Pinnacle ?

[toddnorrish]

Have an opportunity to interview with Pinnacle. Looking for any feedback, pros/cons from any and all, in particular any Pinnacle drivers.

[GlenWimpy]

PM sent!

I have more info on Pinnacle then the FBI , FAA and CIA!

[kellwolf]

Originally Posted by toddnorrish

Have an opportunity to interview with Pinnacle. Looking for any feedback, pros/cons from any and all, in particular any Pinnacle drivers.

I'd go for the interview experience, but if you get other offers, it might not be a bad idea to seriously consider them. Pinnacle is a VERY shaky place right now. With the looming strike, stalled negotiations, a request for arbitration from ALPA and a lawsuit against ALPA from management, things are gonna get ugly for a while here. Work rules aren't the best out there, and pay is hideous for the first couple of years. The days of upgrading as soon as you have the time might be coming to a close as well. A few months ago, I could hold MEM if I bid CA. On the last bid, I would have missed MEM by 200 seniority numbers, but I could hold DTW or even ATL. The ATL flying is getting slowly built up, and they actually have a few overnights now instead of all day trips.

Management has been violating the existing contract left and right, and they seem willing to drag everyone through the mud instead of settling on a new contract. To be honest, I don't have much faith in our management team at all. They'd rather pay more money in penalties to NWA for cancelling flights than sign a deal with the pilots. From the negotiating committee rep I talked to, the lost revenue from the 15 planes sent to Mesaba was more than what they would have paid over the life of the contract to make up the difference b/w what the pilots want and what the wanted. Translation: they would rather lose money by losing airplanes than give in to the pilots. To me, that's just poor business sense and should send shareholders running away. Now, most (myself included) would tell you that those planes were going to Mesaba the whole time, but then the company loses the argument that we lost those planes b/c the union wouldn't deal.

Morale here is pretty low. People are pondering quitting b/c they find themselves getting angry with family members and spouses b/c of lingering effects of how they are treated at work. I've always been a "leave work at work" kind of person, so I've been able to dodge that so far.

That being said, this place has the potential to be a REALLY good regional. We've got (IMO) one of the best pilot groups around, the flying is challenging and has a good variety, the aircraft are (for the most part) pretty well maintained, and once we get a contract done, I think this will be one of the regionals to beat. The question is, can we survive to that point? Add in the potential Delta/NWA merger, and there's even more haze on the horizon. For example, we're starting ATL-MEM with the -900 next month. Now, in our agreement with NWA, it says we CANNOT do flying for another carrier into a NWA hub. Yet, NWA hasn't made a peep about us flying ATL-MEM under the Delta banner. That says to me they're hoping a deal with Delta goes through.

[av8sean]

I'd bet serious money that Pinnacle gets CRJ9's and maybe CRJ7's for NW and starts replacing the 200's as soon as a pilot contract gets nailed. More CRJ9's for DL are probably likely as well, the contract has provisions for 30-something planes. Hopefully the "safe flying" campaign will have a similar effect that ASA's had, and move things forward.

People were much more doom & gloom a year ago during Mesaba negotiations, now everything is rosy. In another couple years, Compass will probably be doing the same song and dance. Seems to be the norm for Northwest (and their descendants).

[kellwolf]

Originally Posted by av8sean

I'd bet serious money that Pinnacle gets CRJ9's and maybe CRJ7's for NW and starts replacing the 200's as soon as a pilot contract gets nailed. More CRJ9's for DL are probably likely as well, the contract has provisions for 30-something planes. Hopefully the "safe flying" campaign will have a similar effect that ASA's had, and move things forward.

Wouldn't surprise me in the least. But it won't happen until the pilot contract gets done. We might see a threat of "losing" those airplanes get tossed our way, but there's no way in hell we're falling for that trick. It hasn't worked the past three or four times they've tried it. The NWA contract has a provision that they can replace -200s with larger a/c, and I'm sure that'll happen. From the rumors I've heard, we've already bought the -900s that are listed as options for the Delta flying. However, with Delta shrinking their regional feed, I'm less optimistic about those seeing the light of day. Hence the reason management is scrambling for another dance partner for the -900s.

People were much more doom & gloom a year ago during Mesaba negotiations, now everything is rosy. In another couple years, Compass will probably be doing the same song and dance. Seems to be the norm for Northwest (and their descendants).

It's so true. Back in the day, PCL (aka Express I Airlines) was getting beat down, pushed out of hubs and losing Saabs and Jetstreams. Meanwhile, Mesaba was getting Avros and bigger bases. So, NWA buys PCL for a steal. Low and behold, Pinnacle gets a HUGE contract for CRJ-200s. NWA spins Express off as "Pinnacle Airlines" in a HUGE IPO and makes a ton of cash. Fast forward a few years, and Mesaba is getting the beat down. Losing the Avros, furloughing, etc. NWA buys them....guess what? Now they get the -900s and some of the -200s from PCL. Anyone wanna guess what's gonna happen in a few years?

My personal opinion is Compass is gonna get Mid-Atlanticed. It was designed as a safe place for NWA mainline furloughs to land, and they don't need that soft spot to land anymore. We might see a few guys flow up or get a seniority number at NWA, but I don't think their gonna make it too far past the 30 month deadline for the mainline seniority number. I wouldn't be surprised to see mainline fold Compass and Mesaba together only to spin 'em off and run with the $$$. 'Course this is all assuming Delta doesn't de-rail the plans altogether.