PDT News and Rumors
05-29-2013, 06:31 PM
#4061
Line Holder
Joined APC: Feb 2013
Position: FO livin the dream (well maybe)
Posts: 38
You mentioned you don't have the TT or XC, keep your ears open and continue to look past the shinny distractors. I am not sure what difference it makes to take the flow at PDT or not as I am not verses on it. The whole interview at AA doesn't mean much and the 5k is a sign on bonus in exchange for 2 year commitment. There is no training contract so if you don't take the 5k there is no commitment. You nailed on the head, we don't know what will happen to Eagle and we are in BK so we are higher risk than other places. We are hiring and upgrading while the checks cash so the sky is not falling yet.
As far as not knowing the future, the same can be said with EXJ with regards to the Delta flying as well as the United flying. AWAC has a contract that expires in 2015 and only one customer and a 50 seat fleet just like AE. GoJet stopped hiring and upgrades. PDT and PSA are wholly owned and in the middle of an airline merger. Pinnacle just exited BK with major concessions and unsure on their fleet. Mesa just got some growth airplanes but are horribly managed and GO is apparently not doing to well. RAH got AA flying but what will happen to the 50 seaters and their contract situation compiled with Frontier losses and an unhealthy balance sheet. Horizon is not hiring but a good regional. Compass isn't hiring and they are young and with a flow that seems solid. Transtates can't staff the current flying with many of the guys there just keeping currency and a bad contract. And that basically leaves SKW, they have many 50 seaters, some new airplanes coming under contract and many options... This scared the EXJ side as they could see their airline shrink massively while SKW retains their size and they are not hiring.
I wasn't bashing the other airlines what I was stating is that we all have issues but more importantly the mainlines have clauses where they can move airframes and cancel contracts while playing whipsaw. Right now the regionals are absorbing most if not all liabilities and it makes it easier for the mainline to drive them to the wash and rinse cycle we call BK. pinnacle was an unique situation but we already saw and airline penalized and payments withheld leading to BK.
You seem to have a good head on your shoulders, where you end up going I hope it works out. You should have plenty of options!
As far as not knowing the future, the same can be said with EXJ with regards to the Delta flying as well as the United flying. AWAC has a contract that expires in 2015 and only one customer and a 50 seat fleet just like AE. GoJet stopped hiring and upgrades. PDT and PSA are wholly owned and in the middle of an airline merger. Pinnacle just exited BK with major concessions and unsure on their fleet. Mesa just got some growth airplanes but are horribly managed and GO is apparently not doing to well. RAH got AA flying but what will happen to the 50 seaters and their contract situation compiled with Frontier losses and an unhealthy balance sheet. Horizon is not hiring but a good regional. Compass isn't hiring and they are young and with a flow that seems solid. Transtates can't staff the current flying with many of the guys there just keeping currency and a bad contract. And that basically leaves SKW, they have many 50 seaters, some new airplanes coming under contract and many options... This scared the EXJ side as they could see their airline shrink massively while SKW retains their size and they are not hiring.
I wasn't bashing the other airlines what I was stating is that we all have issues but more importantly the mainlines have clauses where they can move airframes and cancel contracts while playing whipsaw. Right now the regionals are absorbing most if not all liabilities and it makes it easier for the mainline to drive them to the wash and rinse cycle we call BK. pinnacle was an unique situation but we already saw and airline penalized and payments withheld leading to BK.
You seem to have a good head on your shoulders, where you end up going I hope it works out. You should have plenty of options!
Today, I did 39 landings in the pattern, and grabbed a photo flight for some college photography student.. I dont mind at all, it is for the future.
However It seems to be a consensus that this Piedmont flow is a magazine marketing ploy. There is not one person who has said it is exactly as written (and I should listen to my senior guys). So considering wholly owned is probably the most uncertain out there. i.e. Pinnacle, AE,PSA,PDT. RAH is growing but for how long? EXJ according to you guys seems to be uncertain since ASA merged. SKYW seems to be the good ol boys network, and Compass is just fine doing what they do...
Maybe I will just stay and do 30+ T&G's a day and watch with my popcorn. When the dust settles, maybe see whats left.
05-29-2013, 07:16 PM
#4063
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: May 2013
Posts: 2,594
This message seemed to nail it....Like I mentioned I look up to all of you guys. I admire your criticism and your frustrations along with your success.
Today, I did 39 landings in the pattern, and grabbed a photo flight for some college photography student.. I dont mind at all, it is for the future.
However It seems to be a consensus that this Piedmont flow is a magazine marketing ploy. There is not one person who has said it is exactly as written (and I should listen to my senior guys). So considering wholly owned is probably the most uncertain out there. i.e. Pinnacle, AE,PSA,PDT. RAH is growing but for how long? EXJ according to you guys seems to be uncertain since ASA merged. SKYW seems to be the good ol boys network, and Compass is just fine doing what they do...
Maybe I will just stay and do 30+ T&G's a day and watch with my popcorn. When the dust settles, maybe see whats left.
Today, I did 39 landings in the pattern, and grabbed a photo flight for some college photography student.. I dont mind at all, it is for the future.
However It seems to be a consensus that this Piedmont flow is a magazine marketing ploy. There is not one person who has said it is exactly as written (and I should listen to my senior guys). So considering wholly owned is probably the most uncertain out there. i.e. Pinnacle, AE,PSA,PDT. RAH is growing but for how long? EXJ according to you guys seems to be uncertain since ASA merged. SKYW seems to be the good ol boys network, and Compass is just fine doing what they do...
Maybe I will just stay and do 30+ T&G's a day and watch with my popcorn. When the dust settles, maybe see whats left.
06-02-2013, 02:46 PM
#4065
Line Holder
Joined APC: May 2012
Position: DHC-8 FO
Posts: 30
From the May 16th AboutUS FAQ:
"Q. Any plans for the Express (PDT & PSA) fleets?
A. Currently there are no plans to materially change either’s fleet..."
When I came to Piedmont I had just under 600 hours total time and 20 some hours of Multi. The only reason I came to Piedmont is that they were the only airline willing to give me a shot. I busted my butt in training and made it through the very tough program with a clean record. Piedmont also gave me my ATP through a very fair and rather painless expanded CQ event. For this reason I am grateful that I came to Piedmont. However, a lot has changed in the last few years since I came to PDT.
All new hires are now required to have ATP mins. If you have this much time, you also qualify for every other regional airline out there. Let me say that again, you qualify for all the other regionals too. This was definitely not the case when I got hired.
Piedmont is shrinking. We have lost 2 airplanes so far this year (EWR incident and 906) and will lose 2 more due to cycles later this year. I also believe that we lose ANOTHER three next year. For the entire time I have been with PDT the story hasn't changed..."We have no plans to change the fleet...or We can't find any airplanes at the right price...or Those planes don't fit our current needs etc etc etc." At some point in the near future it won't make sense to keep operating as an airline.
Our captains are getting hired at other places. It used to be true that not having turbojet time would make it drastically harder to get hired other places, but I think that is fading. From my crewbase I know of 4 captains who went to mainline and another that got hired on with JetBlue. This is great news, and I am really happy for those guys, BUT it doesn't help us FOs at all. The reason it doesn't help is that there are no upgrades going on. They tried to upgrade 4 FOs last month and only 2 made it. That doesn't even cover the attrition from my own small base, let alone the other four. But it doesn't matter because we are LOSING airplanes. And with every Dash that leaves property that is 5 less captains that are needed.
There are regionals out there which are getting NEW airplanes and EXPANDING their fleet. There are regionals out there with signing bonuses. There are regionals out there with jets, that will give you advanced avionics experience, FMS experience, RVSM experience, RNAV SIDs STARs and GPS approach experience. Jets that have AC systems that work and won't have to fly from PHL to HPN at 5000' getting the crap beat out of them in the bumps while experiencing TCAS event after TCAS event. There are regionals out there that do not routinely fly 6 leg days, do not swap morning to nights mid trip, and do not routinely have designed trips with less than 10 hrs at the overnight.
For me PDT was a great chance to get 121, multi-engine turbine time and my ATP while getting a small paycheck and benefits. However, if I had the chance to go back and apply to the regionals with 1500+hrs, I think my choice would have been a lot different.
"Q. Any plans for the Express (PDT & PSA) fleets?
A. Currently there are no plans to materially change either’s fleet..."
When I came to Piedmont I had just under 600 hours total time and 20 some hours of Multi. The only reason I came to Piedmont is that they were the only airline willing to give me a shot. I busted my butt in training and made it through the very tough program with a clean record. Piedmont also gave me my ATP through a very fair and rather painless expanded CQ event. For this reason I am grateful that I came to Piedmont. However, a lot has changed in the last few years since I came to PDT.
All new hires are now required to have ATP mins. If you have this much time, you also qualify for every other regional airline out there. Let me say that again, you qualify for all the other regionals too. This was definitely not the case when I got hired.
Piedmont is shrinking. We have lost 2 airplanes so far this year (EWR incident and 906) and will lose 2 more due to cycles later this year. I also believe that we lose ANOTHER three next year. For the entire time I have been with PDT the story hasn't changed..."We have no plans to change the fleet...or We can't find any airplanes at the right price...or Those planes don't fit our current needs etc etc etc." At some point in the near future it won't make sense to keep operating as an airline.
Our captains are getting hired at other places. It used to be true that not having turbojet time would make it drastically harder to get hired other places, but I think that is fading. From my crewbase I know of 4 captains who went to mainline and another that got hired on with JetBlue. This is great news, and I am really happy for those guys, BUT it doesn't help us FOs at all. The reason it doesn't help is that there are no upgrades going on. They tried to upgrade 4 FOs last month and only 2 made it. That doesn't even cover the attrition from my own small base, let alone the other four. But it doesn't matter because we are LOSING airplanes. And with every Dash that leaves property that is 5 less captains that are needed.
There are regionals out there which are getting NEW airplanes and EXPANDING their fleet. There are regionals out there with signing bonuses. There are regionals out there with jets, that will give you advanced avionics experience, FMS experience, RVSM experience, RNAV SIDs STARs and GPS approach experience. Jets that have AC systems that work and won't have to fly from PHL to HPN at 5000' getting the crap beat out of them in the bumps while experiencing TCAS event after TCAS event. There are regionals out there that do not routinely fly 6 leg days, do not swap morning to nights mid trip, and do not routinely have designed trips with less than 10 hrs at the overnight.
For me PDT was a great chance to get 121, multi-engine turbine time and my ATP while getting a small paycheck and benefits. However, if I had the chance to go back and apply to the regionals with 1500+hrs, I think my choice would have been a lot different.
06-02-2013, 03:16 PM
#4066
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Sep 2009
Position: Ask scheduling
Posts: 384
Another wave of rejections from mainline last month. I know our staffing is pretty bad but I wonder if that has any connection to the "thanks for taking time to interview but we have decided to go with candidates that better meet our needs. Please reapply with the next application window". For those who were rejected, I'm curious how long we have to wait for another shot. We weren't part of the SSP so I hope we don't have to wait a year. I heard PSA had the same issue. Had a PSA guy tell me as far as he knew no pilots interviewed in April were offered the job there either.
Last edited by theHub; 06-02-2013 at 03:36 PM.
06-09-2013, 10:32 AM
#4070
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Sep 2009
Position: N/A
Posts: 637
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