Originally Posted by
havick
To answer your question about me supposedly getting referall bonuses for PDT, no you have to work for the AAG company to get the referral bonus. I am absolutely cleaning up with referral bonuses at Envoy with the rotary transition program being an ex helicopter guy myself.
As for why PDT, I've already answered it in previous posts related to travel benefits (mainline travel benefits not contract airline bottom of the bottom on the non rev list), pay, upgrade times (as soon as you get your 1000 part 121 you're good to go).
PDT and envoy are not having trouble at all filling classes. I think PSA is the only wholly owned regional that is hit and miss with class sizes.
By the way I never said that Skywest was **** and not to go there at all, I'm
simply suggesting there are better options on the list. Skywest still sit in the top 1/3rd of my list of recommended companies for E3 applicants. Mesa being on the absolute bottom of the list. Skywest is the like the Cobham or Alliance of Australia whereas Piedmont, PSA and Envoy are equivalent to the Qlink/VARA of Australia but with jets and a contractual flow through to mainline, just to put things in perspective.
And to be factually correct Skywest didn't have the first E3 visa pilot, many helicopter and fixed wing firefighting companies have been utilizing the E3 pilots a long time before Skywest ever jumped on board.
Good points Havick! I agree with you on many of them. Each airline has their own merits. Mesa being at the bottom? I 100% back you on that one. My comment on the E3 pilot item was that Skywest was and is the first ever RPT (Part 121) carrier to employ an E3 visa holder as a line pilot. New candidates are lucky now that they have options to choose from, go back a year, only Skywest was offering the E3 entry. Pretty much every regional besides SkyWest and Envoy would give me the time of day. So I know for a fact that I was the first E3 RPT (Part 121) guy here as no one except those to airlines wanted to hear from me in a pilot shortage, let alone knew that the E3 existed. No one including Envoy and Skywest knew about the E3.
As for flight benefits, I have American, United and Delta benefits for me and my family. I know that PDT and Envoy board at a higher priority, but most of the AA flights I have been on are damn easy, plenty of empty seats. The AA priority never bothered me. But having great Delta benefits and good United benefits are AWESOME! If you are looking at getting family across to visit of your are heading home from the US for visits, United is the way to go! Why? They service LAX-MEL, LAX-SYD, and SFO-SYD everyday. Delta only serves LAX-SYD as does AA. That is Skywest's shining point, our flight benefits.
As for upgrades, I've been here for less than 2 years, I can upgrade now. But I want to renew my E3 first (in a couple of months) so that I can fly my backside off and not worry about renewing my visa.