Thunder airlines

avi8tr78 · Post by **avi8tr78** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 12:39 pm

Got an interview with Thunder. Any info on the company would be great. Especially interview questions, pay, lifestyle....etc

Thanks

hazatude · Post by **hazatude** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 1:37 pm

Hot CSR there I've heard...

flyinhigh · Post by **flyinhigh** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 2:24 pm

avi8tr78 wrote:Got an interview with Thunder. Any info on the company would be great. Especially interview questions, pay, lifestyle....etc

Thanks

What is your interview for? Kingair/mu2/Van, rampie

As for the company, well if you got an interview than your pre-hire package is what you'll get.
Planes are extremely well maintained, if we have any issues it is taken care of right away, The pay for a first year captain is around 47-52K depending on how hard we work. And well for lifestyle.

http://www.avcanada.ca/forums2/viewtopi ... r+airlines

Scroll down to sulako's post, its bang on except for a few things. The upgrade is down to 8K on the Mu2 over one year. All contracts are now promisary notes.
FO's are now paid .02 cents a mile from the get go.

bandit1 · Post by **bandit1** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 2:29 pm

what exactly is the difference between a contract and promissary note? Sorry a little off the subject of Thunder. oh well

superiorwhore · Post by **superiorwhore** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 2:32 pm

No difference there a promisary note is a contract.
Difference is training bond your up front, promisary note is just word on paper,

uber pilot · Post by **uber pilot** » Sun Aug 06, 2006 11:01 pm

Someone wrote top notch maint on planes????? you on crack?? When Bob Mackie merged with Samaritan, the maint issues put both companies under!!! Heard the pilots need to offer sex, first born or both. STay away.......danger,,,danger will robinson??

bcflyer · Post by **bcflyer** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 2:25 am

I worked there for 5 yrs and not ONCE did I have a problem with maint. Not sure which company you think went under but Air Med was bought out by Thunder Airlines, they didn't go under. Not sure what Bob Makie has to do with the maint since Thunder had their own program in place LONG before Bob was in the picture.

Carl · Post by **Carl** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 3:18 am

Hey,

Ever work at WalMart? Well the interview is somwhat similar. Heard things are getting better there now since a bunch of us left a couple of years ago, where there was NO EXTRA MONEY, and the training bonds were increasing in size instead of dropping. Turn off your phone on days off otherwise they will ring it off the hook looking for you to do extra shifts. And just think, they are so hard up for drivers now that they will never turn you down for the position.

flyinhigh · Post by **flyinhigh** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 7:33 am

Uber Pilot
Get your head outta your ass, the maintenance on our aircraft is second to none, they truely do take care of us.
exactly what carl said, except for the phone part, unless they really absolutely need ya they will NOT call, I haven't been called since I've been here on any days off.

Brint · Post by **Brint** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 8:26 am

Is someone actually defending BM?????? What's happening over there?

CAL · Post by **CAL** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 11:18 am

My question would be what is the difference between .02 per mile and .00 per mile....I mean..wtf...oh great now we get .02 from the get go!! yippee! so if you manage to knock of 7thousand miles you get an extra 140 bucks for the month...thats before it is taxed...I dont know how you guys can live off these salaries...

clearmyside · Post by **clearmyside** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 11:55 am

Having worked there Thunder Airlines is an excellent company. Since I left pay has gotten a lot better and I myself made pretty good money there. I worked at every base, even in Pickle Lake when is was in it's last stages.

Maintenance is excellent and their safety culture is second to none in the industry. I have NEVER been questioned by managment for not taking a trip, turning it down, leaving stuff behind, weather etc. In fact B.M backed me up when I had a problem with one of our customers. B.M himself you have to take as he is. I had my fair share of "problems", but nothing that a little respect and honesty can't fix.

If you don't mind living up north then Thunder Airlines will provide you with well maintained airplanes, good pay, benefits and best of all SOP's which are expected to be followed. On my first day with the company the president of the company said to us if we ever break mins etc. we are out the door. That makes your decision easy.

As for pay: base pay went up as far as i know and 2 cents a mile does add up to an extra $2600/year based on only 5000 per payperiod. My worst paycheque had only 3500 miles and the best over 12500 miles on it.
In my first year with the company I was third from the top when it came to miles flown and I did that flying their slowest machine. I don't think you'll ever fly less than a minimum of 130000 miles/year, unless based in Sudbury.

Red1 · Post by **Red1** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 12:01 pm

It is what it is. Not great, not bad, a descent place to get some turbine time.

Bede · Post by **Bede** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 1:16 pm

I was there for three and a half years. I was always treated well. Good schedule (for 703). I only got called once to work on my days off and it was completely optional and pay was at time and a half.

The MU2 flying is better than the King Air (more flying less holding).

Upgrade is reasonably quick.

Pay for FO stinks (when I was an FO), captain is good pay.

The two downsides are: 1) ownership does not believe in painting or doing interiors
2) very little communication from the top (ownership), so you're never quite sure if there's any sort of a plan (I hunch is there never was a plan)

I'd go there again in a heartbeat.

avi8tr78 · Post by **avi8tr78** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 1:33 pm

Thanks for the replies. Any further info on the interview process/questions would be appreciated.

nofoodforyou · Post by **nofoodforyou** » Fri Aug 11, 2006 8:13 pm

I agree with Bede,

The interview is pretty straight forward. No tricks, just tring to find out who you are and see if you are interested in their operation.
No technical Q's, no IFR Q's, just PR

Flew the MU2 there, Fun machine, no problem with maintenance and Bede was the best to fly with...

All in all a good company to work for, good planes, good flight training (LM)...was never called on my day off and sometimes knew m sched a day before...

They gave me a job there, and it was a great stepping stone for me; also most guys have moved on to bigger and better...ie Jazz, Canjet, Georgian, skyservice....

hope it helps,
Cheers

uber pilot · Post by **uber pilot** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 2:57 pm

BM sucks and so does LM!!! If you think they are great then you where one of his BITCHES!!! I'm not saying Thunder's maint is bad, I'm saying i Flew MU2's for him at Airmed, and when I was'nt getting turned down for fuel for bad credit, my machine was alway having issues!! other than that, the $24K per year and .08 per mile sucked as well!! If it was soooo good why is everyone at Jazz, AC Sky ect.....
My little bit of slam!

Cat Driver · Post by **Cat Driver** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 3:19 pm

" BM sucks and so does LM!!! "

You got blow jobs in addition to a pay checque?

flyinhigh · Post by **flyinhigh** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 3:38 pm

uber pilot wrote:BM sucks and so does LM!!! If you think they are great then you where one of his BITCHES!!! I'm not saying Thunder's maint is bad, I'm saying i Flew MU2's for him at Airmed, and when I was'nt getting turned down for fuel for bad credit, my machine was alway having issues!! other than that, the $24K per year and .08 per mile sucked as well!! If it was soooo good why is everyone at Jazz, AC Sky ect.....
My little bit of slam!

MMMM, 4 posts and everyone of them is the same oll shit...
Get a life, and why is everyone going to the airlines, cause everyone wants the airlines, nothing to do with management.

superiorwhore · Post by **superiorwhore** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 8:30 pm

your a loser flyinhigh, they treat there guys like shit

uber pilot · Post by **uber pilot** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 9:35 pm

Hey Cat, That's totally funny.................no blow jobs, just small titiie shows!!! WTF is up with the other posts??? Nothing against Thunder, but BM??? What A FU_K!!! He's the resident evil in aviation!! I sure miss the 3am call outs!! or missed approaches into Cat lake and then scudding to somewhere else to get in.....also miss washing planes every Saturday and re-configs after a 15 hr day!! Ho ha!! best thing I miss is the $36K per year as Capt on the MU2 flying like 1000hrs a year on call 24/7!! And for all the bond freaks.....how about giving a company President $8K for your Capt. training for 2 yrs!!!!! I'm sure some idiots will go work there and say its a great go!!! I did!!! @#$! me! Life sure got better after!!
My Bitch for the month!
Sure have used the word bitch alot this last topic!!!hahah!

nofoodforyou · Post by **nofoodforyou** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 9:51 pm

hummm...I guess I could have predicted that...

Everybody can have mixed opinions about a company...now be a bit more objective...In general companies like Thunder Airlines are stepping stones. Some poeple may elect to stay there longer, but most decide to move on to bigger and better.
They don't leave to WS CJA GGN or AC because they don't like their job!!! they leave because it is natural progression in a booming industry and they had to get this kind of experience before moving on.

I personally don't believe they treat poeple bad...their airplanes are well maintained...the training was good and I heard that although the bond is unfortunately still present, some changes have been done...

If you do your job right, then you will stay out of BM office and you won't have to talk to him if you don't like him....period....he is the CP, not your buddy...

So now, I am not here to defend the company or who is running it...because at the end of the day, I don't care about thunder, I don't like the CP and I have my stories there too about some things I didn't like...

but I got to stay objective and not let my past experience there take over the big picture that overall it was an OK company to work for to get the experience needed...you don't have to plan a career there....go there, take what you need, then leave and move on..

cheers....

Flying Low · Post by **Flying Low** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 10:00 am

Well...having worked at Thunder I have heard both the good and bad stories. My experience was positive.

I was hired as an F/O on the MU2 based in YQT. After six months I was upgraded to Captain. I spent another year there before leaving to go to Jazz.

I did my job entirely within the rules (no breaking mins, CARs rest periods, maint issues, etc.). The on call part of the job can be pretty tough at times (the main reason for me to move on). When I left I was making just over 50K as a first year Captain (30K base plus .10 a mile plus $15/hr holding on the ground). I averaged 75 hours a month (900/yr.). Once or twice when I had worked several long odd hour shifts in a row I told dispatch I would need an extra two hours on my rest time due to fatigue and I never heard anything back about this. My decision in this matter was accepted without question.

For those people considering a job at Thunder; make sure you understand what being on call means. While you are on call you are required to be at the airport 30 mins after the page and off the ground 60 mins after the page. This means you will end up carrying your uniform, overnight bag and a lunch with you if you decide to go out. Any plans you make with other people while on call can be interrupted and you will have to drop everything and go flying. For those people who bitch about being on call...don't go to a medevac company...this is the nature of the business.

I enjoyed my time at Thunder. The MU2 is a blast to fly. The variety of flying keeps the job interesting (I have been in Sachigo and a few hours later been in Pearson). I went into the job with my eyes open knowing the rules and the nature of the job (talk to people who fly on call...it may or may not be for you).

If you follow the rules and do your job you won't have to talk to BM much. Although I got along fine with BM my goal was to stay under the radar and not get called into the office.

bcflyer · Post by **bcflyer** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 12:58 pm

Uberpilot. You obviously flew for BM and LM at Airmed. Thunder Airlines IS NOT Airmed. Completely different mentality. I was there when Thunder took them over so I have some idea of what I'm talking about. Unless you have actually worked at Thunder, take you little vendetta against BM and LM somewhere else. This thread is about Thunder Airlines NOT Airmed!!

uber pilot · Post by **uber pilot** » Tue Aug 15, 2006 5:17 am

Hey Bcflyer, I have no vendetta against those freaks the B&L M's! My post although it may appear not, is "beware". Is it not true all pilots took huge pay drops when the M's showed up? is it not true the on call thing went crazy on pagers when the M's showed up. And lastly, does Thunder have any long standing MOH contracts that was suppose to come with the for said M's? I think not. Hopefully, if you where there back at take over, your out to bigger greens! I'm telling it as I've heard things over the years by other pilots in the biz. My point again is look out !! and if your going in, take a good look at the training contract, conditions ect!