Virgin America
 

I find no posts on Virgin America, is there any pilot in this forum working over there?
I'd like to know about roster, pay, and if they hire foreigners (with all papers ok) in the left seat. And also if it is a good place to work, of course.

Check Airline Pilot Central or Flightinfo for info on them. They get slagged alot because of their dismal wages for pilots.

As for for hiring foreigners, US Green Card holders or US citizens need only apply. All pilots now join the seniority list as an FO and upgrade in time if there are needs for new captains.

On top of all that, there are some serious doubts on their financial stability.

No, they won't hire direct entry captains. You'll struggle to find any airline, even at regional level that will hire direct to the left seat over here in the US. Seniority and the unions won't allow it.

Thx for info, looking at wages and they do seem a bit low, specially if you have to live in SFO area.
About hiring directly captains...I guess if they don't have enough senior f/o's they'll have to do something if they want to grow so fast!
Willing to hear something more positive :ok:

After some reading I find VA wages a little low. If I am not mistaken it would be around $7.500 for captains...not good if you have to live in the Bay Area.
Also it seems you have to interact with pax a lot, doing sometimes things you wouldn't do in other circumstances.
I'll keep my search active and would appreciate more comments.

No lack of experienced FO's at Virgin America. Seriously doubt that there will be any direct entry capts there. Generally by the time one makes it to FO on an Airbus or Boeing in the USA they usually have several thousand hours with a good amount of PIC time on turboprop/CRJ/ERJ/etc. Definitely no lack of experienced pilots on the States.

Peter, it makes sense since USA ways are different (better for the system-worse for pilots).
Anyway, I still think the pay is very low.

...Isn't it true that Virgin America is a low cost carrier? :{

That's a typical way of thinking of baaaad management, low cost doesn't mean low pay. Low pay means pilots looking for something better, which means more expenses to the companies. Also productivity decreases, conflicts with high tech employees, etc. I envy companies that have respect for workers, I know there are because I saw it on TV!!! And they get very productive and committed personnel.
In Spain we say something like: you give me and I give you.

I live in San Francisco and fly the now local airline whenever I can. No direct knowledge of the comp plan but will attest to these pilots are the youngest out there. I could swear the last Captain wasn't 30yo...

glueball
 

Southwest is a low cost carrier as well, yet somehow they manage to offer some of the best pay rates and T&Cs in the U.S... and this is on a 737 mind you, where the best paying Legacies, American and Delta, only manage to beat them by a couple of dollars on the wide-bodies..

Virgin America's wages and T&Cs are below industry standards but it is instructive to learn that a lot of these airlines that pay relatively well today were paying their pilots below industry average when they first started. The advantage they have is time in business.

Southwest has been in business for over 40 years - their salary was pretty bad when they started. (Excellent fuel hedging strategy among other things allowed them to eventually become the poster airline for record profitability)

Jetblue has been flying for about 10 years - I understand their starting salary was US$98/hr

Spirit salary wasn't all that great either. As an anecdote was told to me by a very senior Spirit Captain, when Spirit started up 20 years or so ago(wasn't named Spirit then), the owner told his pilots:"Look, I cant pay you well right now but I can promise you a very good scheduling QOL.

The common thread between all the above airliines is that they eventually became profitable and it was impossible/unconscionable to not compensate the pilots accordingly.

It is hoped that if Virgin America is able to weather the economic storm and grows it's way into profitability, it will step up to the plate and reward it's pilots(and other workers) handsomely for their hardwork, dedication and sacrifice.