Here are 10 good reasons why I'm no longer at Voyageur Airways. These are also good reasons why you too shouldn't be there.
Feel free to add to the list as I'm sure it won't be difficult.
10. Yes, I'll just have the ketchup please, and another round of water for everyone!
9. Promise?, well you meant to say: as soon as convenient for you...
8. Time off?, well you meant to say: as soon as convenient for you...
7. Alcoholism, I wish I could afford the smell of booze!
6. Friends don't let friends drive to North Bay for an interview sober...
5. I'm sorry did everyone else quit?
4. Yes good maintenance, but crappy pay, crappy schedule, crappy location, crappy leadership, crappy, crappy, crappy, what's wrong?
3. A Viking is no better than Batman, sorry the buck stops at the Prick. Insiders will know this one, but the reference is pretty easy to figure out - nuff said.
2. Hick the Prick with a god-complex, please sit down, shut up, and eat MY $*it, a management course for you perhaps?
1. Madmax, seriously, how much of my money is in your pockets?
ADIOS! And seriously do yourselves a favor and stay the f**k away! A horrible place to work! Yes there are worse, but this one is bad enough.
Top 10 reasons I am no longer at Voyageur Airways.
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usernamepilot
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Lloyd Christmas
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bob sacamano
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motionsickness69
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Phileas Fogg
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Lightsaber
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Don't forget those seat changes. Especially the ones where you have to show up an hour prior to a 4.00 a.m. report for a 5.00 a.m. departure.
But on a more serious note, it is easy to understand why there is so much bitterness associated with this company. There is a lot of truth buried in the various Voyageur threads including this one. My intention with this post is not to bash a company I have worked for, but perhaps to shed some light as to why there is so much negativity.
One of the biggest issues is the pay. From personal experience I can tell you that it is very challenging to live on their FO pay of 24K. After I paid for things like rent( not so cheap in North Bay), utilities, student loans, interest on the bond, car insurance and credit card bills, I was left with $277 a month to live on. Things like gas, groceries, clothing and day to day expenses had to come from this. I would pray that my car wouldn't break down as I would have to borrow money to fix it. Now I would have the added problem of fitting the repayment into the budget. She, the car, was a good girl and never let me down by the way. Meanwhile you knew that you were helping the company make a tonne of money. Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with the company making lots of cash, in fact it is a good thing and it is your obligation as an employee to make sure of it, however they were doing in on the backs of dedicated guys and gals that were getting paid considerably below industry standards. No one is asking for big bucks here, just fair wages. To be completely frank, I too am glad that I’m no longer there.
Then there is the issue of treatment. The company would benefit greatly by doing some of the simplest things. Extend your employees the simple courtesies and you would be amazed what you get back in return. For example giving someone a days notice to pack up and move half way around the world just isn’t the way to go. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I could go on with many other examples, but like I said I want this to be constructive.
I hope that all such companies realize that one of their greatest assets are their employees. Keep them happy with the basics and you will reap a gold mine. The fact that they are hurting for pilots has a lot more to do with them as a company than the current boom in the industry. It is time for management to take responsibility and move the show in the right direction.
Hopefully I have provided someone somewhere some perspective!
Cheers!!!
But on a more serious note, it is easy to understand why there is so much bitterness associated with this company. There is a lot of truth buried in the various Voyageur threads including this one. My intention with this post is not to bash a company I have worked for, but perhaps to shed some light as to why there is so much negativity.
One of the biggest issues is the pay. From personal experience I can tell you that it is very challenging to live on their FO pay of 24K. After I paid for things like rent( not so cheap in North Bay), utilities, student loans, interest on the bond, car insurance and credit card bills, I was left with $277 a month to live on. Things like gas, groceries, clothing and day to day expenses had to come from this. I would pray that my car wouldn't break down as I would have to borrow money to fix it. Now I would have the added problem of fitting the repayment into the budget. She, the car, was a good girl and never let me down by the way. Meanwhile you knew that you were helping the company make a tonne of money. Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with the company making lots of cash, in fact it is a good thing and it is your obligation as an employee to make sure of it, however they were doing in on the backs of dedicated guys and gals that were getting paid considerably below industry standards. No one is asking for big bucks here, just fair wages. To be completely frank, I too am glad that I’m no longer there.
Then there is the issue of treatment. The company would benefit greatly by doing some of the simplest things. Extend your employees the simple courtesies and you would be amazed what you get back in return. For example giving someone a days notice to pack up and move half way around the world just isn’t the way to go. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. I could go on with many other examples, but like I said I want this to be constructive.
I hope that all such companies realize that one of their greatest assets are their employees. Keep them happy with the basics and you will reap a gold mine. The fact that they are hurting for pilots has a lot more to do with them as a company than the current boom in the industry. It is time for management to take responsibility and move the show in the right direction.
Hopefully I have provided someone somewhere some perspective!
Cheers!!!
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Justwannafly
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LMAOLloyd Christmas wrote:Just sent them a resume.......keepin my fingers crossed!
I think this is what usernamepilot is trying to say
Voyager has low pay & bad skeds ect...BUT the plus side = they have great safety...high maint & employment standards...However the way the industry is moving these days your going to need more then that. You have to relize that your employees are the cornerstone of your business....
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Lightsaber
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Lightsaber
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I didn't have to spend that much. Not with fine taxpayers like yourself subsidizing my flight training. I went to an Aviation College. HAHAHA!!!altiplano wrote: You spent $50,000! How many hours did it take you? That sounds like a lot or does that include your 737 type rating?
p.s. easy on the submit button there!
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Justwannafly
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hmm unfortunatly I can't express how I feel about your post....mainly because this is a public forum & it has the swear filter turn'd on..Lightsaber wrote:I didn't have to spend that much. Not with fine taxpayers like yourself subsidizing my flight training. I went to an Aviation College. HAHAHA!!!altiplano wrote: You spent $50,000! How many hours did it take you? That sounds like a lot or does that include your 737 type rating?
p.s. easy on the submit button there!
You _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . _ _ _ _
Oh wait no I guess they don't have the swear filter on...oops,
oh well this is still a public forum
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PeteThePilot
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What always amazes me about guys that bitch like this, is the fact that they actually work or worked for these companies. You picked the company, you paid the bond, you moved to YQT or YXL, etc. If you didn't want the job you shouldn't have taken it. If you didn't like the job you should have quit. If you didn't want to move to the Congo you shouldn't have gone. If you still did all these things - then it is you who are to blame not the company(ies). The company is what it is.
If I had a dollar for each of you knuckle heads who bitched about VAL, I could pay off your bond, although I wouldn't because you need to grow up, be men (or women) and take responsibility for your own lives and careers. If you didn't know what the company was like before you got there then you are more of an idiot then you let on.
If I had a dollar for each of you knuckle heads who bitched about VAL, I could pay off your bond, although I wouldn't because you need to grow up, be men (or women) and take responsibility for your own lives and careers. If you didn't know what the company was like before you got there then you are more of an idiot then you let on.
I don't want to thread steal, but $277 a month!! Holy $$$hit, that is great! Wait till you get to the city.
Lets see, my dad always said own instead of rent, so, employer says I should be near airport, so, cheapest house is about $400k, about $2500/month mortgage, lets say $400/month property tax, $400/ utilities, $700/month for car/insurance/gas (no junkers allowed here, gotta keep up with the Joneses), credit card bills are too high to mention here. Let's add it all up. Wow, about $4000/month. So I need to make about $80,000 in the big city in order to get the same $277/month.
If you add a spouse and kid, you could maybe add another $1,000 bucks to that for another vehicle and kids stuff. Working spouse? Don't forget daycare, $1,000. So you could break even if you both made $60,000 a year and had no debt, and didn't eat much.
I guess short term I could save money by renting an apartment or buying a cheaper condo, but that would mean long term alimony and child support payments, so it is a toss up.
Renting out rooms in the house could help. Pilots love flop houses.
In all seriousness, I don't know how the hell anyone can afford a "nice" place in the city, never mind a pilot.
Marry rich I guess.
Lets see, my dad always said own instead of rent, so, employer says I should be near airport, so, cheapest house is about $400k, about $2500/month mortgage, lets say $400/month property tax, $400/ utilities, $700/month for car/insurance/gas (no junkers allowed here, gotta keep up with the Joneses), credit card bills are too high to mention here. Let's add it all up. Wow, about $4000/month. So I need to make about $80,000 in the big city in order to get the same $277/month.
If you add a spouse and kid, you could maybe add another $1,000 bucks to that for another vehicle and kids stuff. Working spouse? Don't forget daycare, $1,000. So you could break even if you both made $60,000 a year and had no debt, and didn't eat much.
I guess short term I could save money by renting an apartment or buying a cheaper condo, but that would mean long term alimony and child support payments, so it is a toss up.
Renting out rooms in the house could help. Pilots love flop houses.
In all seriousness, I don't know how the hell anyone can afford a "nice" place in the city, never mind a pilot.
Marry rich I guess.
Last edited by bezerker on Wed Apr 18, 2007 2:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on
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bornagain1340
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Don't forget about the "uniform bond"...
Go and buy your required uniform, get re-imbursed for half and if you leave before your year is up then you pay it back. But they supply you a "windbreaker" with the company logo on it for flying up the Hudson Bay coast in February (which you also have to pay for if you leave before your year is up).
usernamepilot...welcome back from the darkside
Go and buy your required uniform, get re-imbursed for half and if you leave before your year is up then you pay it back. But they supply you a "windbreaker" with the company logo on it for flying up the Hudson Bay coast in February (which you also have to pay for if you leave before your year is up).
usernamepilot...welcome back from the darkside
Forgot about the uniform bond - got the jacket off my last cheque and I was hired as a contract pilot, ergo bingo, a short period of time! Full price, too - better to have rented one, at least I would have been warm.
And Pete, you might not enjoy the comments but nobody is holding a rolling pin over your head to force you to read them. There is also no logic to working for VAL unless you are starving or need a start in the industry. Why do companies like VAL survive on all this bad feeling? The expectation that they are reasonable to work for arises from the fact that they operate larger aircraft.
And Pete, you might not enjoy the comments but nobody is holding a rolling pin over your head to force you to read them. There is also no logic to working for VAL unless you are starving or need a start in the industry. Why do companies like VAL survive on all this bad feeling? The expectation that they are reasonable to work for arises from the fact that they operate larger aircraft.
"What's it doing now?"
"Fly low and slow and throttle back in the turns."
"Fly low and slow and throttle back in the turns."
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PeteThePilot
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Justwannafly
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Its that big gold/silver watch that they all wear that makes them such great 200hour pilotsAAAME wrote:Makes me feel good that my Taxes are being used to train the cocky little shit how to fly. The only saving grace is, when they come out of school they know everything so it cuts down on training cost.
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Lightsaber
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Lightsaber wrote:I didn't have to spend that much. Not with fine taxpayers like yourself subsidizing my flight training. I went to an Aviation College. HAHHAHA!altiplano wrote: You spent $50,000! How many hours did it take you? That sounds like a lot or does that include your 737 type rating?
Alright everyone relax. My comment above was in response to altiplano. I didn't like the insinuation and fired back with an appropriate response. Yes I did go to an aviation college and yes the flying was subsidized. I have a hard time understanding why this irks some people so much. I too am a taxpayer and am sure that my tax dollars go to support many government programs. I'm sure glad to live in a country that provides a myriad of opportunity for those interested. In many developing and third world countries you get nothing. Hate it or love it, be grateful we have them. And yes there will be inefficiencies as no system is perfect.
AAAME wrote:Makes me feel good that my Taxes are being used to train the cocky little shit how to fly. The only saving grace is, when they come out of school they know everything so it cuts down on training cost.
"AAAME" In response to your comment I've been around this business for a long time now and I assure you I'm no "cocky little shit". Never was and like I said I pay taxes too! Why so much anger?
