AirNet floater straight out of training

[jrh]

I'm sure some of you remember my thread from a few days ago, about jobs that are commutable and working week on/week off.

I applied to AirNet and did the phone interview today. Everything went great and I'm invited to the real deal in Columbus now.

During the phone interview I asked again about the possibility of getting a floater position and being able to commute. Todd (the interviewer) said it was possible, but he stressed that it's not guaranteed. He said it's entirely dependent on what slots are open at the end of my training. If one is open, I can bid for it, but if not, then I'd need to move to a base and hold a regular line. On the subject of commuting, he didn't say much one way or the other...it sounded a bit like it's discouraged, but I didn't want to ask a lot of questions about it and push my chances of getting invited to the second interview.

So my question is, can anyone say what the chances would be of me getting a floater slot straight out of training? I mean, I know nothing is guaranteed, but are we talking highly likely, highly unlikely, or is it truly completely a random chance?

And of course along with this comes commuting via airline...is it something that's banned, highly discouraged, or is it just most pilots choose not to do it for some reason?

Thanks again for all the info.

[surreal1221]

From my own research, I could have swore that Airnet has some jumpseat agreements with a couple airlines. Southwest was one of them.

[hawaiifly9]

Airnet is Cass so you can pretty much get on any airline that uses a three letter Cass system. Southwest is the easiest. They seem to like us. Commuting is not discouraged or encouraged as long as you get to where you need to be by the time your shift starts, actually supposed to be at the base 10 hours before the start of your shift but who is going to know otherwise.

There are almost always floater positions available. I know for a fact that there is 1 spot open in BDL and at least 1 open in TEB. I am not sure about the other bases but usually there are floater spots open. But that could change in the matter of one bid cycle. If for some reason someone bids those spots while you are in training than you are SOL and you will have to bid whatever is open when you finish if anything is open.

[Ian J]

Originally Posted by jrh

I'm sure some of you remember my thread from a few days ago, about jobs that are commutable and working week on/week off.

I applied to AirNet and did the phone interview today. Everything went great and I'm invited to the real deal in Columbus now.

During the phone interview I asked again about the possibility of getting a floater position and being able to commute. Todd (the interviewer) said it was possible, but he stressed that it's not guaranteed. He said it's entirely dependent on what slots are open at the end of my training. If one is open, I can bid for it, but if not, then I'd need to move to a base and hold a regular line. On the subject of commuting, he didn't say much one way or the other...it sounded a bit like it's discouraged, but I didn't want to ask a lot of questions about it and push my chances of getting invited to the second interview.

So my question is, can anyone say what the chances would be of me getting a floater slot straight out of training? I mean, I know nothing is guaranteed, but are we talking highly likely, highly unlikely, or is it truly completely a random chance?

And of course along with this comes commuting via airline...is it something that's banned, highly discouraged, or is it just most pilots choose not to do it for some reason?

Thanks again for all the info.

Hey - congrats on the interview invite! Study the gouges and you'll do fine.

It is really hard to say "how easy" it is to get a floater position. Like he said, it all depends. From people I've spoken with, LCK floater spots don't seem too hard to get - but you really never know. At any rate, even if there isn't one open right away and you do have to bid a fixed run, it shouldn't take that long to pick up a floater spot. But again - you never know.

On commuting - we do have agreements with tons of airlines (mikecweb is our JS coordinator, so he could fill you in better), plus we are CASS.

While it is possible to commute while floating (you will sacrifice some days off to do so), it would be tough to do so on a fixed run. Imagine you have a M-F run that goes from 1800-0500. When are you going to commute in and out, and are you going to be rested enough to start your run? Essentially, the company doesn't care what the heck you do as long as you make your run on time(official policy is be in base 10 hours prior to your showtime), keep in mind we have no commuter clauses or anything like it. If you miss your show time or are too tired to fly after having a weekend off - it's on you.

Hope it works out for you.

[ackeight]

I'm not 100% certain about this but you probably have a 15% chance of getting a reserve spot out of training. But, then again 47.3% of statistics are made up on the spot.

OK enough with the joking. There is no way of telling you how good of a chance you have a getting a floater spot. It's just chance. I do know that a lot of people like the 6 days off and most right now don't seem to be wanting to go anywhere. At least in Columbus.

As far as commuting. It is not discouraged. If they didn't want us to commute then we wouldn't have jumpseat agreements and be apart of CASS. There are a TON of airlines you can jumpseat with regardless of agreements or not. Just put on a smiley face, be polite and patient. That will get you pretty much anywhere. Remember though you need to be able to get back to your base before the magic "10" hr mark of your duty assignment. It isn't hard if you have 6 days off. In fact sometimes I go places with only a 2 day weekend every once and awhile.

[Ian J]

Ha! Three responses from us in a minute! What, did we all just wake up?

[flyguydaniel]

When I got through with my upgrade training I remember that there were floater spots were open at every base that had them. However, as far as actual routes, there were only 4 open. This was back in mid-February. It was my impression that the runs filled up first and then there were only floater spots left.

[jrh]

Awesome, thanks for all the info guys. I think I'm going to jump in and go for it.

Hopefully I pass the interview and get in to a class this summer. I'm not a moron, but it's my first 135-style interview, too, so you never know what'll happen. I'll hit the books, try to get some Frasca time in advance, and see how it goes. I haven't consistently flown instruments or a twin in about a year, so I better knock the rust off before I get there.

And hopefully I get a floater spot. I know it's kind of a crap shoot, but even if I don't get exactly what I want, at least I'll be making decent money at a decent company getting decent flight time. Can't ask for much more than that, right?

[mikecweb]

When you coming to LCK and from where?
Yeah we're CASS and can jumpseat on about 30 airlines.

[jrh]

Originally Posted by mikecweb

When you coming to LCK and from where?

Interview is scheduled for Wednesday morning, May 14.

I'll be jumpseating on one of your Lears coming out of DSM at 2:30 on Wednesday morning.

Is sleep deprivation part of the plan to assess applicants under stress?

[Falcon10]

jrh, the best advice I can give you is to be the volunteer for the first sim ride. I did and it wired me for the rest of the day. It woke me up for the rest of the written and the one on one. Don't worry about the frasca as i found it about the same feel as an elite PCATD which isn't much. Read the gouges and you will do fine. Keep that belt tight in the Lear for T/O or else youll be sitting on boxes.

[flymo]

Is sleep deprivation part of the plan to assess applicants under stress? [/quote]


That part does play a large factor on interview day. I started in MKC around 11:30pm and after the connection through CPS, got to LCK, and finally got to the hotel around 4:30 am. I was tired by interview time at 9:30 am, but so were a lot of the other interviewees. My nerves perked me up though, and I was thankfully able to perform well at the interview. I don't know if it is a formal interview point that they look for, but if you can't deal with fatigue well, you will obviously perform poorly at the interview. Be sure to grab a bite to eat that morning at the hotel, the more protein the better. Like Falcon said, hang on during the takeoff in the Lear, that thing is a kick in the pants! Good luck!

[mninstructor]

See ya on the 14th for the lift in JRH.

[jrh]

Originally Posted by mninstructor

See ya on the 14th for the lift in JRH.

Man, I would've been riding with a JCer on the Lear? I shouldn't have changed my plans...

A recruiter called me this morning to say they weren't able to arrange a flight back to DSM for me on their system, so she asked if I could airline one-way back to DSM at the end of the interview. I initially told her I could.

Then I got looking at airline tickets and started thinking about all these connections. As it was, I was going to have to leave home at 10:00 p.m., drive 3 hours to DSM, catch a ride on the Lear at 2:30, get in to Columbus at about 4:45, then get to sleep about 5:30 at the earliest.

That would've meant going in to the interview with three hours of sleep, tops.

I initially agreed to that plan because I didn't want to look like a jerk, making AirNet drop money on me for an airline ticket just so I could get my beauty rest.

But when I started thinking they'd have to drop some money on me no matter what, I decided to ask if I could do it round trip on the airlines.

The recruiter I talked to encouraged me to ride the Lear in order to see what their operations are like, but I just couldn't see how talking to a flight crew for a couple hours and riding through the night was going to be more beneficial than getting a solid night's sleep before the big day. I function pretty well without much sleep, but even that's a bit extreme for me, especially when I know I'll be nervous as it is.

So now I'm airlining in on Tuesday morning, doing a familiarization session in the sim on Tuesday night, then doing the official interview on Wednesday. Personally, I think I'm much better off this way.

Hopefully I didn't piss anyone off. Did I?

[mikecweb]

I don't think you pissed anyone off but you are going to miss a good chance to interview the company. You won't see what flying the line is like you'll just see a pilot recruiting/HR view of Airnet. Good luck.

[jrh]

Originally Posted by mikecweb

I don't think you pissed anyone off but you are going to miss a good chance to interview the company. You won't see what flying the line is like you'll just see a pilot recruiting/HR view of Airnet. Good luck.

I hear ya, I thought about those things.

I figured I've heard nothing but good about the company though, so as long as they're willing to take me, I'll take them. When I look across the industry, I can't picture myself doing better anywhere else. I guess time will tell.

[mikecweb]

Originally Posted by jrh

I hear ya, I thought about those things.

I figured I've heard nothing but good about the company though, so as long as they're willing to take me, I'll take them. When I look across the industry, I can't picture myself doing better anywhere else. I guess time will tell.

It's not all roses that's for sure. Starcheckers have a habit of not airing their dirty laundry on public forums. But then again the stuff you see some guys complaining about on here is laughable. It's a different culture and a different attitude. You won't see guys "returning to the gate" because they don't wanna use their cell phone. That kinda crap just doesn't fly here.

[Ian J]

Originally Posted by mikecweb

It's not all roses that's for sure. Starcheckers have a habit of not airing their dirty laundry on public forums. But then again the stuff you see some guys complaining about on here is laughable. It's a different culture and a different attitude. You won't see guys "returning to the gate" because they don't wanna use their cell phone. That kinda crap just doesn't fly here.

Not to say though that if this company blew JCers wouldn't know about. Honestly, if I had a beef with Airnet I'd talk about it. I wouldn't want people to apply for a company that wasn't solid.

That being said, we do an awesome job of not airing the trivial crap.

"Dispatch sent me to BUF and I'm not Navajo qualified the idiots! I would have let them know about it but I didn't want to use my celly! This company is a sinking ship!!!111"

And hey Mike, you guys get gates? Sweeeeeet!

[mikecweb]

Originally Posted by Ian J

And hey Mike, you guys get gates? Sweeeeeet!

True story.
I was in PWK in my mighty van one winter day wanting to go home. I start up and call ground to get my clearence and taxi instructions. Never a problem so I start moving on the ramp and getting ready to take the taxi way when they give me a "Gate Hold". I told them I'm at an airport with no gates in an airplane that never pulls up to a gate. "They replied with ok Starcheck 244 you now have a 45 min tie down hold, happy?" Starcheck 244, Peaches.

[minitour]

Originally Posted by Ian J

Not to say though that if this company blew JCers wouldn't know about. Honestly, if I had a beef with Airnet I'd talk about it. I wouldn't want people to apply for a company that wasn't solid.

That being said, we do an awesome job of not airing the trivial crap.

True and I think that anyone that is smart enough to ask the questions deserves to hear the whole answer. They may not like it, but they deserve to hear it. The good, the bad and the ugly.

Originally Posted by mikecweb

...ok Starcheck 244 you now have a 45 min tie down hold, happy?" Starcheck 244, Peaches.

Not sure why, but I can't stop laughing when I read that.

-mini

[Ian J]

Yup - but no one is going to hear complaints from me seeing how I won the bid I wanted and was given a day off to go to a family thing.

Seriously though, it's the trivial crap we don't need on here. Mike said it best:

But then again the stuff you see some guys complaining about on here is laughable. It's a different culture and a different attitude.

[ljg]

Are you flying 161 now?

[Ian J]

Starting monday. It's a heck of a pay raise!

How's jet training treating you?

[ljg]

Well let's just say I feel bad for the folks that leave for a regional. Congrats on the awesome run and the day schedule.

[Ian J]

Thanks!

And isn't it about time you change this :

2100 TT - PT 135 BE58 Driver
CFI/II/MEI/ADX