tbaylx wrote:Everyman,

A lot of that is the nature of the fractional business.

If it's a fixed schedule that a pilot wants then he/she should stay away from most corporate gigs and stick with the scheduled carriers.

Spot on - it's not just Air Sprint that has this type of schedule, it's the this entire side of aviation.
Think Aurora, Chartright, Skyservice, Flight Exec, Image Air, Nova, etc, etc are much different?

That being said, I wouldn't get involved in a fractional ownership company in Canada anyway because it seems unless the "owners" are continually buying new planes then there's not much money to be made. Air Sprint is probably a fine operation but how much money is it really making?

Everyone is different in terms of lifestyle, but if an employer is working to improve life for its pilots based on their request... well you can't knock them for that.

Know the nature of the beast you're trying to tame. Don't want to get a call at 2 a.m? Don't fly medevac. Want a "consistent" schedule? Line up for the carriers. You can find a number of threads dedicated to the moaning from each group.

If you sign up for corporate flying, know that your month to month will never be the same. That's the adventure.

On a positive note, I am impressed by the information and quick responses from Air Sprint HR. I always heard good things, nice to see them. Thank you for the additional information. It's nice to see a company that tries to hold onto their staff instead of just accepting the revolving door practice.

Cheers

Everyman....

AirSprint is one of the most progressive and safety oriented companies I have ever worked for. They keep on improving the areas that most pilots bitch about which says volumes about the management and their desire to keep everyone happy. How is it so hard to understand that someone who pays hundreds of thousands if not millions to own an aircraft, demand to use it whenever they want? If you are the pilot then that is the choice you make and it usually leads to a life that some thoroughly enjoy. Family life while working corporate gigs can be difficult but AirSprint does it's best to mitigate this and trolling a forum with no evidence at all just alludes to the fact you are a shit disturber and nothing else.

For anyone looking to apply I would highly recommend AirSprint. You will never have to fly an airplane that is not up to the task or pressured into something that is for at most illegal or unsafe. The company is fair, upfront and willing to work with the pilot group to make things better.

Every job as everyone knows has things they like and things they do not like, but as a rounded out option AirSprint is a great place to work. I used to think that having to clean the plane was such a big deal but when I worked 10 days in a month I felt it was the least I could do and after awhile it becomes part of the service you personally feel accountable for. I used to fly 120 hours a month so it was a welcome change and trade off.

Bitch as much as you want or spread untrue rumours. AirSprint is a reputable company and do not deserve the trolling on Avcanada. Especially since they are the only company as far as my knowledge that actually replies to all the questions people have in a timely fashion with information that is useable and not just fluff.

I don’t think name calling is necessary, don’t take things so personally. I am not attacking your way of life, or you, or even AirSprint for that matter. I have read this thread and have seen a lot of positivity, which is not echoed by those who I know that are close to the company. Is it all bad? No. But overall moral sounds low, people are bailing and schedule is frequently brought up as an issue.

But overall moral sounds low, people are bailing and schedule is frequently brought up as an issue.

Funny thing about pilots. Pay them a shlt tonne of money, give them a few work days a mth, and the cry babies will still complain about something. All the while stabbing the next guy in the back and selling out another and furthering the race the to the bottom. Yes sir, we are professionals.

AirMail wrote:

But overall moral sounds low, people are bailing and schedule is frequently brought up as an issue.

Funny thing about pilots. Pay them a shlt tonne of money, give them a few work days a mth, and the cry babies will still complain about something. All the while stabbing the next guy in the back and selling out another and furthering the race the to the bottom. Yes sir, we are professionals.

Best quote I've heard...

"When is the only time you need to worry about a pilot? When he/she stops bitching, then it's serious!"

Spoken like true management.

AirMail wrote:

But overall moral sounds low, people are bailing and schedule is frequently brought up as an issue.

Funny thing about pilots. Pay them a shlt tonne of money, give them a few work days a mth, and the cry babies will still complain about something. All the while stabbing the next guy in the back and selling out another and furthering the race the to the bottom. Yes sir, we are professionals.

It's broader than just pilots. It's just human nature. People get comfortable in whatever job they ha e and small things become big things to complain about. If your current set of problems with a company get solved then you will find a new set of concerns after a period of time. I find it's more about a persons disposition. Several studies have shown a person returns to a level of happiness after a debilitating injury such as being paralyzed and wheelchair bound. It works both ways.

Several studies have shown a person returns to a level of happiness after a debilitating injury such as being paralyzed and wheelchair bound

What studies are those??

Johnny#5 wrote:

Several studies have shown a person returns to a level of happiness after a debilitating injury such as being paralyzed and wheelchair bound

What studies are those??

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill

Total crap...and the advancement of genetics will bring that out eventually.

Johnny#5 wrote:

Several studies have shown a person returns to a level of happiness after a debilitating injury such as being paralyzed and wheelchair bound

What studies are those??

http://science.tumblr.com/post/69234644 ... ers-are-no

We are all created to be miserable, and that we all know it, and all invent means of deceiving each other. And when one sees the truth, what is one to do?

-Leo Tolstoy

Do your company hire F/O'S from your ground positions at Air Sprint?

CALGARYFLYER1 wrote:Do your company hire F/O'S from your ground positions at Air Sprint?

Hi Calgaryflyer1,

We only really have two entry level spots that are flight operations clerk positions. These are typically low time pilots (250-500 hours) that spend a year working at night doing administrative/aircraft cleaning/aircraft towing duties for the flight department before they become an FO. I think that I have gone into more detail on these positions earlier in the thread but the short answer is yes definitely.

Regards,

AirSprint HR

I would like to ask a question. With regards to the recent postings, is there a timeline as to when calls will be going out to candidates for interviews?

I would also like to add the comment as to how much ALL of us appreciate the openness and the constant feedback that your company has been providing.

ba31pilot wrote:I would like to ask a question. With regards to the recent postings, is there a timeline as to when calls will be going out to candidates for interviews?

I would also like to add the comment as to how much ALL of us appreciate the openness and the constant feedback that your company has been providing.

Happy to do it and I'm not sure right now. Let me check tomorrow and get back to you.

Regards,

AirSprint HR

[quote="ba31pilot"

I would also like to add the comment as to how much ALL of us appreciate the openness and the constant feedback that your company has been providing.[/quote]


I cant agree more, So many operators work hard to have threads deleted on here. Kudos to Air Sprint HR for stepping up and actually answering some questions. Its strange to see in the jet charter/management world a company that is so transparent about the pay and conditions. I dig it

AirSprint HR wrote:

ba31pilot wrote:I would like to ask a question. With regards to the recent postings, is there a timeline as to when calls will be going out to candidates for interviews?

I would also like to add the comment as to how much ALL of us appreciate the openness and the constant feedback that your company has been providing.

Happy to do it and I'm not sure right now. Let me check tomorrow and get back to you.

Regards,

AirSprint HR

Adam (CP) was away this week and I am told that calls will likely start towards the end of next week and go out for a week or two after that.

Regards,

AirSprint HR

Thanks for the information!

AirSprint HR wrote:

AirSprint HR wrote:

ba31pilot wrote:I would like to ask a question. With regards to the recent postings, is there a timeline as to when calls will be going out to candidates for interviews?

I would also like to add the comment as to how much ALL of us appreciate the openness and the constant feedback that your company has been providing.

Happy to do it and I'm not sure right now. Let me check tomorrow and get back to you.

Regards,

AirSprint HR

Adam (CP) was away this week and I am told that calls will likely start towards the end of next week and go out for a week or two after that.

Regards,

AirSprint HR

Hello everyone,

We have received a large number of resumes in responds to the job posting and I would like to say thank you to everyone who has applied. We will be making calls this coming week and setting up interviews in both Calgary and Toronto. We are also able to setup interviews via Skype or Conference Call if those contacted are unable to make it to Calgary or Toronto in the planned interview time frame.

Please keep in mind with the large number of resumes we have received we won't be able to interview everyone, but I would encourage all those interested in a career at AirSprint to keep submitting updated resumes and stay on our radar. I am personally going through all the resumes and although some don't have the requirements or experience we are currently looking for, that certainly doesn't exclude anyone from future positions and there are many I would definitely like to speak with and make that initial connection.

Best Regards, and fly safe,

Adam Fallwell
Chief Pilot

I interviewed there about 6 months ago and walked out hoping to never hear from them. They have some type of schedule but said that they would move your days off at any point if it was operationally necessary. Overtime would be payed but it was no where near enough to compensate even concert tickets. What I took from it was that they are fine with having their pilots on perpetual call. I understand that this is part of the charter job, but with fractional ownership it means that instead of just one owner who might fly his jet 200 a year they where flying 450 to 500. Flying that much when on call constantly is a nightmare especially when you factor in wait and return trips as well as the general disorganization of charter flying. You wouldn't be able to have any life and forget about a wife let alone kids. I have 2 friends who fly for Chartwright and another that flies for Air Partners, all of them were horrified when I told them what the "schedule" was. It got worse from there unfortunately, I was interviewing for a Capt spot on one of thier jets and was told that the starting pay wasn't 80 grand but 70 if you had less then 100 hours on a citation. I was sitting there listening to them justify this reduced pay and laughing to myself. They said when they dumped the PC-12's and moved those Capts over the jet it caused a bit of a stir with the jet guys because these new Capts did have any jet time so to smooth it over they agreed that flying a straight wing light jet around is so difficult that they would bump the pay down by 10 grand until the new caps had apparently proven themselves by surviving 100 hours on the jet. Here I am sitting with just under 10 000 hours, 9000 PIC, 8500 multi PIC and thinking to myself only some high level astronaut reincarnation of the red baron could possibly land a citation off an ILS onto a 6000 foot runway. I asked them what the level of experience was with the first officers. Their CP got defensive then and said that they were all excellent pilots and he would have no problem putting them in the left seat. So why then was I being interviewed for a Capt spot if he had all these guys already with the company? He then went onto talk about the 5 or 7 Airsprints values that the company has. Apparently they are on the website that I had neglected to even look at. Don't get me wrong it wasn't a total waste of an hour of my life because the secretary was well put together and the interview itself had some comedic value in that I had something to laugh about with my pilot friends for the next two weeks. I did leave with an overwhelming sense of thanks for being able to go back to my 705 cpat spot that actually has a schedule.

It's been said many times above, the lifestyle ain't for everyone. I would think people coming from the 705 world would have the most difficult time transitioning into corporate/charter/fractional, especially if they were in a unionized environment before.

If Air Sprint opened a Vancouver base I know a lot of guys on the south side here in YVR who are highly qualified and would jump ship to Air Sprint without hesitation. This includes me.

Duukar

the AK wrote:I interviewed there about 6 months ago and walked out hoping to never hear from them. They have some type of schedule but said that they would move your days off at any point if it was operationally necessary. Overtime would be payed but it was no where near enough to compensate even concert tickets. What I took from it was that they are fine with having their pilots on perpetual call. I understand that this is part of the charter job, but with fractional ownership it means that instead of just one owner who might fly his jet 200 a year they where flying 450 to 500. Flying that much when on call constantly is a nightmare especially when you factor in wait and return trips as well as the general disorganization of charter flying. You wouldn't be able to have any life and forget about a wife let alone kids. I have 2 friends who fly for Chartwright and another that flies for Air Partners, all of them were horrified when I told them what the "schedule" was. It got worse from there unfortunately, I was interviewing for a Capt spot on one of thier jets and was told that the starting pay wasn't 80 grand but 70 if you had less then 100 hours on a citation. I was sitting there listening to them justify this reduced pay and laughing to myself. They said when they dumped the PC-12's and moved those Capts over the jet it caused a bit of a stir with the jet guys because these new Capts did have any jet time so to smooth it over they agreed that flying a straight wing light jet around is so difficult that they would bump the pay down by 10 grand until the new caps had apparently proven themselves by surviving 100 hours on the jet. Here I am sitting with just under 10 000 hours, 9000 PIC, 8500 multi PIC and thinking to myself only some high level astronaut reincarnation of the red baron could possibly land a citation off an ILS onto a 6000 foot runway. I asked them what the level of experience was with the first officers. Their CP got defensive then and said that they were all excellent pilots and he would have no problem putting them in the left seat. So why then was I being interviewed for a Capt spot if he had all these guys already with the company? He then went onto talk about the 5 or 7 Airsprints values that the company has. Apparently they are on the website that I had neglected to even look at. Don't get me wrong it wasn't a total waste of an hour of my life because the secretary was well put together and the interview itself had some comedic value in that I had something to laugh about with my pilot friends for the next two weeks. I did leave with an overwhelming sense of thanks for being able to go back to my 705 cpat spot that actually has a schedule.

So where to begin... Just finishing vacation and will keep it short.

- We spend hundreds of thousands of dollars per year flying pilots on the airlines so they are home for their days off. Very rarely, someone works on one of their days off. We pay (annual salary / 2080 x 12) if that occurs.
-There is a 10% reduction from salary scale until a pilot achieves either 500 hours total jet time or 250 hours jet PIC (jet type does not matter), whichever comes first. So basically if you have never flown a jet, this will apply for 6 to 12 months.
- With the PC12 fleet, our hiring minimums were less than they are now. As such, we have a lot of highly capable pilots with under 3000 hours. We have set minimums for hour experience which is the reason for looking externally. We really would prefer to not hire direct-entry Captains and for many years we didn't. We will get back to those days but the fleet transition has made this a short term issue.

Regards,

AirSprint HR