Northern Air Charter

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7dirty7
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Re: Northern Air Charter

Post by 7dirty7 »

I have spoken to most of the fo's that work there currently and I hear that the quality of life is good, only real complaints are not enough flying,which leads to long upgrade times.
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7dirty7
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Re: Northern Air Charter

Post by 7dirty7 »

[quote=I'm going to assume I was there a lot more recently than you. Things might have been different five years ago, but that's how it was when I was there.[/quote]

How recent SPR ? 6 months? a year? 2?
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Spinner200
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Re: Northern Air Charter

Post by Spinner200 »

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Last edited by Spinner200 on Wed Mar 29, 2017 8:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
SPR
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Re: Northern Air Charter

Post by SPR »

7dirty7, I'm not going to post when exactly I was there on a public forum, but it was within the past couple of years. Obviously if they've stopped using the 100 it wasn't that recently, but I would bet not that much has changed since my time there.
Spinner, again I can only relate my own experience. I don't think I have a chip on my shoulder, as NAC was better than the place I worked at before, but not as good as where I'm at now. It just wasn't what I expected, and a lot of that expectation was based on what I was told by management when I was hired. A lot of what they said turned out not to be true, which still would have been fine if it had the lifestyle I was looking for. I was exhausted all the time and frequently had my five days off cut to three. There were a number of pilots who had more than 1600 hours waiting for their upgrades, and in my time there a couple of them left for greener pastures because there weren't going to be any opportunities for a while. When I left, one of the captains told me it was the best decision I could make for my career, and that I probably wouldn't have been upgraded for another year at least based on the wait times. As for doing stuff while you're on call, again I'm just telling you how it was for me. You can go to a restaurant, but you have to be ready to throw down cash and leave a half-eaten meal; you can go to the gym as long as you're willing to go to work sweaty and unwashed. All of the activities that were listed are things where you can drop what you're doing and get to the airport, but that doesn't work if you're getting a haircut, or want to go fishing, or need to get some work done on your car. There are only so many things that you can do in a town the size of Peace River that you can stop doing in an instant, and eventually it gets boring. I went several days where the only food I had at home was raw pasta and canned beans because every time I went to the grocery store I ended up running back out to the car to go to the airport; that was also an issue with crew scheduling and the fact that I went straight back onto first or second call once I was reset. As for getting to the airport in 30 minutes, I once got stuck behind a school bus that made two stops before it turned out of my way, and I got to the airport with five minutes to spare; when the road was snowy or icy it usually took me 20 minutes to get out there. There's no margin of error on a dispatch time that tight, especially when you can't live within 15 minutes of the airport, but it will always be your own fault if you're late.
There was nothing wrong with NAC. I was never asked to do anything illegal, and maintenance is fine. A lot of people like the lifestyle. But, you have to be willing to work to CARs maximum fourteen days in a row if they require you to cover more than your standard ten. You have to be willing to take calls at all hours of the day with no notice, get eight hours of rest, and go straight back to work. You have to understand that you won't be flying the Navajo, and you'll probably be so far down the list for upgrades that it's not going to happen in the year that management quotes. You have to realize that you won't be flying 500-600 hours a year like they tell you, it's more like 300. You have to not plan anything and know that you won't be able to make any appointments because you never know when you'll be going to work. You have to know that even though management says they'll be accommodating with your time-off requests, they either don't care or didn't schedule enough pilots to cover those days off. This is all just my personal experience, so it's not exactly what everyone will find, but the job wasn't what it was made out to be when I was hired. I'll reiterate that a lot of people are happy flying for Alberta medevac operators with these conditions, but it wasn't the lifestyle I was looking for.
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DanWEC
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Re: Northern Air Charter

Post by DanWEC »

SPR, let me preface what I'm about to say by saying I have absolutely no idea what it's like at NAC, but which exactly is it- very little flying time or CARS max? Don't get me wrong, not trying to start a piss here, but most of what you're saying is that you were worked constantly with no time to do anything that resembles a life, but on the other hand you're saying the flying time was very minimal.

Again, I'm speaking from the outside here.
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SPR
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Re: Northern Air Charter

Post by SPR »

It's a lot of short flights and a lot of sitting around in places like Edmonton and Grande Prairie. Alberta Health wants the crews to stay at the airport in case another call comes in while they're waiting, which means it's almost impossible to go out for a meal too. It's long days away from home, but most of that time isn't actually spent in the air. By CARs max, I'm referring to duty days, not flight hours.
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DanWEC
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Re: Northern Air Charter

Post by DanWEC »

Gotcha,
Cheers

D
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Krimson
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Re: Northern Air Charter

Post by Krimson »

It sounds like the reserve life was just not for you. It sounds like it's a normal reserve job as any city, it is what you make of it.

You can sit at home waiting for a call, or you can continue on with your life with your flight bag in your trunk.
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Captain X
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Re: Northern Air Charter

Post by Captain X »

+1 to krimson's post
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Spinner200
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Re: Northern Air Charter

Post by Spinner200 »

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Last edited by Spinner200 on Wed Mar 29, 2017 8:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
loopa
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Re: Northern Air Charter

Post by loopa »

Spinner200 wrote:It sounds to me like SPR has a chip on their shoulder due to not fitting in or not being up to standard with their flying skills and maybe being flushed out.
Spinner200, I don't think someone's experience at NAC being different than you or your peers has anything to do with their flying abilities, being flushed out, or having a chip on their shoulders. It sounds like they were promised something that wasn't delivered, and are informing every one who may be looking at NAC as a potential employer to be aware of their experience. Very much like how you are informing everyone of your experience. Obviously information from a former employer can be out dated but should never be discounted.

Based on what you guys are saying though it sounds like your typical charter outfit. No real schedule, a lot of sitting around and reserve, and anywhere from 300 hours onwards per year. You look at Sunwest, NCA, Airco, and the likes they deal with more or less the same type of variables with their king air flying.

You guys have demonstrated both sides of the coin. If you are ok with 300 hours/yr and reserve life in ype, consider NAC. If you're not, look elsewhere. YPE isn't the only place hiring first officers for their first turbine job.
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altiplano
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Re: Northern Air Charter

Post by altiplano »

I got offered a job there by the CP in or around 04/05, BE20 FO. So drove the truck up to Peace River only to meet the owner who started interviewing me, he looked at my current PA31 card and told me I'd have to work the ramp and maybe I'd get to fly the Navajo occasionally for a year or so before I got in the King Air... I got back in my truck. CP at the time was a bit dumbfounded... Sorry he said. Owner's a dick.
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PiperCub1965
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Re: Northern Air Charter

Post by PiperCub1965 »

Good Morning,
I see that this is an old post, however I have spent a fair amount of time around NAC ,and I am not a former employee with an axe to grind. If you want The lowdown, gimme a pm and I'll be happy to let you know. I won't post it in an open forum since well honestly it won't be kind.
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nomoreprops
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Re: Northern Air Charter

Post by nomoreprops »

Pipercub

Can you pm me. I'm trying but can't pm you
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Paydah
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Re: Northern Air Charter

Post by Paydah »

Hey all,

Anyone care to comment on current conditions here? Last I heard they lost their Medevac contract, but now I'm hearing they still have it?

Also interested in the working conditions: pay, schedule, all that fun stuff. Feel free to PM
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MrWings
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Re: Northern Air Charter

Post by MrWings »

altiplano wrote:I got offered a job there by the CP in or around 04/05, BE20 FO. So drove the truck up to Peace River only to meet the owner who started interviewing me, he looked at my current PA31 card and told me I'd have to work the ramp and maybe I'd get to fly the Navajo occasionally for a year or so before I got in the King Air... I got back in my truck. CP at the time was a bit dumbfounded... Sorry he said. Owner's a dick.
Ownership has changed since then. The medevac contract is slated to switch hands to a new carrier but there are attempts to halt that. Uncertainty until that gets resolved.
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oldncold
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Re: Northern Air Charter

Post by oldncold »

Friend of mine txtd me last month saying She is liking new job. The original founding owners sold company in 2015, Current owners have in place very good mgt team. personable company She said,They run it well. They value family and do there best to accommodate. Pay is top 10 percent of the 703 industry standard 85k capt medevac. Upon AHS approval First year 7days on 7days off. Work is 1week of nights then off week of days. After training you can live cype or grimshaw. Or commute on your own dime. 72k first year 11on 3 off. If you prefer to fly a lot more yyc based and fly sched /charter.

Maintenance staff is very good and snags are rectified quickly.

The medivac contract who got it and who didn't etc is a sore point for all operators. Canwest was awarded the contract without due process to verify it could meet the requirements (ie hangars ) some over reach was done in assuming the other operators would laydown and fold tents. Not so. So the saga continues. She said F0's tend to want to go sched. To get the time quickly.. She said " would give them a 8.5 to 9 out a 10 as 703 company. The pay for the sched could be better but the yyc charter market is Very competitive. Take care 8)
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DaisyMaker
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Re: Northern Air Charter

Post by DaisyMaker »

Can anyone comment on the working conditions for the mechanics? I see that they’re advertising for AME positions
“Northern Air is looking to add to our current team an additional two (2) AME's interested in filling positions in Peace River (1) and Calgary (1). The shift is 8 days on 6 days off working a 10 hour day. Overtime available.”

What do the shifts look like? They’re 10 hour 8 days on 6 off but anyone know what time of day, and if it’s consistent or swings (switching between mornings/evenings/nights)? What the expectations are regarding overtime? Days off and being on-call? Staying later during ones shift than stated schedule? If there’s a limit on how far away from the airport one is expected to be - I guess this would tie into the on-call expectations -for example if one lives 30 minutes away would that cause difficulties?

I’m glad to hear the company is a better place to work for than before.
Thanks.
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co-joe
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Re: Northern Air Charter

Post by co-joe »

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Last edited by co-joe on Mon Oct 15, 2018 1:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
DaisyMaker
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Re: Northern Air Charter

Post by DaisyMaker »

Thank you co-joe. That was very helpful. Gave a fairly good feel for the company culture and working environment.

I am curious though....It looks like they've been advertising for AMEs since July. Does it take that long to get AMEs? Are there reasons other than being quite rural (at least for the Peace River position) that they're not getting the job filled?

Anyone want to comment? Feel free to PM me as well. Not sure if I have enough posts to be pm'd but you can try!
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