Hi Chuck;

How much "time between the FAF and DH inverted" will I need to become a skilled pilot anyways?

Just an inside joke my friend. I see you have not lost any of your fire in all these years.

As far as C3 goes... yes I will always miss that job. But life goes on and one constant we can all count on in this business is change. Will be very interesting to see how the industry looks in the coming few years.

See you around the patch!

You bet Chuck,

Like those who say they will never forget where they were, what they were doing and what the weather was like when they heard that JFK was shot, I will similarly never forget when I heard the news of C-3's demise. My first reaction was "huh?!?!?" and my second was "it could have been me too." You see, only a few months before that I was trying so hard to jump ship to C-3 because I thought that C-3 would outlive my company (I'm still working, although probably not for long). I was actually upset that they weren't calling me! I similarily knew another pilot who's friends at C-3 were (for the third time) prompting only weeks before it ceased operations-- "you sure you don't want to come over-- this may be your last chance!" And another colleague had interviewed, been accepted, and was waiting for his class date when they went Tango Uniform. I am friends with one ex-C-3 pilot who has left aviation completely.

No doubt about it, those guys have been living through bitter times and more of us are about to join them. :(

Hey there is always the chance that things will be better soon.

My best and most interesting flying years were the last ten.

One day my cell phone rang and a strange voice said we need a pilot in Harrare Zimbawbe and will pay you xxxx, I had the Amphib Charter business that was slowly going into the sewer along with the rest of British Columbia. So without any hesitation I said yes.

Since then I have flown in over forty countries and been locked up in three different countries, the Don Jail in Toronto was paradise compared to some foreign lock ups.:D :D

The is always tomorrow.

Chuck.

"One day my cell phone rang and a strange voice said we need a pilot in Harrare Zimbawbe and will pay you xxxx"


he he he. Flying in different countries is interesting and rewarding, isn't it? Did some of that myself, but for me it was in Latin America. I admit though I would have been hesitant if "One day my cell phone rang and a strange voice said we need a pilot in South America and will pay you xxxx" :O

PJ, I have a good friend who use to be in the photo survey business. He was the company's 'South American expert' and spent a lot of time there, mostly Columbia and Venezula. Loved it. Never got hassled once...well once the Brazilian AF came up to take a look at him after he kinda strayed outta Uruguayan airspace at FL 410. ;)

Honestly pigboat,

Sometimes I wonder why I came back to Canada. Down there I had always had money and a good standard of living. I was "El Comandante" and beautiful women fell to my feet as I walked through crowds (ok, that last part was a little exagerated) :}

The REAL Question...
 

Okay, gents, how about a real topic?

Like, WHO is going to win the CUP?

Stars, Canucks, Blues, Wings?

I'd LOVE to see Vancounver win it all, as long as it's not the DEAD Wings!

Cheers,

Ed "Blackhawks Rule":D

Boo Hoo WJer's?
 

Boo Hoo WJ'ers...

Your flight attendants make bubkus...

Tell that to the F/A's that own their own homes and have the $500,000 portfolio's...

Your ticket agents make min wage..

Nope, sorry on that one WDE. 90% of the industry average in salary + Profit Sharing+ the Employee Share Purchase Plan. See $500,000 portfolio's and owning their own home above.

And your pilots clean the garbage from the paying public..

Not quite. However I have no problem helping in the back crossing a seatbelt or two, making eye contact with the people who pay my salary and picking up a newspaper or empty bottle.

Do you have trouble climbing off your wallet, crawling out of the cockpit and checking out the cabin?

WJ has been very successful in brainwashing the public as to their "low fares" but if you shop around you can get similar fares with AC without having to fly through YWG

Hmmmm, I guess you haven't heard of our Non-Stop flights? YYC - YYZ,YHM,YOW,YXU. YEG - YYZ,YOW,YHM. YVR - YYZ.

Profit sharing is great, but it is on the backs of the working stiffs on the ramp/at the gates.

The "Stiffs" at the gates and on the ramp in Calgary are all elligable and do recieve Profit Share.

WJ has also had no burden of maintaining non-profitable route structures..Grand Prairie, ABis one example...WJ goes is, killls the market for AC, then leaves because they can't make any money..

Enlighten me. Leaves? We are still in Grande Praire, several times a day in point of fact. With very nice loads thank you very much. You are correct in one respect however, if we can't make money on the route we won't stick around. We are not running a charity. Use it, or lose it.

Sounds like the spoiled brats of Calgary want their cake and want to eat it too...

Really don't know what you are talking about here... Off your meds I suppose...

Their day of reckoning is coming...Wake up Clive, there will be a union there one day...

We have an in-house association, and we as a Pilot group have done very well by it.

All the employee's are represented by PACT our in-house association. They have done very well also.

I'm thinking someone has a serious case of sour grapes and needs to "lighten up"...

End of Rant

End of rebuttal.

It's been said before:

Some people don't get it, and that's a good thing...

WestJet - an F/A's perspective
 

I flew for WestJet as a F/A for almost a year, until leaving late last year.

There is no doubt that WJ offers a unique product in the Canadian air industry, and their blend of fun and low fares is a hit with the flying public.

That said, it was not always all roses for the employees.

While the Pilot group is generally well looked after (financially and otherwise), the picture for F/a's, CSA's and Res Staff is quite different.

There is no doubt that some of the 'day oner' f/a's, csa's etc have done well out of the employee stock purchase scheme, the reality is that for F/A's who started in the last couple of years, it's been a tough slog financially. Out of my training class of some 60 Flight Attendants, about 80% of us had to have a second job to make ends meet. We had to work part time for 6 months before getting full time status - I wasn't able to live off $800 - $900 CDN a month, so I racked up a hefty credit card debt. Even on Full time status, the finances were tight.

Res Agents fare even worse. 'Super Sales Agents' are hired initially with a minimum guarantee of just a few hours of work a week. It can be several months before 'part time' status, let alone 'full time' status, which makes it hard for employees who are entering the profession and viewing this as a career.

While Profit Share and Employee Stock Purchase plans are important part of the overall compensation package, the reality for me was thus:

I couldn't buy groceries and pay my monthly bills with a (variable) bi annual profit share check.

The Employee Share Purchase plan DID allow me to work towards some longer term savings, but the Share prices have (finally) levelled out. F/A's starting in the last few years, or today, are NOT going to be making the kind of money to buy 1/2 million dollar homes. It's also pertinent to note that when finances are so tight to begin with, a lot of employees found it tough to take a 10 or 20% deduction from pay to pay into the ESP in the first place.

I am not 'WestJet Bashing' here. Many close friends continue to fly there, and enjoy their jobs. But I did want to try and present a more 'balanced' picture as to the situation for the non-pilot and non-management employee groups.

Slightly off the thread as it's become, but a quick question for the WestJest pilots...

In the winter we travel a lot from the UK to YVR and then end up driving the 4/5 hours to CYLW (Kelowna) and Big White Ski Resort. If Kelowna is out in fog (not too unusual in the winter based on the VOR/NDB approaches) flights tend to be cancelled and last minute bookings are not possible. We are two UK pilots arriving in YVR on 'airline standby' tickets and therefore can't book ahead!

I know that Kelowna was due to get an ILS installed at the end of last year, but can't find anything to say it was/is. If anyone could confirm the ILS is now installed and operational we'll be on WestJet in April!


Thanks
PTP

PTP
Yup, Kelowna has an ILS as of mid February, minima of 251' and 1 sm viz, so there is a much increased chance of getting in.:cool:

Thanks Jamesel, that's good news about the ILS. Will save us the 5 hour drive there and back in April...

PTP