isom77

Any Allegiant pilots stationed in Bellingham WA on this site?
I live in Bellingham and would greatly appreciate talking to some airline pilots visiting or living in the area.

LifeNtheFstLne

I'm from the 'Ham but I fly for Continental.

Spaceman Spliff

ummm...great.

isom77

Thanks for the response Fstlne. So do you currently live in bellingham or are you stationed somewhere else?
I work for an oil refinery as an opertaor which is kind of a safe place right now. But flew 732s for Air Zimbawe as a FO a couble of years ago. This was right out of flight school.I was there only a year. I resinged shortly after i completed the 767-200 ground school. Air Zimbabwe only has 3 types of aircraft:"737-200,767-200 and MA-60 turboprops" There is a shortage of pilots there thats the reason for the fast move.

The political tesions in Zimbawe caused us to relocate back here before getting type rated in Addis Ababa(Boeing training center for Africa) since my wife is from Bellingham.

Bellingham aviation seems to be a little stagnant and meetig people here is darn well near impossible. So whenever you're in town let me know.

Since i'm new to this site i don't know the right or wrong way of getting in contact with pilots in the local area.

LifeNtheFstLne

Hey sounds like you've seen a lot. I can't blame you for sticking with the flying abroad. It's most likely more secure. B'ham probably has more airline guys than you realize, it's just that most of them commute, and are generally pretty senior at their respective airlines, as the drive to SEA or Vancouver has to be worthwhile. My time is divided between BLI and the D.C. area, though I'm based in good 'ol EWR. I will NEVER move to Jersey. To meet up with locals up there, I suggest looking into the 'Washington Pilot's Association' Washington Pilots Association or stopping by the local FBO's. General aviation is stronger there than you might think, especially experimental stuff. PM me if you need more info. I'll be out there in 2 weeks for a while.

isom77

Thanks for the information.

big air

'77
I am a BLI Allegiant pilot and would be glad to answer your questions. Also, you can read quite a bit about Allegiant in other posts. We are currently interviewing, altough the near term growth is in locations other than BLI. However, I suspect that the BLI base will grow as it is a very strong preformer.
We currently fly to 5 destinations: LAS, RNO, PSP, SAN, SFO, & IWA*.
There are 2 MD-83's and 9 crews. Senority runs the gammet (sp?), so if you were to get hired, it shouldnt be too tough to get to BLI.
However, getting hired is getting tough. There are lots of competitive resumes out there and the company likes to see 1000 jet PIC and an internal rec.
Also, look into CHLSBP or whatever they call themselves: CustomsHomeLandSecurityBoarderPatrol. They have an aviation unit at BLI and fly 3 or 4 types of aircraft.
Big

Tumbleweed

I'm originally from BLI and wouldn't mind moving back there sometime soon. It's exciting to see that Allegiant is doing well there. Especially after seeing Western make a very short and terrible attempt at serving that market. There was also the brief service offered by SkyWest via Delta Connection to SLC. Are the trips out of BLI just locals? You mentioned that there are two MD-80s and about 9 crews. Is it very senior as a base? Also, Allegiant has an unusual schedule in that they only seem to fly on peak days, (ie. Fridays, Sundays or Mondays) so do you typically not work on Saturdays, Tuesday and Wednesdays? How do you like working for the company? Thanks!

de727ups

The trips out of BLI to "warm and touristy" places are Canadians taking advantage of a historically insane exchange rate. Air Canada just pulled out of the YVR-PSP market, though Westjet still does it. I think the service is great for the locals, but I'd bet there are far more Canadians on those planes than Bellinghamites.

Tumbleweed

"Bellinghamsters" is the correct term. You're probably right. Mostly Canadians crossing the boarder.