounds like they're mostly hiring now.

Cliff
GRB

 

[purduedchi]

I.P.

I apologize if my remarks offended you. I agree that the furlough out of seniority was wrong, and I don't blame anyone for holding a grudge. Hell, I never received my $400.00 for completing IOE. So yes I do have my grudges as well. In the grand scheme of things I guess it worked out better for those who returned to TSA. I do realize that many people did not return, and for them I wish they could have received some backpay for the company's wrong doing. Unfortunately that will never happen, not at this company, nor any other one for that matter. Right now I am just happy to have a professional flying job, as they are few and far between. I think that a lot of it comes down to the old saying that "You can please some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time."