Omni Air
12-11-2023, 06:09 AM
#4171
Disinterested Third Party
Joined APC: Jun 2012
Posts: 6,261
You have the inside scoop about "what's behind the scenes?" Say it.
Put up, else shut up. There's little worse than the fruitcake with with the "I know something you don't know and I won't tell you" complex. Shed the complex, spill the beans. You opened the door. Walk through it.
12-12-2023, 07:33 AM
#4172
Experienced
Joined APC: Sep 2018
Posts: 14
What you can expect as a new hire at Omni (the good and not so good):
- The vast majority of instructors are excellent and go above and beyond to get you through training.
- The requirement to complete approximately 70 hours of UNPAID computer based training before you show up on day 1.
- Once you do start class (unlike every other airline) you are still NOT an employee yet. You are on reduced "training pay" which, while recently improved, is still low and requires you to calculate and pay your own taxes on this income.
- You do not become an employee until you pass your initial type ride. This results in approximately two months without benefits for you and your family. (Anyone who has had to purchase COBRA insurance from their previous employer knows that that is extremely expensive.)
- A training program that is disorganized and presentations that are out of date and are in much need of reorganization and updating.
- Depending on your assigned aircraft and training location, a simulator that is extremely old and constantly breaking.
- A company whose pilot hiring website states "We are committed to compensating for experience and are focused on quality of life for our aircrew." (https://www.oai.aero/careers/pilots) Unfortunately, this is simply not the case. With at least 10 airlines and counting (Air Wisconsin, CommuteAir, Endeavor, Envoy, GoJet, Horizon, Mesa, Piedmont, PSA, SkyWest) that offer signing bonuses and 121 LONGEVITY MATCHING, Omni is simply unable to compete in today's pilot market for highly qualified and experienced pilots. Even corporate operators, medevac, and most cargo operations all have more days off (i.e. 50/50 split).
- A pilot contract that is no longer competitive in pay, benefits (ex. retirement, insurance) and to a certain degree, quality of life (days off).
- A new Chief Pilot that really seems to care and supports the new hires!
Hope this helps.
- The vast majority of instructors are excellent and go above and beyond to get you through training.
- The requirement to complete approximately 70 hours of UNPAID computer based training before you show up on day 1.
- Once you do start class (unlike every other airline) you are still NOT an employee yet. You are on reduced "training pay" which, while recently improved, is still low and requires you to calculate and pay your own taxes on this income.
- You do not become an employee until you pass your initial type ride. This results in approximately two months without benefits for you and your family. (Anyone who has had to purchase COBRA insurance from their previous employer knows that that is extremely expensive.)
- A training program that is disorganized and presentations that are out of date and are in much need of reorganization and updating.
- Depending on your assigned aircraft and training location, a simulator that is extremely old and constantly breaking.
- A company whose pilot hiring website states "We are committed to compensating for experience and are focused on quality of life for our aircrew." (https://www.oai.aero/careers/pilots) Unfortunately, this is simply not the case. With at least 10 airlines and counting (Air Wisconsin, CommuteAir, Endeavor, Envoy, GoJet, Horizon, Mesa, Piedmont, PSA, SkyWest) that offer signing bonuses and 121 LONGEVITY MATCHING, Omni is simply unable to compete in today's pilot market for highly qualified and experienced pilots. Even corporate operators, medevac, and most cargo operations all have more days off (i.e. 50/50 split).
- A pilot contract that is no longer competitive in pay, benefits (ex. retirement, insurance) and to a certain degree, quality of life (days off).
- A new Chief Pilot that really seems to care and supports the new hires!
Hope this helps.
12-12-2023, 10:27 AM
#4173
Line Holder
Joined APC: Apr 2014
Posts: 91
ATLAS! ATLAS! ATLAS!
Omni like others has a fantastic bunch of pilots and great times flying with them. Scheduling could care less about you and will do what they need to do to u to keep the airplanes moving. The Training department is a train wreck with total derailment, the department had been run by a guy who was good in his prime but was well past that and the powers to be used him as a scape goat to hide the overall dysfunctional way of managing the airline. This is shown more by the new guy put in there that doesn't know his head from his ... I know several guys at Atlas and they are happy with the way things are going there.
Good Luck !!
Omni like others has a fantastic bunch of pilots and great times flying with them. Scheduling could care less about you and will do what they need to do to u to keep the airplanes moving. The Training department is a train wreck with total derailment, the department had been run by a guy who was good in his prime but was well past that and the powers to be used him as a scape goat to hide the overall dysfunctional way of managing the airline. This is shown more by the new guy put in there that doesn't know his head from his ... I know several guys at Atlas and they are happy with the way things are going there.
Good Luck !!
I tend to agree that our training department and check airman are an exceptional group. There's some shaking up going on around here and we'll see where the pieces fall. For the most part I've personally experienced good things and heard the same from others.
As for the job; it is what it is. We still have a pretty good gig. Barely ever any min-rest situations. Almost every flight is overstaffed so we get plenty of down time. It's mostly just difficult staying current on landings. One or two months a year we bust our ass. Then hum drum until it gets busy again. It's the rhythm of a DOD contractor.
I'm not cheerleading. Just giving a guy another viewpoint. If you want to fly your butt off go somewhere else. Also, riding around on company airplanes for 20 plus hours is complete Horse******. Along with some other bs that's a major issue. Travel department can make your life suck. But again the grass is always greener, I've switched companies a couple times in my life and nothing is perfect anywhere that's for sure.
12-12-2023, 10:36 AM
#4174
Line Holder
Joined APC: Apr 2014
Posts: 91
My PERSONAL 2cents, i absolutely love this job. Im one of those people that shows up, do the job, go home. I dont stick my nose into company politics, and still, support the pilot group and hope for a new contract soon. I worked 7 days in November, rest of the time at home on Long Call. So far only 4 days in december, and i have a week left of Long Call....yes the training department is not like other 121 carriers, but if you have any 121 time, you should know what to focus on and how to get through it without having been spoonfed. It can be frustrating to dig through the manuals to try to find the answer, but if you put in an average effort, you will make it through no problem. Know your systems, know your flows, know your callouts in procedures and memory items, and that alone will get you through. I come from a very bad QOL regional airline, and showing up to work with a ticket in hand, plus hotels took about 70 percent of my stress away (my hair started to grow back Believe it or not). Let alone the time off is phenomenal. Yes, there are times that travel screws up and you show up to a hotel with no reservation...you pick up the phone and deal with it. Had that happen once this year, i was in a new hotel 30 min later. Happens. Grass is always greener on the other side.
Not throwing dirt on atlas by any means, but we did have 1 atlas guy in our class, and 2 former atlas behind be. Obviously a personal choice but still, tells you something
Not throwing dirt on atlas by any means, but we did have 1 atlas guy in our class, and 2 former atlas behind be. Obviously a personal choice but still, tells you something
Here's the bottom line. If you're *****ing but you're still here flying? Then LEAVE! The whole world is hiring. And if you're tossing stones from the sidelines? Then really no one gives a sh**, you don't know what you're talking about and you don't have a dog in the fight. Go **** somewhere else. I know you won't. Because personalities that do that stuff never go away. They have sad lives and are usually unhappy and they like to spread that crap everywhere. Cheers.
12-12-2023, 02:59 PM
#4175
In a land of unicorns
Joined APC: Apr 2014
Position: Whale FO
Posts: 6,595
There's a guy in class right now that left Atlas after a year to come to Omni. And no he wasn't let go. Comparing the two training departments so far he's mentioned how professional and organized Omni is compared to Atlas. With everything from the facility to the instructors and the class curriculum Omni is light years better than Atlas. Just FYI FWIW from a guy that did the full class and type at Atlas less than a year ago so he has pretty current info.
It's a lot smoother now. Far from perfect, but it's not the goat rope it was a year ago.
12-12-2023, 06:06 PM
#4176
Line Holder
Joined APC: Mar 2023
Posts: 40
Yuuuuup!
Here's the bottom line. If you're *****ing but you're still here flying? Then LEAVE! The whole world is hiring. And if you're tossing stones from the sidelines? Then really no one gives a sh**, you don't know what you're talking about and you don't have a dog in the fight. Go **** somewhere else. I know you won't. Because personalities that do that stuff never go away. They have sad lives and are usually unhappy and they like to spread that crap everywhere. Cheers.
Here's the bottom line. If you're *****ing but you're still here flying? Then LEAVE! The whole world is hiring. And if you're tossing stones from the sidelines? Then really no one gives a sh**, you don't know what you're talking about and you don't have a dog in the fight. Go **** somewhere else. I know you won't. Because personalities that do that stuff never go away. They have sad lives and are usually unhappy and they like to spread that crap everywhere. Cheers.
I’ve enjoyed my time here and good QoL if you want to travel the world and not work a ton. Great people too. I’m not planning on leaving anytime soon but in the meantime I support and want to work for an industry leading contract like 18.
12-13-2023, 06:17 PM
#4177
Line Holder
Joined APC: Sep 2022
Posts: 31
Omni was a very fun place to work the last few years. If you piayed your cards right you could work 10/12 days a month and maybe on a good month fly 30 hours ,
The problem now is OMNI has lost it's way.ASTG does'nt know or care what we do as long as we keep making money. And now that has stopped. SO we are in deep
water now and no one knows the bottom, The training dept has amazming people with no one in charge. The new guy is over his head and everyone is watching.The
767 sim is pretty worn out and makes it hard to teach, no one knows if it's the student or the sim when something goes wrong. Omni has always had a hard time changing
anything in the company, no matter how many times it fails. Our hotel company is a perfect example. It's a easy job compaired to Atlas but the money is crazy over there
plus 401k match. And I don't see a contract in the future
The problem now is OMNI has lost it's way.ASTG does'nt know or care what we do as long as we keep making money. And now that has stopped. SO we are in deep
water now and no one knows the bottom, The training dept has amazming people with no one in charge. The new guy is over his head and everyone is watching.The
767 sim is pretty worn out and makes it hard to teach, no one knows if it's the student or the sim when something goes wrong. Omni has always had a hard time changing
anything in the company, no matter how many times it fails. Our hotel company is a perfect example. It's a easy job compaired to Atlas but the money is crazy over there
plus 401k match. And I don't see a contract in the future
12-13-2023, 06:55 PM
#4178
Disinterested Third Party
Joined APC: Jun 2012
Posts: 6,261
Condolences.
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