ASA Good or Bad?
11-12-2007, 06:30 PM
#1
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Joined APC: Sep 2007
Position: CRJ 200/700/900 CA & Instructor
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ASA Good or Bad?
I got a call from ASA today. I am really interested in flying for them. So does anyone have any good or bad things to say about them that I might need to know about?
11-12-2007, 07:14 PM
#3
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Joined APC: Sep 2007
Position: CRJ 200/700/900 CA & Instructor
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I know that I have heard alot of good things about them lately. But I would like to hear some of the bad so I know what I could be getting myself into if I were to get hired.
11-12-2007, 08:20 PM
#4
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Joined APC: Apr 2007
Posts: 211
According to a pilot I talked with, the pilot-management relationship was strained because contract negotiations had gone for awhile. Now that they have a TA for their contract, things might be better. He liked his schedule, although that could be because he was a pretty senior FO. He basically viewed it as a place to build time and then move on to a major and nothing more.
11-13-2007, 02:19 AM
#6
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Joined APC: Mar 2007
Position: standing-by
Posts: 287
Currently the lines are pretty bad. A lot of 4 on 3 off, not much variety, the 4 days blocked at 17-18 hours, 32 hour layovers that are paid at per diem at the moment which is $1.50 an hour. So you sit in a hotel room for 32 hours and make 48 bucks. Not a lot of days off. If the TA passes, hopefully some of that will go away with duty rigs and trip rigs. New hire pay would go from $19/hr to $23/hr - not great but better.
The scheduling is just incredibly inflexible. There's no way to drop a trip unless you go to a chief pilot. Hard to drop/swap the 4 days b/c it has to be the same amount of days. Open time window only available 3 days a week for 8 hours that day. So if you're flying the line good luck trying to sneak a minute to put in a trade. Once again some of that will get a little better with the ta if it goes thru.
Sick pay and vacation pay are minimal. If you get 3 occurences (calling i sick 3 separate times) in 6 months, you get to see the chief pilot (or 4 times in one year).
The turn times are very short, and the company loves to do aircraft swaps. In other words in Atlanta, they may park you at the end of E concourse with 40 minutes til the departure of your next flight and tell you to go to the end of C concourse to pick up the plane, which may or may not be there. Of course all this happens at lunch. So you automatically start running late.
And being a Delta Connection carrier and owned by Skywest, always a question of if the flying will be cut back/reduced. We haven't grown a bit in years.
On the bright side though, 305 pilots have jumped ship this year for greener pastures, so you'll move up rapidly. I expect that number to possibly increase next year if hiring is strong by Delta and if the contract passes. Some people will get their backpay and leave.
And like some astute person said earlier - there are worse places and better places to work!
The scheduling is just incredibly inflexible. There's no way to drop a trip unless you go to a chief pilot. Hard to drop/swap the 4 days b/c it has to be the same amount of days. Open time window only available 3 days a week for 8 hours that day. So if you're flying the line good luck trying to sneak a minute to put in a trade. Once again some of that will get a little better with the ta if it goes thru.
Sick pay and vacation pay are minimal. If you get 3 occurences (calling i sick 3 separate times) in 6 months, you get to see the chief pilot (or 4 times in one year).
The turn times are very short, and the company loves to do aircraft swaps. In other words in Atlanta, they may park you at the end of E concourse with 40 minutes til the departure of your next flight and tell you to go to the end of C concourse to pick up the plane, which may or may not be there. Of course all this happens at lunch. So you automatically start running late.
And being a Delta Connection carrier and owned by Skywest, always a question of if the flying will be cut back/reduced. We haven't grown a bit in years.
On the bright side though, 305 pilots have jumped ship this year for greener pastures, so you'll move up rapidly. I expect that number to possibly increase next year if hiring is strong by Delta and if the contract passes. Some people will get their backpay and leave.
And like some astute person said earlier - there are worse places and better places to work!
11-13-2007, 06:26 PM
#10
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Joined APC: Mar 2007
Position: Powered parachute, left seat
Posts: 422
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