Pacific Coastal Airlines

bellsy · Post by **bellsy** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 6:25 pm

Wondering if anyone has any information on PCA. Contacts, work experience etc., there doesn't seem to be very much info available on their website.

Cheers

av8tor_assrope · Post by **av8tor_assrope** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 6:58 pm

i'm also interested in the above question. do they by any chance promote from the ramp?

cheers

Handsome B. Wonderful · Mon Nov 06, 2006 7:54 pm

I'm not sure whether they hire off the ramp, I think they look for a little more experience. I can tell you it's very seasonal and depends alot on the fishing season. Even the IFR side. Expect a layoff in the fall I would think, with some part-time work in the winter. But if you can stick it out it's a bunch of great people and a good place to work. Alot of "lifers" there. People are happy and they take better than average care of their employees I think. Never ever heard the "union" word even mentioned. One of the few places left where it isn't an "us vs them" mentality between the pilots and management. At least where I was in Port Hardy anyways. The Vancouver operation may be different. I had a great time and it was easily the best place I've ever worked...

jspitfire · Post by **jspitfire** » Mon Nov 06, 2006 8:16 pm

Pacific Coastal seems like a very good company, certainly much better than the certain unamed company that I work for at the South Terminal.

I am seriously considering applying for their ramp job as well. The pay is the same as what I'm getting right now, but the job and the people look like a lot more fun.

I'm pretty sure they do not hire off the ramp, I know they like to hire instructors, I know 5 of my instructors have been hired on there over the past year or two.

climbpower · Post by **climbpower** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 12:47 am

anybody know who the CP is there?? Like bellsy said, they don't give a lot of info on their website.

Cheers

Go Guns · Post by **Go Guns** » Tue Nov 07, 2006 7:06 am

http://www.pilotcareercenter.com

Company info for Pacific Coastal Airlines (incl. Floats)
Address: Pacific Coastal Airlines
117, 4440 Cowley Crescent
Richmond, BC
V7B 1B8
Tel: (604) 273-8666
Fax: (604) 273-4485 (604)273-6864

Recruitment Personnel:
Mr. Pierre Lajeunesse, Chief Pilot
Mr. Jack Pomerleau, Operations Manager
Recruitment eMail: info@pacific-coastal.com
Contact Form Web Page:
Website: http://www.pacific-coastal.com
CEO or MD: Mr. Daryl Smith, Mr. Quentin Smith-Pres.

Fleet Types:
3 Saab 340 EFIS Turboprops,
2 Shorts SD360's,
4 BE02 Beech 1900C's,
1 BE20 Beech Super King Air 200,
3 DHC2F Beaver Floatplanes,
4 Grumman Goose G-21A's

Pilot Bases:
Vancouver South Terminal,
Powell River, Port Hardy, Rivers Inlet.

Apply Thru: e-Mail, Mail,

Notes: Scheduled service throughout west coast of British Columbia. Great place to work, good pay. Resume, Personal Interview.

Biggles · Post by **Biggles** » Thu Nov 16, 2006 6:54 pm

Awesome place to work. Highly recommend trying to get on.

Their minimum is 1000 PIC, but I know some people that got on with less. Multi time is an asset but not required (other than the basic group 1 ticket).

They are seasonal for the first year, but if you come back the following summer you'll be on for good. Start pay on the 1900 is about 24k/yr if you have less than 1000 pic, and about 26-7K (I think) if you have more.

Not union.

They have exceptional maintenance and everyone I know that works there (from ramp, CSA, maintenance and pilots) loves it.

Pierre Lajeunesse is the CP, cool dude.

Hope this helps.

B

looproll · Post by **looproll** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 4:11 am

Wow! The pay sucks! Forget it unless your parents/spouse can subsidize you.

Biggles · Post by **Biggles** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 9:03 am

the sad part is that I am looking forward to the pay increase from instructing. Frankly, I don't know how my boss sleeps at night knowing knowing what he pays me...anyway, that's another topic for another thread.

FO's do make crap to start, but Capts are paid ok. Something around 45-48 for first year from what I hear. There is no seniority, so if Pierre likes you then it shouldn't take too long to upgrade. Pierre is a honest and straight forward guy (albeit quirky), so if he doesn't like you it's probably for a reason. Keep your nose clean and don't constantly whine in public the way most pilots do and you'll be fine.

Justwannafly · Post by **Justwannafly** » Fri Nov 17, 2006 10:30 pm

Biggles wrote:the sad part is that I am looking forward to the pay increase from instructing. Frankly, I don't know how my boss sleeps at night knowing knowing what he pays me....

lol he probably sleeps quite well on expensive egyptian 1200 thread sheets & a $10,000 mattress from all the $ he saved not paying you

airliner · Post by **airliner** » Sat Nov 18, 2006 7:57 am

captains start in the low 50's to low 60's

V1 · Post by V1 » Sun Nov 19, 2006 7:29 pm

I thought they got paid when they fly. I still can't believe that a company of that size, flying the loads they are doing are still paying their pilots so little. I think the desk agent makes more.!

Go Guns · Post by **Go Guns** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 10:54 am

I worked there for a summer and thought the pay was excellent.....

....mind you, that was after I got laid off @ Skyward....

All joking aside, Pasco is a good company that pays above average (at least in BC)for both seats.

climbpower · Post by **climbpower** » Mon Nov 20, 2006 8:38 pm

I've been down to yvr a couple of times and phoned them the same amount. Never been able to get ahold of Pierre. Is he ever around or do I just have really bad timing???

anywaiss · Post by **anywaiss** » Tue Nov 21, 2006 9:26 pm

the ONLY way to get on is to know somebody.. pierre ONLY hires on recommend. if you work full time you will bring home about 2200 a month after tax. the way things are going, i hear almost noone got laid off this year.

Front. · Post by **Front.** » Thu Nov 23, 2006 12:20 am

looproll wrote:Wow! The pay sucks! Forget it unless your parents/spouse can subsidize you.

then again, you're not in this industry to become rich... there was always the stock market you could of got into, or buying shares at westjet

FOD_Vacuum · Post by **FOD_Vacuum** » Wed Dec 10, 2014 12:52 am

I will blow some dust off this topic and ask if there is anyone out there with current information about Pasco regarding pilot hiring? What are their TT minimums and what is their pay and work schedule like for 1900 & Saab Capt & FOs? Il be applying with an ATPL and 1600 TT, 85% of it multi engine. Cheers!

C-FDPB · Post by **C-FDPB** » Wed Dec 10, 2014 9:46 am

Also curious about PASCO and their float ops. Anyone know what minimums for the beavers are?

805ITT · Post by **805ITT** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 5:50 pm

The IFR pilots are paid on a credit pay system blocked to an average of 85 credits per month. Credit rates range from $30-40ish/ credit for FOs depending on PIC time on date of hire and the Captains range from $60-75ish per credit dependng on Saab or 1900. Average monthly schedule is 15-17 days per month and about 160-170 duty hours. Guaranteed 10 days off per month. Overtime for working on a day off, over 100 credits or working more than 180 duty hours/ month. A healthy shift trading culture to customize a pilots schedule as well as a way of booking banked stats for guarnteed days off in the future. Per Diems paid when overnighting away from home. Crew average about 8 overnights per month.

New hires usually come with internal reccomendations and we look at 200 Hr guys off of the ramp to 703 Captains.

We promote from with in and many of our pilots go on to work at world class airlines like WestJet, Air Canada and Cathay Pacific. I heard a rumour that over 10% of the pilots at WestJet have flown at Pasco.

The dark side: Your days off are always your days off but on days that you are scheduled to work we reassign flights to maintain our OTP. That means that your schedule may say done at 3pm, but due to a mechanical or weather, an extra flight may be added to your schedule to get our customers to where they need to go on time. PASCO= Planes and Schedules Change Often. The other down side is that we are still seasonal with the fishing lodges and an increased summer schedule, meaning we grow in the spring and reduce our flying hours in the fall. We encourage our employees take GDOs, vacation, LOAs over the winter to keep everyone flying. Due to attrition most are usually full time by the end of their first winter.

Most pilots are based in YVR (Saabs and bulk of 1900 crew), small 1900 pilot bases in Powell River and Victoria. If hired to Powell of Victoria the position will be full time right out of the gate which has some perks.

If you have 37 or 320 dreams we are your universtiy that will get you the experinece to get that job. It is also a good job to have with a young family. We fly into cool (challenging) places like Kelowna, Trail and Bella Coola. West Coast IFR and mountainous terrain. We are proud of our safety and learning culture.

Float Drivers are paid a daily rate regardless if we turn a prop or not. We have 4 Beavers and 2 Goose online. Talk to Gord and Vince about hiring times. Currently we have some great retired AC guys that fly for us in the summer and Conair guys that fly for us in the winter.

We are not perfect, but we have fun doing what we do.

JT

FOD_Vacuum · Post by **FOD_Vacuum** » Tue Dec 23, 2014 6:13 pm

805ITT, I appreciate your feedback about PASCO. Do you currently work there? I see your location as YAV (St Andrews, MB) on your avatar.

GottaFly · Post by **GottaFly** » Fri Jan 02, 2015 10:44 pm

Yeah JT... Do you work there?

Resumes should be addressed to Darcy Coonfer, assistant chief pilot.

Get your resume in quick!

Cheers!

DJ

GottaFly · Post by **GottaFly** » Fri Jan 02, 2015 10:50 pm

anywaiss wrote:the ONLY way to get on is to know somebody.. pierre ONLY hires on recommend.

Not true anymore. Mr. Pierre is in the process of retiring. Internal references with us are "highly advantageous" however not mandatory. Just make sure you have a well put together cover letter and resume (articulate, no spelling errors, proper grammar and easy to read) and the right person will stand out of the pile.

Av8r7 · Post by **Av8r7** » Mon Jan 26, 2015 12:36 pm

With regards to the hiring off the ramp. Is that for both ifr (yvr) and vfr?

805ITT · Post by **805ITT** » Wed Jan 28, 2015 12:22 pm

It is incredibly rare to hire off of the ramp into the Seaplane division due to our area of operation, size of aircraft, and weather decisions related to flying on the central coast. That said we do have a good guy who is trained on the Beaver from the ramp and is gaining experience with our Chief Pilot or line indoc captains in the right seat when the weather is favourable. This is an exception to the rule, but never say never.

On the IFR side we have hired flight attendants and ramp staff regularly. Usually about 1 in 10 new hires are low timers. We would like the ratio to be higher for our ramp team who are the grease on the wheels of the operation. However with attrition, it is unlikely that a pilot hired from the ramp would be ready to move to the left seat when his/her number came up. With the ratio low, we ensure that we should have a qualified pool of FOs to get the upgrade on the 1900 when required. Currently the upgrade time is approximately 2 years.

Cheers,

jspitfire · Post by **jspitfire** » Wed Jan 28, 2015 8:18 pm

Am I correct in assuming you'll be hired seasonally at first for the float department? What's the season in that neck of the woods, May to Sept?

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