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Another lame which airline? AW or Comair

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avrodriver

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Joined
Jan 31, 2002
Posts
415
I always used to hate seeing....."Which airline do you think I should go to?" threads, but I find myself spending all my freetime daydreaming about which is the right move and if anyone else had any constructive thoughts (instead of getting flamed) I would love to hear them. I've been at my current carrier for 2 1/2 years now and have decided it's time to go. I've been fortunate enough to have been hired at AW and anticipate being in class Feb 3rd, meanwhile I also have a Comair interview this week and from a buddy of mine's experience the days of waiting for a class date there are over (Interviewed 3rd week of DEC, scheduled for class 3rd week of JAN) and if I get hired I know that I better start thinking about my decision now. Both companies have decent contracts, both are growing pilot wise (AW currently 700 pilots adding revised nunber of 170 newhires in 03 means 24% more pilots, Comair currently 1600 pilots....350 newhires in 03 means 22% more), both fly coast to coast, both offer a/c larger than a 50 seater. Where I'm based isn't an issue for me (although I do like the diversity of bases AW offers). What I fly isn't an issue either......just want to go to the best company. AW feels right, but Comair offers alot of security. Anyway, I'd be glad to hear your thoughts......good luck to all. C-ya AD.
 
I can't tell you first hand who has a better contract because that is something I have no idea about. I have alot of friends who fly for Comair. Every single one of them loves it. Cincinnati is not a bad town considering it is cheap to live here and there is plenty to do. The only word of caution I can give you is that Comair is owned by Delta. If history repeats itself like Eagle, Piedmont, PSA, etc... Then it might end up being a bad place to work in the future. Also I have many friends who fly for Delta and many of them want to see Comair burn. . The funny thing about that is one is a former Comair pilot. This couuld cause some problems if you want to fly for DAL in the future. As for Air Whiskey, seems like a top notch company.

My guess is in todays market you can't go wrong with either.
 
Go with the airline that you wouldn't have to commute, or that has crew bases where you want to live.
 
You're in a great situation.
Sounds like you're not too concerned with domicile lcoations. Commuting really sucks so keep in mind that domicile location could be a critical factor later.
If it was me I'd probably stick with AW. I like the fact that they are not owned by a major. They have excellent future earning potential and I think they might have a better retirement package than Comair. The only downside is that they are tied to UAL which my be a sinking ship. At least they are starting to codeshare with a LCC and could potentially shift some flying in that direction if UAL starts giving away some of their business to a bottom feeder.
 
If I had a job and wasn't in a big hurry, I'd go with Air Willy.
Great contract and big growth coming.
 
Reply

Avro,

I'm in the same situation you're in. I work for a wholly-owned regional, Piedmont, have been hired by AW, and am expecting a call within the next week or two with a class date.

As far as the Comair situation, definately go to the interview, see what your impressions of the company are, then when they hire you worry about what to do at that point. I've found that spending all of this time worrying about what if, what if, does nothing but give me ulcers. Don't worry about it until you come to that bridge...

On a happier note I've heard that management at AW had the official meeting today to determine the direction the company will be taking during the next several months regarding pilot hiring. From what I've heard the Feb class should happen but I also heard that about the Jan class so all we can do is wait until next week and see. Hope this helps,

Titan
 
I would say Air Whiskey as long as you are sure they are going to hire you. I was in the same situation last year with ACA vs. AW. AW drained the pool. and I haven't heard from them sense. Make sure you have a job before you turn comair down.
 
I would take AW. Comair and the whole Delta thing...

AW can be a little more versatile as the aviation industry changes, Comair is governed by Delta.

Good luck!
 
I'm not sure what you guys mean by the whole "Delta" thing, but I see it as an advantage. Delta is one of the best and strongest major airlines, and they treat us pretty well. I havn't met one Delta pilot who "wants to see Comair burn," and I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that.

One thing that Comair has that many airlines don't is a will to fight. I think the main reason nothing like Eagle or Piedmont problems will happen here is that we are willing to take our union to court to prevent such things. I have worked for wholly owned regionals and independent codeshare regionals and I would choose the wholly owned. I honestly don't know much about AW, but I hear it's a good company, so I don't think you can go wrong with either choice. Good luck to you.
 
Thanks

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I went ahead and went to the Comair interview and it went very well. Very impressed by the GO and all the people I met, very awesome company. I still have no clue what to do, but guess I'll decide when I have to. KSwift, I'm not sure if you took the job at ACA, but I'll tell you I know for sure Air Wis was reinterviewing all the guys that were in the pool and a buddy of mine was among the first to get hired.

On a seperate topic I want to warn people about drinking the kool aid that some companies may be trying to serve you. Be realistic in what to expect as you sign up with carriers or make the switch from your current carrier to another. One thing I was not buying that Comair was trying to sell me on was that the upgrade should be around 2 years. I did a little math of my own and herewhat I came up with assuming the current rate of growth remains where it is today

Today 1,600
1 year 1,600 + 300 = 1900 puts you 16% of the way up the list
2 year 1,900 + 300 = 2100 24% of the way up
3 year 2,100+ 300 = 2400 38% of the way up
4 year 2,400+ 300 = 2700 44%
5 year 2,700+ 300 = 3000 50%

Ok, so that was with 0% attrition, so I added a reasonable figure of about 8 guys/gals a month leaving due to retiring or being lucky enough to find a job at the next level. These are the numbers

1 year 20% of the way up
2 year 37% of the way up
3 year 49% of the way so maybe you'd be seeing an up grade about then, but that is assuming that Comair continues to take 3 planes a month for the next 3 years and continues to hire 300 pilots a year, and about 96 leave a year.

It's not all about upgrade, and lord knows with nobody moving right now you're going to be lucky to find some place that can give it to you in a decent amount of time. I think 3-4 years is a decent amount of time to be expecting an upgrade the way the market is, I'm just warning people of believing everything you hear when your shopping jobs, either that or I'm just rambling about something that probably means absolutely nothing to everyone else. In conclusion, if your like me take a good hard look at where you might be at your current company and see where you might be in 3 or 4 years before you leave. As for me I'm tired of making $26 an hour as a 3rd year f/o at what my mgmt tells me is a world class airline, and for those of you who tell me a new contract and a raise is on the way well maybe I'm just sick of working for these ass h*les and have no interest in helping the little pricks make a buck even after I beg and plead for something we deserved a heck of a long time ago. C-ya AD
 

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