Virgin America

[Cappy]

Cappy, how many USA3000 guy's coming your way to VA? I'm just trying to get a read on how fast our list is going to move.

I know of three here now with more on the way. I do not know how many total.

Good luck,

Mike

 

[JAM-BRO]

For those of you expecting 20 year rates on day one...won't happen. It doesn't happen at any company, or airline. Sure, we would all like life to be rosy and sweet, but it ain't.


Mike

Cappy

The Kool Aid they gave you worked. Pretty sad pay for 320CA!!

 

[Cappy]

Cappy

The Kool Aid they gave you worked. Pretty sad pay for 320CA!!

I don't drink Kool aid. I am a professional trying to start over. Nothing more, nothing less. There are some of my friends that have started over at Continental for $25,000 and NO health for the first year. I am certain I have it better than them.

I am certain you are living the dream and you will retire at $350,000 a year on the A380. Good luck.

Mike

 

[DH2WN]

Cappy

The Kool Aid they gave you worked. Pretty sad pay for 320CA!!

Cappy was one of the good ones over there. Unfortunately they promoted all the idiots around him who made the pilots lives miserable.

 

[DH2WN]

other than that ACA was a great place and man do we all miss it....

Boy I hope that's sarcasm there. If it isn't it should be.

 

[DH2WN]

To me a good place to work is one not because of it's name but the people who make it. Top down ACA had some f-ed up people with their heads up their asses set out to make peoples lives miserable just because theirs sucked.

 

[HA25]

I don't drink Kool aid. I am a professional trying to start over. Nothing more, nothing less. There are some of my friends that have started over at Continental for $25,000 and NO health for the first year. I am certain I have it better than them.

I am certain you are living the dream and you will retire at $350,000 a year on the A380. Good luck.

Mike

Well, do us all a favor, and keep this profession one that pays a decent wage, so when VA gets their operation going and the first year or two of negative cashflows are behind them, get you and the rest of the $80K/yr Captains to raise the bar for the rest of us. SWA used to be seen as the bar lowering airline, and today they're the best paying non-cargo outfit and still making hand over fist.. I doubt VA or JB will ever catch up (more likely they'll merge together, or VA will buy them with Brandsons cash) and they'll still be a shadow WN..

But raise that bar for us when you get the chance, cause I'd rather not have to start over one day myself, and at the rate things appear to be going, I'd have to look at a $40K/yr CP job..

 

[Coool Hand Luke]

It's unfortunate that you haven't taken the time to look into the facts. VA currently has some of the A319 cadre at former IDE. Let me see now...the pass rate was over 99.8% in the Airbus at IDE.

Please don't even mention those of us here at VA in the same breath with the monsters that destroyed careers at will in the CRJ program. That's another thread. There is a good mix here of IDE, USAir and USA3000 guys. The pay scales are FIRST year and minimum guarantee only until operations start.

For those of you expecting 20 year rates on day one...won't happen. It doesn't happen at any company, or airline. Sure, we would all like life to be rosy and sweet, but it ain't.

For those of you that have done well after IDE went out I certainly hope the best for you in whatever you have moved on to.

Good luck to all.

Mike

Cappy, congrats...I kinda of figured you'd be one of the early one's over there. I keep expecting to see the two birds that have been parked up in CYUL (for awhile now) to be gone anyday now, but no joy yet it. Let me know if you are gonna get to fly one of them out...I am always up there (as in home away from home) we can grab some beers and the best steak in town at Bifteck on St. Laurent. Bonne Journee!

CHL

 

[MED]

Found this from PPrune;

Virgin America info
Want to work for a new carrier using A320's. Using a California State grant to train pilots to start at $41 flt hr and topping out at $126 for a senior Capt. Then give Carmela a call @650 762 7151 and let her know that your ready to move into the big leagues and ahhh...don't expect her pick up the airfare, hotel, meals, or even cab fare. Though she really feels bad that she can't help you with it. And hey...you know that training bond thing...don't sweat it man. It will be paid off before you die, your family won't have to pick it up. Unless the stress of working 23 twelve hour days a month, wondering if the next pay check will pay the basic bills, the increasing cost of your family's health insurance is more than Richie Rich pays you each month starts to eat at you. But thats no sweat man, because you know you made the big times and twelve years from now when you are raking in the dough at $126 an hour your going to be on easy street. Makes you want to call up Richie and offer to shine his shoes, doesn't it. Or at least mow his lawn.

Check out thier web site for a list of the World's most experienced failures in the Airline business. And hey...tell em I said hello

 

[HA25]

Found this from PPrune;

Virgin America info
Want to work for a new carrier using A320's. Using a California State grant to train pilots to start at $41 flt hr and topping out at $126 for a senior Capt. Then give Carmela a call @650 762 7151 and let her know that your ready to move into the big leagues and ahhh...don't expect her pick up the airfare, hotel, meals, or even cab fare. Though she really feels bad that she can't help you with it. And hey...you know that training bond thing...don't sweat it man. It will be paid off before you die, your family won't have to pick it up. Unless the stress of working 23 twelve hour days a month, wondering if the next pay check will pay the basic bills, the increasing cost of your family's health insurance is more than Richie Rich pays you each month starts to eat at you. But thats no sweat man, because you know you made the big times and twelve years from now when you are raking in the dough at $126 an hour your going to be on easy street. Makes you want to call up Richie and offer to shine his shoes, doesn't it. Or at least mow his lawn.

Check out thier web site for a list of the World's most experienced failures in the Airline business. And hey...tell em I said hello

Haling from the Bay Area myself, I look forward to seeing how all of these $80K/yr Captains are going to pay their rent in their slum apartments. I hope EVERY one of them plans to commute in.

In Burlingame, where the company is HQ'd and where SFO more or less lies, the "Average" home price on the "less desirable" aside of town is $850,000 and on the other side of El Camino, you're into the mid 1's... Property taxes are among the highest in the country.

60 minutes drive north or south of Burlingame, you're hard pressed to find even an apartment for rent for under $2000/mo..

Gas prices are $3/gal when the rest of the nation is at $2.. Taxes are higher, Sales tax is pushing 9%, and just about everything costs more.

 

[SWAPoolie]

It's unfortunate that you haven't taken the time to look into the facts. VA currently has some of the A319 cadre at former IDE. Let me see now...the pass rate was over 99.8% in the Airbus at IDE.

And how many of that percent were trained by Airbus? How many Captains were instructors? How many of them were your buddies? All you CRJ f-ups went to the airbus. Please! We had like 6 of them for a whopping few months. You sound like a lying politician with your '99.8%.'

You can't separate yourself now from the pack of wolves you ran with. You and others could have taken a stand against the BS of the CRJ system but you sat back and let it happen for 10 years.

Mike Hamner isn't one of the good ones like that other poster stated.

 

[HA25]

And how many of that percent were trained by Airbus? How many Captains were instructors? How many of them were your buddies? All you CRJ f-ups went to the airbus. Please! We had like 6 of them for a whopping few months. You sound like a lying politician with your '99.8%.'

You can't separate yourself now from the pack of wolves you ran with. You and others could have taken a stand against the BS of the CRJ system but you sat back and let it happen for 10 years.

Mike Hamner isn't one of the good ones like that other poster stated.

I just got off the phone with a pal from UAL that was just recalled, and we got to talking about VA as he also came from ACA.. He told me the same stories that I'm hearing here about the f-ed up training dept and the guys who ran it. He said that even though he was plenty senior enough to hold the line on the CRJ at ACA, he held tight on the J31 so as to avoid those guys.

It's a small industry and what goes around comes around.. Read my signature carefully, and understand its significance.

 

[Porch]

Bs

Anyone know where B Silverstein is now? sounds like he would have fit in well at ACA and would jump at the chance of VA. We shared the same sim building for the 328 prop at psa as the ACA guys on the dorkjet. sounded like it was just as bad on that side of the house as well.

Mookie

OMG! I know Silverstein...HaHa. I worked a mesa long ago...He had quite the reputation.

 

[LaGarbage Man]

Congrats Mr. Cramden
It is one of your former crash pad compadres. (Not the one who drank Larry's booze) Glad to see things moving along over there. Drop me a PM or msg on Ipilot. Tell John and Mike congrats as well and say hello to Clem.
BB (ABE/J32)
P.S.
It must be good for you to give up SAV your most favorite of ACA overnights

 

[GogglesPisano]

Sounds like there'll be 26 memory items at Virgin. "Let's see. I say we make them memorize the ADG speed limit envelope."

Somehow I don't think Sir Richard will tolerate having to pay to train 80% of his pilots twce.

 

[HA25]

You guys are killing me! My stomach hurts from from laughing so hard.
DH to WN what a pathetic loser.

so let me understand..

the SWA 737 FO's who's pulling in $100K and looking at $200K inside of 3 years as a CP with 18 days off per month is the looser?

Who's the winner? the $80K A320 CP?

 

[poppi]

Heard the interview there is a little different. More like how they interview FA in UK.

 

[AA717driver]

They want REALLY motivated people. I'm guessing the attitudes of the VA pilot group will make the JB "blue-aid drinkers" look like a senior NWA FA with 10 cats and hemmoroids! TC

 

[HA25]

They want REALLY motivated people. I'm guessing the attitudes of the VA pilot group will make the JB "blue-aid drinkers" look like a senior NWA FA with 10 cats and hemmoroids! TC

for the $80K/yr they'll be required to clean the cabin out after the flight, while the FA's are in the smoke break room, and stock the new snacks and beverages for the next leg. I can see it now... let's try to take the SWA model and mandate their moral on our people, all the while pay them less than half.

 

[LandGreen]

so let me understand..

the SWA 737 FO's who's pulling in $100K and looking at $200K inside of 3 years as a CP with 18 days off per month is the looser?

Who's the winner? the $80K A320 CP?

There are 3 year CA's making 200K with 18 days off? Hmmm...could you please provide some evidence!