Originally Posted by
Hey_pahlot
Trans state advertising on AFAP again. Pretty impressive what they have to offer IF it is what they say. Anyone have any updated first hand info of them?
Thanks!
What they are offering is pretty close to actual. The bonus structure is not quite what they are advertising. You get $15k at the end of IOE + and additional $10k IF you have a type rating on your licence (i.e. an aircraft >5,700kg). You get an additional $15k 12 months after the end of IOE and then another $10k 24 months after IOE (only if you haven't upgraded) and then another $10k 36 months after IOE (again only if you haven't upgraded).
Realistically most people will get 'only' get $30k in bonuses as a lot of people won't have type ratings and most people are going to upgrade before the 2 year period so won't get those bonuses. Upgrade time at TSA is currently about 18 months, that's all true. Guys on the most recent upgrade course that just finished basically got a spot on upgrade once they had 1000 hours 121 time which takes about 18 months from initial hire. Training is about 3-4 months and then another 14-16 months to get 1000 hours on the line.
As for the health insurance, you are eligible for the company health plan on the first month after your start date. For me as a single, I am paying $180 a month for medical and dental coverage and the company covers the rest. I will pay everything up to $340 in and then up to $1,500 in co-pays for the year and then the rest will be free. Nowhere near as good as Australia however the absolute most I will pay over the year is $3,660 for full coverage.
People who are concerned about 'Aerocrew Solutions' as the advertiser shouldn't be. You can apply directly to Trans States and skip them if you want, alternatively you can contact me and I will refer you directly to the recruiter and we can split the $10k referral bonus.
With regards to the pay structure - you are paid a minimum of 75 hours a month at $38.01 an hour. This is paid from your initial start date and through training. 401k and per diems are completely separate to this. I personally have opted out of the 401k since you have to put money in before the company will put any in (i.e. if you put in 4% the company will put in 2% for you). Per diems are not paid through training as you are considered to be St Louis based however once you get to the line you will get $1.90 per diems for any time you are outside of your domicile. Most guys on the line are crediting a lot more than 75 hours however and the average is about 100 hours, meaning you will get about $3,800 a month before taxes. Again, this is going to be dependant on how much you want to work and you can earn more or less than this depending on your effort.
Frontier Flow - forget about it basically. I'm not sure if they are taking E3 visa holders however I do know that TSA are only releasing 2 pilots per month for the flow. This means that a new hire today is probably looking at about 5-6 years before their number would even be up for the flow.
Regarding the question about the E3 visa - I personally do not have an aviation degree or 12 years experience and I have an E3 visa. Effectively the US consulate considers your pilot licence as a 'professional qualification' and therefore you don't need a degree.
IMHO the opportunity here is really great if you're looking for some jet time and a quick upgrade to command to get some jet command time. I personally don't really want to work for an Aussie airline and I left a jet job in Australia to come here because I thought it would be a great opportunity. So far I haven't been disappointed but time will tell.
Happy to answer questions anyone might have about TSA, I don't know too much about the other companies though.