Great Lakes

turbinesurgeon · January 15th, 2005, 08:05

I was wondering if anybody had any comments about Great Lakes, good or bad. I have an interview with them and I am trying to get an idea of what they are like.

dgRoot · January 15th, 2005, 14:25

Living here in Northern Colorado I have seen a lot of my flight instructors go to great lakes. (They are based in Cheyenne). I have several friends there that all pretty much say the same thing. The training is some of the hardest in the regional community and the pay is near the lowest. Not everyone seems to mind though because they hire with low mins and upgrades usually come pretty quick to those who qualify. I hope to apply soon.

Timbuff10 · January 16th, 2005, 00:12

I read somewhere that they were big on the approaches into CYS for the sim ride during the interview. I remember hearing about the ILS maybe? They are all the same though pretty much so unless this is a special one it shouldn't matter. Maybe brush up on the DEN ones also so you are familiar with them too?

I worked in the ops tower at DEN with some of their ops people and they were all very upbeat. Pilots would often come up and visit and in conversations with them, they (for the most part) seemed up beat. I flew with one of their Brasildo drivers last year and he loved it, but said it was a ton of work and while you are junior, you have no life. I have heard the schedules can get pretty nice after a year or two though depending on when/if you decide to upgrade.

Don't go into it with the plan to get some quick turbine time and go somewhere else though. I hear they have you under contract for 15 months or else you end up owing some serious cash if you leave for another airline.

What kind of hours do you have? Trying to find out what I need to aim for?

Good luck, I hope it works out for you!

dgRoot · January 17th, 2005, 02:25

I think they do interview sim checks in a PCAD sim with a Barron profile. Usually approaches into Cheyenne.

Also, you are correct about the 15 month contract. They do require you to sign and pay if you want out early.

Some recent friends that have been hired have had at least 100 hours of multi, but I've heard they hire with less occationally. 500tt 100 multi will probably get you in the door.

-Dave

Timbuff10 · January 17th, 2005, 10:43

Yeah, it would be tough living on their salary considering the amount of work you have to put in and the low quality of life you would have to deal with in terms of being gone so much. I am sure the most junior folks will be spending many nights away from Denver. I also image that the essence of their business is to pretty much have every plane available flying as early as possible from all their cities so they can have the pax into DEN so they can catch the first flights in the mornings to wherever they are going. That probably means alot of mornings up at 3 for a 4 am at the hotel for show time and a 5 or 6 am departure so those pax can get into DIA for their 8 am flights to whatever coast they are going to.

I think I might just want to find a good instructor job here in Denver and and stay there for a long time and enjoy flying during normal hours

gomntwins · January 17th, 2005, 20:34

[ QUOTE ]

Some recent friends that have been hired have had at least 100 hours of multi, but I've heard they hire with less occationally. 500tt 100 multi will probably get you in the door.

-Dave

[/ QUOTE ]

I've got over 500tt and 120 multi... should I send them my resume? I was always under the impression that you really need a connection there to walk in your resume for you before you have a shot... any truth to that?

kellwolf · January 17th, 2005, 22:19

[ QUOTE ]
I've got over 500tt and 120 multi... should I send them my resume?

[/ QUOTE ]

If it were me, I'd send it. I'd also send it to XJT, Pinnacle and Mesaba. Mult time is golden for the most part, and anything over 500 TT at the regional level at least gets glanced at. It's not like an airline will blackball you for sending in your resume too early.

stuckingfk · January 18th, 2005, 02:03

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I've got over 500tt and 120 multi... should I send them my resume?

[/ QUOTE ]

If it were me, I'd send it. I'd also send it to XJT, Pinnacle and Mesaba. Mult time is golden for the most part, and anything over 500 TT at the regional level at least gets glanced at. It's not like an airline will blackball you for sending in your resume too early.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've heard that Pinnacle requires 1500tt and 300 mulit, which they are firm on.

Anyone from Pinnacle feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

Jason · January 18th, 2005, 10:57

[ QUOTE ]
Yeah, it would be tough living on their salary considering the amount of work you have to put in and the low quality of life you would have to deal with in terms of being gone so much. I am sure the most junior folks will be spending many nights away from Denver. I also image that the essence of their business is to pretty much have every plane available flying as early as possible from all their cities so they can have the pax into DEN so they can catch the first flights in the mornings to wherever they are going. That probably means alot of mornings up at 3 for a 4 am at the hotel for show time and a 5 or 6 am departure so those pax can get into DIA for their 8 am flights to whatever coast they are going to.

I think I might just want to find a good instructor job here in Denver and and stay there for a long time and enjoy flying during normal hours

[/ QUOTE ]

Hate to break the news but that pretty much describes life as a low seniority FO at any regional - not just Lakes. I've had friends fly there and yeah life could be better but it's no worse than anywhere else - especially for someone that likes living in the western US.

Yes, Pinnacle I believe is now requiring 1500/300 if I'm not mistaken. They do hire people with less hours but only if you come thru Gulfstream.

Jason

Timbuff10 · January 18th, 2005, 11:26

I was just suggesting that at lakes because you will most likely be flying the beech 1900 that does not have a lav, your trips will typically be shorter than the average RJ trip. I figure this means you will probably have to do more flights in the typical day which leads to more waiting time between flights thus a longer day. If an airline is trying to get 8 hours of flying out of you in a day you could fly 16 half hour flights as opposed to 4 or 5 one and a half hour flights.

Now if they had a punch clock at the airport and you got paid like a normal employee then that would be great but since you only get paid when the props are turning it can be a rough deal for the pilot.

Does anyone know the rules about this? There has to be some limitation as to how long as pilot can be on duty during a day?

RPM · January 18th, 2005, 12:04

Ist year FO, $15.30 an hour and $1 hr per diem

Here is a typical lakes schedule, lakes does mostly 4 and 5 day trips:

BE1 Pairings
DAY DH C FLTNO DPS-ARS DEPL ARRL BLKT SEGT RNT TBLK TCRD LAYOVER

MO 5114 DEN-CDR 1134 1239 105 105
MO 5114 CDR-AIA 1259 1324 25 27
MO 5114 AIA-DEN 1334 1430 56 57
MO 5023 DEN-MCK 1518 1719 101 105 10
MO 5016 MCK-DEN 1729 1730 101 105 330
MO 5045 DEN-GCC 2100 2224 124 126 552 605 1116
D-END: 2239L (NR 900) REPT: 0955L CLARION (307) 686-3000 SHUTTLE
TU 5173 GCC-DEN 1055 1220 125 127 110
TU 5019 DEN-CYS 1330 1409 39 41 11
TU 5019 CYS-WRL 1420 1524 104 104 16
TU 5024 WRL-CYS 1540 1644 104 104 11
TU 5024 CYS-DEN 1655 1733 38 43 332
TU 5109 DEN-CEZ 2105 2225 120 123 610 622 1637
D-END: 2240L (NR 900) REPT: 1517L COMFORT INN (970) 565-3400 SHUTTLE
WE 5104 CEZ-DEN 1617 1730 113 114 242
WE 5059 DEN-ALS 2012 2110 58 58 211
212 950
D-END: 2125L (NR 900) REPT: 0715L GRIZZLY INN (719) 589-4788
TH 5054 ALS-DEN 0815 0915 100 101 215
TH 5177 DEN-FMN 1130 1255 125 124 15
TH 5177 FMN-PGA 1310 1400 50 50 10
TH 5177 PGA-PHX 1410 1525 115 119 355
TH 5179 PHX-PGA 1920 2032 112 114 542
548 943
D-END: 2047L (NR 900) REPT: 0630L B.W. ARIZONA INN (928) 645-2466
FR 5176 PGA-PHX 0730 0845 115 119 140
FR 5178 PHX-PGA 1025 1137 112 114 13
FR 5178 PGA-FMN 1150 1240 50 50 20
FR 5178 FMN-DEN 1300 1420 120 125 100
FR 5101 DEN-BFF 1520 1613 53 55 20
FR 5102 BFF-DEN 1633 1728 55 103 625
646 1113
D-END: 1743L --------------------
TOTALS BLOCK 2620 DHD 0 CREDIT 2713 T.A.F.B. 10309

SU 5183 DEN-SAF 1430 1551 121 125
SU 5182 SAF-DEN 1606 1730 124 126
SU 5069 DEN-HYS 1900 2116 116 118 401
409 1714
D-END: 2131L (NR 900) REPT: 1445L HOLIDAY INN (785) 625-7371
MO 5068 HYS-DEN 1545 1610 125 127 455
MO 5109 DEN-CEZ 2105 2225 120 123 245
250 1637
D-END: 2240L (NR 900) REPT: 1517L COMFORT INN (970) 565-3400 SHUTTLE
TU 5104 CEZ-DEN 1617 1730 113 114 130
TU 5069 DEN-HYS 1900 2116 116 118 229 232 1714
D-END: 2131L (NR 900) REPT: 1445L HOLIDAY INN (785) 625-7371
WE 5068 HYS-DEN 1545 1610 125 127 240
WE 5005 DEN-EAR 1850 2106 116 119 241
246 905
D-END: 2121L (NR 900) REPT: 0626L WINGATE INN (308) 237-4400 SHUTTLE
TH 5000 EAR-DEN 0726 0750 124 130 100
TH 5111 DEN-RKS 0850 1010 120 126 15
TH 5112 RKS-DEN 1025 1132 107 112 351
408 621
D-END: 1147L --------------------------------------
TOTALS BLOCK 1547 DHD 0 CREDIT 1625 T.A.F.B. 9417

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

kellwolf · January 18th, 2005, 17:33

Yeah, after looking at that Mesa doesn't seem so bad......

Timbuff10 · January 19th, 2005, 00:29

wow, so 5 days on and then 1 day off and then you go back for a 5 day trip again... I figured you would get 2 or 3 days off between trips?

junior · January 19th, 2005, 13:04

I've heard that sometimes you get 8 days on and 1 day off at Lakes. I know a bunch of people who have gone to lakes and ended up leaving because it is such a crappy job. Some of the hardest training out there, they work you like a dog, you are NEVER home, and you get paid $15.00 dollars an hour. no thanks.

RPM · January 19th, 2005, 15:50

but look at the bright side...the new TA proposed a whopping .50 cent/hr raise and a perdiem increase from $1 all the way up to $1.03....yes, you read that correct, 3 whole cents per hour! It took 4 years of negotiations for that!

...what a joke
all this with 8 or 10 days off a month if your lucky and no work rules

mtsu_av8er · January 19th, 2005, 16:33

Are you slack jaws in this to fly or sit at home on your days off??

Timbuff10 · January 20th, 2005, 00:25

[ QUOTE ]
Are you slack jaws in this to fly or sit at home on your days off??

[/ QUOTE ]

I could care less about sitting at home on my days off, I live in Colorado and want to go play in the mountains!

fly22 · January 20th, 2005, 11:02

Whats the best schedule they have look like?

QXDVR · January 20th, 2005, 12:56

[/ QUOTE ]

Hate to break the news but that pretty much describes life as a low seniority FO at any regional - not just Lakes. I've had friends fly there and yeah life could be better but it's no worse than anywhere else - especially for someone that likes living in the western US.

Jason

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't think that applies to everyone. I'll agree that there are alot of crappy low paying jobs out there but if you play your cards right you can get into a good company that treats their employees with respect as well as paying a decent wage.

kellwolf · January 20th, 2005, 14:25

[ QUOTE ]
Are you slack jaws in this to fly or sit at home on your days off??

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, fly. But there are limits to the amount of abuse I'm willing to take.

mtsu_av8er · January 22nd, 2005, 16:21

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Are you slack jaws in this to fly or sit at home on your days off??

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, fly. But there are limits to the amount of abuse I'm willing to take.

[/ QUOTE ]

I can dig that...

My limits are pretty high, though...lol.

dgRoot · January 22nd, 2005, 16:49

Yeah, it's a choice you have to make. Try to wait a little longer and get into a CRJ, or hit great lakes and try to upgrade fast...

The new rumors this week are that Lakes is still on the prowl for pilots. Even looking for pretty low time guys/gals. I guess they've picked up a couple more routes and really need pilots.

kellwolf · January 22nd, 2005, 20:10

[ QUOTE ]
Yeah, it's a choice you have to make. Try to wait a little longer and get into a CRJ, or hit great lakes and try to upgrade fast...

[/ QUOTE ]

Honestly, I think I'd rather have the QoL of a CFI than the QoL of a Great Lakes pilot. I'm not too keen on CO, so that's working against it, too. For about the same amount of money (or more depending on how many students I'd have at the time) I could spend more time with my wife and kid, plus have TWO days off a week. Now, if I were single, it might be a different story......

Kingairer · January 22nd, 2005, 21:03

Im inclined to agree Kell. There is something to be said for being home everynite, and i would guess the Wages are similar. Rewind 2 years ago, and I probably would be singing a different tune as I was ready to get on with any regional. I think youd be better off waiting another 6 months and getting on with someone else. Glakes pay doesnt get much better as you go up, they dont seem to really be adapting to the new atmosphere of flying (RJs), EAS flying, etc etc. You go there and you're going to be hating it for years, or doing a later move in another 15 months comes up.

Timbuff10 · January 22nd, 2005, 23:03

Yeah, quality of life is a HUGE issue for me, I want to have a reasonable amount of family time and I want to live in Colorado for as long as possible. I don't care what anyone says, we have better weather than anywhere else in the country as Boulder is second only to San Diego in terms of sunny days per year.

The thing that gets me is why can't these regionals get their schedules to the point where pilots can go on a 2-4 day trip and then have 1-3 days off? When I was working at Frontier they seemed to be able to keep the pilots fairly happy with their schedules. It just seems that if you take care of your employees they will take care of you in the end and you won't have the problem of people fleeing when their "contract" is up?

I don't know, that's just me looking into the fishbowl from the outside. Who knows, that may be the worst ZK schedule ever found up there? Maybe they are better than that usually?

January 15th, 2005, 08:05	#1
turbinesurgeon Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 31	Great Lakes I was wondering if anybody had any comments about Great Lakes, good or bad. I have an interview with them and I am trying to get an idea of what they are like.

January 15th, 2005, 14:25	#2
dgRoot Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Above Colorado Posts: 90	Re: Great Lakes Living here in Northern Colorado I have seen a lot of my flight instructors go to great lakes. (They are based in Cheyenne). I have several friends there that all pretty much say the same thing. The training is some of the hardest in the regional community and the pay is near the lowest. Not everyone seems to mind though because they hire with low mins and upgrades usually come pretty quick to those who qualify. I hope to apply soon.

January 16th, 2005, 00:12	#3
Timbuff10 Old Skool Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Coloradan in Orange County, CA Posts: 3,235	Re: Great Lakes I read somewhere that they were big on the approaches into CYS for the sim ride during the interview. I remember hearing about the ILS maybe? They are all the same though pretty much so unless this is a special one it shouldn't matter. Maybe brush up on the DEN ones also so you are familiar with them too? I worked in the ops tower at DEN with some of their ops people and they were all very upbeat. Pilots would often come up and visit and in conversations with them, they (for the most part) seemed up beat. I flew with one of their Brasildo drivers last year and he loved it, but said it was a ton of work and while you are junior, you have no life. I have heard the schedules can get pretty nice after a year or two though depending on when/if you decide to upgrade. Don't go into it with the plan to get some quick turbine time and go somewhere else though. I hear they have you under contract for 15 months or else you end up owing some serious cash if you leave for another airline. What kind of hours do you have? Trying to find out what I need to aim for? Good luck, I hope it works out for you!

January 17th, 2005, 02:25	#4
dgRoot Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Above Colorado Posts: 90	Re: Great Lakes I think they do interview sim checks in a PCAD sim with a Barron profile. Usually approaches into Cheyenne. Also, you are correct about the 15 month contract. They do require you to sign and pay if you want out early. Some recent friends that have been hired have had at least 100 hours of multi, but I've heard they hire with less occationally. 500tt 100 multi will probably get you in the door. -Dave

January 17th, 2005, 10:43	#5
Timbuff10 Old Skool Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Coloradan in Orange County, CA Posts: 3,235	Re: Great Lakes Yeah, it would be tough living on their salary considering the amount of work you have to put in and the low quality of life you would have to deal with in terms of being gone so much. I am sure the most junior folks will be spending many nights away from Denver. I also image that the essence of their business is to pretty much have every plane available flying as early as possible from all their cities so they can have the pax into DEN so they can catch the first flights in the mornings to wherever they are going. That probably means alot of mornings up at 3 for a 4 am at the hotel for show time and a 5 or 6 am departure so those pax can get into DIA for their 8 am flights to whatever coast they are going to. I think I might just want to find a good instructor job here in Denver and and stay there for a long time and enjoy flying during normal hours

January 17th, 2005, 20:34	#6
gomntwins Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: South Dakota Posts: 489	Re: Great Lakes [ QUOTE ] Some recent friends that have been hired have had at least 100 hours of multi, but I've heard they hire with less occationally. 500tt 100 multi will probably get you in the door. -Dave [/ QUOTE ] I've got over 500tt and 120 multi... should I send them my resume? I was always under the impression that you really need a connection there to walk in your resume for you before you have a shot... any truth to that?

January 17th, 2005, 22:19	#7
kellwolf Old Skool Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Memphis, TN Posts: 13,870	Re: Great Lakes [ QUOTE ] I've got over 500tt and 120 multi... should I send them my resume? [/ QUOTE ] If it were me, I'd send it. I'd also send it to XJT, Pinnacle and Mesaba. Mult time is golden for the most part, and anything over 500 TT at the regional level at least gets glanced at. It's not like an airline will blackball you for sending in your resume too early.

January 18th, 2005, 02:03	#8
stuckingfk Old Skool Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: El Forko Grande Posts: 2,605	Re: Great Lakes [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] I've got over 500tt and 120 multi... should I send them my resume? [/ QUOTE ] If it were me, I'd send it. I'd also send it to XJT, Pinnacle and Mesaba. Mult time is golden for the most part, and anything over 500 TT at the regional level at least gets glanced at. It's not like an airline will blackball you for sending in your resume too early. [/ QUOTE ] I've heard that Pinnacle requires 1500tt and 300 mulit, which they are firm on. Anyone from Pinnacle feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

January 18th, 2005, 10:57	#9
Jason Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 1,007	Re: Great Lakes [ QUOTE ] Yeah, it would be tough living on their salary considering the amount of work you have to put in and the low quality of life you would have to deal with in terms of being gone so much. I am sure the most junior folks will be spending many nights away from Denver. I also image that the essence of their business is to pretty much have every plane available flying as early as possible from all their cities so they can have the pax into DEN so they can catch the first flights in the mornings to wherever they are going. That probably means alot of mornings up at 3 for a 4 am at the hotel for show time and a 5 or 6 am departure so those pax can get into DIA for their 8 am flights to whatever coast they are going to. I think I might just want to find a good instructor job here in Denver and and stay there for a long time and enjoy flying during normal hours [/ QUOTE ] Hate to break the news but that pretty much describes life as a low seniority FO at any regional - not just Lakes. I've had friends fly there and yeah life could be better but it's no worse than anywhere else - especially for someone that likes living in the western US. Yes, Pinnacle I believe is now requiring 1500/300 if I'm not mistaken. They do hire people with less hours but only if you come thru Gulfstream. Jason

January 18th, 2005, 11:26	#10
Timbuff10 Old Skool Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Coloradan in Orange County, CA Posts: 3,235	Re: Great Lakes I was just suggesting that at lakes because you will most likely be flying the beech 1900 that does not have a lav, your trips will typically be shorter than the average RJ trip. I figure this means you will probably have to do more flights in the typical day which leads to more waiting time between flights thus a longer day. If an airline is trying to get 8 hours of flying out of you in a day you could fly 16 half hour flights as opposed to 4 or 5 one and a half hour flights. Now if they had a punch clock at the airport and you got paid like a normal employee then that would be great but since you only get paid when the props are turning it can be a rough deal for the pilot. Does anyone know the rules about this? There has to be some limitation as to how long as pilot can be on duty during a day?

January 18th, 2005, 12:04	#11
RPM Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: LAX Posts: 658	Re: Great Lakes Ist year FO, $15.30 an hour and $1 hr per diem Here is a typical lakes schedule, lakes does mostly 4 and 5 day trips: BE1 Pairings DAY DH C FLTNO DPS-ARS DEPL ARRL BLKT SEGT RNT TBLK TCRD LAYOVER MO 5114 DEN-CDR 1134 1239 105 105 MO 5114 CDR-AIA 1259 1324 25 27 MO 5114 AIA-DEN 1334 1430 56 57 MO 5023 DEN-MCK 1518 1719 101 105 10 MO 5016 MCK-DEN 1729 1730 101 105 330 MO 5045 DEN-GCC 2100 2224 124 126 552 605 1116 D-END: 2239L (NR 900) REPT: 0955L CLARION (307) 686-3000 SHUTTLE TU 5173 GCC-DEN 1055 1220 125 127 110 TU 5019 DEN-CYS 1330 1409 39 41 11 TU 5019 CYS-WRL 1420 1524 104 104 16 TU 5024 WRL-CYS 1540 1644 104 104 11 TU 5024 CYS-DEN 1655 1733 38 43 332 TU 5109 DEN-CEZ 2105 2225 120 123 610 622 1637 D-END: 2240L (NR 900) REPT: 1517L COMFORT INN (970) 565-3400 SHUTTLE WE 5104 CEZ-DEN 1617 1730 113 114 242 WE 5059 DEN-ALS 2012 2110 58 58 211 212 950 D-END: 2125L (NR 900) REPT: 0715L GRIZZLY INN (719) 589-4788 TH 5054 ALS-DEN 0815 0915 100 101 215 TH 5177 DEN-FMN 1130 1255 125 124 15 TH 5177 FMN-PGA 1310 1400 50 50 10 TH 5177 PGA-PHX 1410 1525 115 119 355 TH 5179 PHX-PGA 1920 2032 112 114 542 548 943 D-END: 2047L (NR 900) REPT: 0630L B.W. ARIZONA INN (928) 645-2466 FR 5176 PGA-PHX 0730 0845 115 119 140 FR 5178 PHX-PGA 1025 1137 112 114 13 FR 5178 PGA-FMN 1150 1240 50 50 20 FR 5178 FMN-DEN 1300 1420 120 125 100 FR 5101 DEN-BFF 1520 1613 53 55 20 FR 5102 BFF-DEN 1633 1728 55 103 625 646 1113 D-END: 1743L -------------------- TOTALS BLOCK 2620 DHD 0 CREDIT 2713 T.A.F.B. 10309 SU 5183 DEN-SAF 1430 1551 121 125 SU 5182 SAF-DEN 1606 1730 124 126 SU 5069 DEN-HYS 1900 2116 116 118 401 409 1714 D-END: 2131L (NR 900) REPT: 1445L HOLIDAY INN (785) 625-7371 MO 5068 HYS-DEN 1545 1610 125 127 455 MO 5109 DEN-CEZ 2105 2225 120 123 245 250 1637 D-END: 2240L (NR 900) REPT: 1517L COMFORT INN (970) 565-3400 SHUTTLE TU 5104 CEZ-DEN 1617 1730 113 114 130 TU 5069 DEN-HYS 1900 2116 116 118 229 232 1714 D-END: 2131L (NR 900) REPT: 1445L HOLIDAY INN (785) 625-7371 WE 5068 HYS-DEN 1545 1610 125 127 240 WE 5005 DEN-EAR 1850 2106 116 119 241 246 905 D-END: 2121L (NR 900) REPT: 0626L WINGATE INN (308) 237-4400 SHUTTLE TH 5000 EAR-DEN 0726 0750 124 130 100 TH 5111 DEN-RKS 0850 1010 120 126 15 TH 5112 RKS-DEN 1025 1132 107 112 351 408 621 D-END: 1147L -------------------------------------- TOTALS BLOCK 1547 DHD 0 CREDIT 1625 T.A.F.B. 9417 --------------------------------------------------------------------------

January 18th, 2005, 17:33	#12
kellwolf Old Skool Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Memphis, TN Posts: 13,870	Re: Great Lakes Yeah, after looking at that Mesa doesn't seem so bad......

January 19th, 2005, 00:29	#13
Timbuff10 Old Skool Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Coloradan in Orange County, CA Posts: 3,235	Re: Great Lakes wow, so 5 days on and then 1 day off and then you go back for a 5 day trip again... I figured you would get 2 or 3 days off between trips?

January 19th, 2005, 13:04	#14
junior Senior Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: CO Posts: 427	Re: Great Lakes I've heard that sometimes you get 8 days on and 1 day off at Lakes. I know a bunch of people who have gone to lakes and ended up leaving because it is such a crappy job. Some of the hardest training out there, they work you like a dog, you are NEVER home, and you get paid $15.00 dollars an hour. no thanks.

January 19th, 2005, 15:50	#15
RPM Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: LAX Posts: 658	Re: Great Lakes but look at the bright side...the new TA proposed a whopping .50 cent/hr raise and a perdiem increase from $1 all the way up to $1.03....yes, you read that correct, 3 whole cents per hour! It took 4 years of negotiations for that! ...what a joke all this with 8 or 10 days off a month if your lucky and no work rules

January 19th, 2005, 16:33	#16
mtsu_av8er Old Skool Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Utopia Posts: 12,567	Re: Great Lakes Are you slack jaws in this to fly or sit at home on your days off??

January 20th, 2005, 00:25	#17
Timbuff10 Old Skool Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Coloradan in Orange County, CA Posts: 3,235	Re: Great Lakes [ QUOTE ] Are you slack jaws in this to fly or sit at home on your days off?? [/ QUOTE ] I could care less about sitting at home on my days off, I live in Colorado and want to go play in the mountains!

January 20th, 2005, 11:02	#18
fly22 Old Skool Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: UT, SLC Posts: 1,572	Re: Great Lakes Whats the best schedule they have look like?

January 20th, 2005, 12:56	#19
QXDVR Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Colorado Posts: 112	Re: Great Lakes [/ QUOTE ] Hate to break the news but that pretty much describes life as a low seniority FO at any regional - not just Lakes. I've had friends fly there and yeah life could be better but it's no worse than anywhere else - especially for someone that likes living in the western US. Jason [/ QUOTE ] I don't think that applies to everyone. I'll agree that there are alot of crappy low paying jobs out there but if you play your cards right you can get into a good company that treats their employees with respect as well as paying a decent wage.

January 20th, 2005, 14:25	#20
kellwolf Old Skool Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Memphis, TN Posts: 13,870	Re: Great Lakes [ QUOTE ] Are you slack jaws in this to fly or sit at home on your days off?? [/ QUOTE ] Well, fly. But there are limits to the amount of abuse I'm willing to take.

January 22nd, 2005, 16:21	#21
mtsu_av8er Old Skool Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Utopia Posts: 12,567	Re: Great Lakes [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] Are you slack jaws in this to fly or sit at home on your days off?? [/ QUOTE ] Well, fly. But there are limits to the amount of abuse I'm willing to take. [/ QUOTE ] I can dig that... My limits are pretty high, though...lol.

January 22nd, 2005, 16:49	#22
dgRoot Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Above Colorado Posts: 90	Re: Great Lakes Yeah, it's a choice you have to make. Try to wait a little longer and get into a CRJ, or hit great lakes and try to upgrade fast... The new rumors this week are that Lakes is still on the prowl for pilots. Even looking for pretty low time guys/gals. I guess they've picked up a couple more routes and really need pilots.

January 22nd, 2005, 20:10	#23
kellwolf Old Skool Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Memphis, TN Posts: 13,870	Re: Great Lakes [ QUOTE ] Yeah, it's a choice you have to make. Try to wait a little longer and get into a CRJ, or hit great lakes and try to upgrade fast... [/ QUOTE ] Honestly, I think I'd rather have the QoL of a CFI than the QoL of a Great Lakes pilot. I'm not too keen on CO, so that's working against it, too. For about the same amount of money (or more depending on how many students I'd have at the time) I could spend more time with my wife and kid, plus have TWO days off a week. Now, if I were single, it might be a different story......

January 22nd, 2005, 21:03	#24
Kingairer Old Skool Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Nomadic...World Wide Boobie Bungalow Bouncer Posts: 3,190	Re: Great Lakes Im inclined to agree Kell. There is something to be said for being home everynite, and i would guess the Wages are similar. Rewind 2 years ago, and I probably would be singing a different tune as I was ready to get on with any regional. I think youd be better off waiting another 6 months and getting on with someone else. Glakes pay doesnt get much better as you go up, they dont seem to really be adapting to the new atmosphere of flying (RJs), EAS flying, etc etc. You go there and you're going to be hating it for years, or doing a later move in another 15 months comes up.

January 22nd, 2005, 23:03	#25
Timbuff10 Old Skool Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Coloradan in Orange County, CA Posts: 3,235	Re: Great Lakes Yeah, quality of life is a HUGE issue for me, I want to have a reasonable amount of family time and I want to live in Colorado for as long as possible. I don't care what anyone says, we have better weather than anywhere else in the country as Boulder is second only to San Diego in terms of sunny days per year. The thing that gets me is why can't these regionals get their schedules to the point where pilots can go on a 2-4 day trip and then have 1-3 days off? When I was working at Frontier they seemed to be able to keep the pilots fairly happy with their schedules. It just seems that if you take care of your employees they will take care of you in the end and you won't have the problem of people fleeing when their "contract" is up? I don't know, that's just me looking into the fishbowl from the outside. Who knows, that may be the worst ZK schedule ever found up there? Maybe they are better than that usually?

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