Air Sprint Questions

[Kardow]

Hi, just wondering if you will still be hiring in the next few months? I have 3500 hours with 1000h PIC on 705 aircraft. Thank you!

[AirSprintInc]

Hi, just wondering if you will still be hiring in the next few months? I have 3500 hours with 1000h PIC on 705 aircraft. Thank you!

Good Morning Kardow,

We do forecast additional hiring in the coming months so if you are interested in joining AirSprint I encourage you to submit a resume to careers@airsprint.com or you can send it directly to me at mnr@airsprint.com.

In addition, should you have any questions please don't hesitate to reach out to me.

I hope you have a pleasant weekend!

Kind Regards,

Matt Rolleman
Chief Pilot C25A/B
AirSprint Inc.

[pilot96140]

Hi Guys,

I noticed that the requirements for an FO are pretty high, does anyone know if Air Sprint has been hiring below their minimums posted? The company sounds very transparent with a decent work life balance, it's definitely spiked my interest in applying.

Thanks

[AirSprintInc]

Hi Guys,

I noticed that the requirements for an FO are pretty high, does anyone know if Air Sprint has been hiring below their minimums posted? The company sounds very transparent with a decent work life balance, it's definitely spiked my interest in applying.

Thanks

Hi Pilot96140,

Thank you for your interest in AirSprint! We do occasionally hire below the stated minimums depending on previous experience or if there is an internal recommend involved, but we do try to stay fairly close to them as much as possible. That said, I always encourage everyone to apply if you are interested in working with us, no matter what your experience level is. It shows interest in the company and sometimes it's a matter of right place, right time

Feel free to reach out to me directly with your details if you like at mnr@airsprint.com, otherwise you can forward your resume to careers@airsprint.com and I will receive it that way too.

Kind Regards,

Matt Rolleman
Chief Pilot C25A/B

[780Pilot]

Anyone know the typical upgrade time for a FO to get Captaincy???

[digits_]

Anyone know the typical upgrade time for a FO to get Captaincy???

One year per superfluous question mark.

[AirSprintInc]

Anyone know the typical upgrade time for a FO to get Captaincy???

Hi 780Pilot,

For the Citation fleet I am forecasting approximately 2 years, it could be a little bit more or less depending on where you are based. This is what we are currently seeing and is subject to change as a result of several factors such as growth, attrition, etc.

Feel free to contact me directly at mnr@airsprint.com if you would like additional information!

Kind Regards,
Matt Rolleman
Chief Pilot C25A/B
AirSprint Inc.

[ehv8oar]

Hi Matt,

Just wondering if it would be possible (feasible) to work at AirSprint at yyz or yul and commute from Halifax?

[AirSprintInc]

Hi Matt,

Just wondering if it would be possible (feasible) to work at AirSprint at yyz or yul and commute from Halifax?

Hi ehv8oar,

Currently our only policy is that you are able to report to your home base airport within 90 minutes of receiving a phone call do so when you are on reserve. And while we don't have a policy one way or the other on commuting, I cannot in good conscience recommend it due to the expense (we do not have any agreements in place with any airlines) and the additional time involved to position back and forth on your days off.

Let me know if you have any additional questions!

Kind Regards,

Matt Rolleman
Chief Pilot C25A/B
AirSprint Inc.

[Radiohead]

Hi Matt,

Just wondering if it would be possible (feasible) to work at AirSprint at yyz or yul and commute from Halifax?

Halifax was on the original list of potential secondary bases that was floated by management when they were first considering the idea and surveying the pilots, but mostly only western cities made the final cut besides Quebec City and the later-addition of Ottawa once the ridiculousness of its exclusion was mentioned.

Maybe if you ask sweetly enough they will make an exception?

[AirSprintInc]

Hello ehv8oar,

The current list of approved base airports is CYYJ, CYVR, CYLW, CYYC, CYEG, CYWG, CYYZ, CYOW, CYUL, CYQB, and CYFC. The airports are selected by looking at how many clients are based in the cities, how often we fly to those particular locations, and the feasibility of positioning pilots in and out of those locations for flight assignments. Using some calculations and spreadsheet wizardry we have developed a system what accurately predicts the required number of pilots at each location. Ottawa has always been an approved airport since the secondary base structure was brought in last year.

We're not setup to commute pilots, but CYHZ is not out of the question as a secondary base. We had originally looked at it but had no pilot demand for the location. In short, it is definitely something we can talk about.

Cheers,

Adam

[Radiohead]

Ottawa has always been an approved airport since the secondary base structure was brought in last year.

To be fair, Adam, the original announcement of secondary bases did not include Ottawa, the announcement was amended about a week later to include YOW.

Probably a moot point, since the announcement preceded the implementation of the secondary base structure, and in that sense it was "always" part of the secondary base structure upon implementation, but it was not on the "original" list of secondary bases.

['97 Tercel]

What? I'll need my lawyer to read that over

[AirSprint HR]

Ottawa has always been an approved airport since the secondary base structure was brought in last year.

To be fair, Adam, the original announcement of secondary bases did not include Ottawa, the announcement was amended about a week later to include YOW.

Probably a moot point, since the announcement preceded the implementation of the secondary base structure, and in that sense it was "always" part of the secondary base structure upon implementation, but it was not on the "original" list of secondary bases.

Hi radio,

Seeing as I was part of the conversation with regards to the secondary bases and you have brought Ottawa up a few times I figured I would clarify what happened. If memory serves me correctly the conversation went like this:

Adam: Hey James, we forgot to include Ottawa on the secondary base list, you're good with it right?
James: Yep.
Adam: Ok, I'll update the list.

Ottawa was omitted but it was never rejected. AirSprint's first ever base east of Calgary was in Ottawa and we had pilots living out of Ottawa for around 8 years between 2000 and 2015.

Hope this clarifies it.

James

[ehv8oar]

Hey Adam, just sent you a PM.

[Mr. T]

Hi guys,

Going through the handbook (which is great to see publicly), i was looking towards the benefit side of things. If I understand correct, on year 6, AS takes care of 100% of the cost of benefits for pilots, is that correct? Up to that point, guys pay a percentage? Does that percentage decrease with annually up to year 6? What about a health spending account for things outside of the normal scope, like laser eye surgery? Does it accumulate if not used?

Retirement, Rsp’s. Not sure if there is a mistake here or i misread it, but looks like company match to only 1% of a pilots wage, increasing to 5% on year 5, but kept in a separate account (no gaining interest) until year 6, when you get a lump sum finally given to you, or if you leave prior you’ve lost out and they keep their bit..is that correct?

Then it stays at 5% (pilot can do more, but thats it from a company perspective). I don’t want to sound chintzy, but I’ve worked at 703 op’s that will invest much more than that (8-12% company match not uncommon, more in the airline’s, which are more career oriented), so when i read that about this career company, it strikes me as quite odd/falling very short. Perhaps i am not getting the whole story (Maybe company shares or something vested to make up for it on the other side?)

Finally, is there any sort of union or pilot association within the group to bring info/grievances to management at all?

Thanks.

Tom

[Blueontop]

Hi guys,

Going through the handbook (which is great to see publicly), i was looking towards the benefit side of things. If I understand correct, on year 6, AS takes care of 100% of the cost of benefits for pilots, is that correct? Up to that point, guys pay a percentage? Does that percentage decrease with annually up to year 6? What about a health spending account for things outside of the normal scope, like laser eye surgery? Does it accumulate if not used?

Retirement, Rsp’s. Not sure if there is a mistake here or i misread it, but looks like company match to only 1% of a pilots wage, increasing to 5% on year 5, but kept in a separate account (no gaining interest) until year 6, when you get a lump sum finally given to you, or if you leave prior you’ve lost out and they keep their bit..is that correct?

Then it stays at 5% (pilot can do more, but thats it from a company perspective). I don’t want to sound chintzy, but I’ve worked at 703 op’s that will invest much more than that (8-12% company match not uncommon, more in the airline’s, which are more career oriented), so when i read that about this career company, it strikes me as quite odd/falling very short. Perhaps i am not getting the whole story (Maybe company shares or something vested to make up for it on the other side?)

Finally, is there any sort of union or pilot association within the group to bring info/grievances to management at all?

Thanks.

Tom

Almost 2 weeks and no reply.... hmmmm might have hit a a sore spot, usually airsprint is on top of these forums

[AirSprint HR]

Hi guys,

Going through the handbook (which is great to see publicly), i was looking towards the benefit side of things. If I understand correct, on year 6, AS takes care of 100% of the cost of benefits for pilots, is that correct? Up to that point, guys pay a percentage? Does that percentage decrease with annually up to year 6? What about a health spending account for things outside of the normal scope, like laser eye surgery? Does it accumulate if not used?

Retirement, Rsp’s. Not sure if there is a mistake here or i misread it, but looks like company match to only 1% of a pilots wage, increasing to 5% on year 5, but kept in a separate account (no gaining interest) until year 6, when you get a lump sum finally given to you, or if you leave prior you’ve lost out and they keep their bit..is that correct?

Then it stays at 5% (pilot can do more, but thats it from a company perspective). I don’t want to sound chintzy, but I’ve worked at 703 op’s that will invest much more than that (8-12% company match not uncommon, more in the airline’s, which are more career oriented), so when i read that about this career company, it strikes me as quite odd/falling very short. Perhaps i am not getting the whole story (Maybe company shares or something vested to make up for it on the other side?)

Finally, is there any sort of union or pilot association within the group to bring info/grievances to management at all?

Thanks.

Tom

Almost 2 weeks and no reply.... hmmmm might have hit a a sore spot, usually airsprint is on top of these forums

Believe it or not, sometimes we just miss avcanada updates! A little office renovation, another new Legacy 450 and budget season will do that.

Tom, a few quick answers for you:

AirSprint's approach over the last decade has been to make improvements to wages, benefits, and working conditions in line with the continued success and growth of the company. As part of this approach, management regularly surveys pilots (and other teams) to understand where they would like the next improvements to occur. The RRSP contribution amount has never ranked high compared to other items. As an example, 2018 saw the introduction of significant wages increases, an extra 30 days off per year (requiring several new pilots hired to accommodate), and groomers and flight support personnel to help make the job easier. We could have provided a different balance with greater RRSP contribution and less elsewhere but that was not where the desire was indicated.

I'll leave it to Adam or Matt to reply regarding the details of how the health care spending account and benefit percentages work. I don't have the details with me and I would probably mess up the explanation anyways.

As a note, the executive team including myself (President) have the same benefits and RRSP contribution policies as the pilot group. Everyone in the company would all like to see it be greater but the desire has been elsewhere. All of our improvements come when we can ensure that they will not be short term and as such we feel that there is no better job security in Canada for flying a business jet than with AirSprint. An example of this is the significant growth and subsequent investment in the pilot group that the company has made over the last few years (while having lots of exposure to a struggling Alberta economy).

Regarding grievances, I would like to think that our management team does a pretty good job (we could always be better) of encouraging open communication and there are many means, including anonymous ones, for the team to share their thoughts.

Regards,

James Elian

[AirSprintInc]

Hi guys,

Going through the handbook (which is great to see publicly), i was looking towards the benefit side of things. If I understand correct, on year 6, AS takes care of 100% of the cost of benefits for pilots, is that correct? Up to that point, guys pay a percentage? Does that percentage decrease with annually up to year 6? What about a health spending account for things outside of the normal scope, like laser eye surgery? Does it accumulate if not used?

Retirement, Rsp’s. Not sure if there is a mistake here or i misread it, but looks like company match to only 1% of a pilots wage, increasing to 5% on year 5, but kept in a separate account (no gaining interest) until year 6, when you get a lump sum finally given to you, or if you leave prior you’ve lost out and they keep their bit..is that correct?

Then it stays at 5% (pilot can do more, but thats it from a company perspective). I don’t want to sound chintzy, but I’ve worked at 703 op’s that will invest much more than that (8-12% company match not uncommon, more in the airline’s, which are more career oriented), so when i read that about this career company, it strikes me as quite odd/falling very short. Perhaps i am not getting the whole story (Maybe company shares or something vested to make up for it on the other side?)

Finally, is there any sort of union or pilot association within the group to bring info/grievances to management at all?

Thanks.

Tom

Hi Tom,

Thank you for your interest in AirSprint and I apologize for the tardy response, I was on vacation for the past few weeks and just returned. It looks like James has already responded to most of your questions but I can provide some clarification on the benefit side of things;
After 5 years of employment with AirSprint, the Company does pay for 100% of the Health and Dental premium, prior to reaching that anniversary, the company pays 75%, with the remainder coming from the individual. The Health Care Spending Account has a $500 dollar annual value (January - December) and can be accessed following 3 months of continuous employment. Any medical expenses that the CRA deems as "eligible medical expenses" can be claimed through the account, and after a quick search on the CRA website, it would appear that Laser Eye Surgery would indeed qualify. A full list of eligible expenses can be found by using the search tool on the CRA website located here: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency ... #mdcl_xpns

I hope that clarifies our benefits somewhat but would be happy to answer any additional questions you may have. Feel free to reach me directly via email at mnr@airsprint.com.

Kind Regards,
Matt Rolleman
Chief Pilot C25A/B
AirSprint Inc.

[Freeport_Flyer]

Question about the latest job ad:

Tagged as Citation FOs but ad text talks about the need for FOs and Capts for Jet aircraft. No mins listed for DECs. Can anyone clarify if this is just a cut and paste error or are they looking for CJ and Legacy crews?

Cheers,