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Hello Fellow USVI-ers!
I am a pilot who has been flying in Alaska for a while, I fly for an airline that flies into small Native villages and oil platforms on the North Slope. Alaska is a fascinating place. I live in Fairbanks which, though AK's 2nd largest town, has a small town feel. We have the big box stores, the chain restaurants. But things run on a different schedule here. No one cares what car you drive. Its Rusty Subaru's, Beat up Bronco's and old 4WD beaters for the most part. I drive and old 90' Mazda 2 door. I live in a "Dry Cabin" which means I have no running water. I use an out house and head to the laundromat when I need a shower. My company merged with another and I am temporally out of work. Anyway months and months of -40C weather in Town and -70 in the Bush (colder if ya add wind chill, we are talking triple digit negatives) . Those temps get a bit old. I was getting ready to head to the states to take an Airline gig with one of the regional carriers for the Major Airlines (think little jets painted like United or Delta planes). But driving the bus j(big airlines) just doesn't seem interesting any more. I am sure all you Islanders have ridden on Seaborne a few times. What is your impression of the Airline, it's employees, pilots, etc.....
Thanks for taking the time to read my post
P.S. I am single, 28, and Female, and most of what I own can fit in the back of my little hatchback!
Sincerely,
Nikole
Posted : May 26, 2008 3:50 pm
Nikole
I do not have personel experience, but the job looks pretty good to me. If you are ready for warm weather and island living Seaborne might be good for you. The cost of living here is very high, but probably no higher than Alaska. Actually you should be able to live even better here. The Seaborne pilots that I have met usually work an extra job as the pay is not always enough..
Check it out, I hope others will give you more specific information. I remember that Alexandra posted a pretty complete opinion sometime back.
Posted : May 26, 2008 5:01 pm
I know several of the pilots and the management at SeaBourne... great people, great little airline. Sounds like you would fit right in! Nice little company!
There is also another airline here with float planes that is trying to get a foothold but having some issues. Winair is an airline down island that does great too. There are several other options for pilots here... LIAT, CAPE AIR, Private Jets (several), Charter Companies (several) .
Alaskans seem to always fit in well here... great community people, so I'm sure you would adjust easily to our warm weather and warm people.. and we can always use more bright, talented, fun ladies on island! Come on down! 🙂
Posted : May 27, 2008 12:58 pm
my husband used to fly for Seaborne and we are friends with many of the owners and employees. Flying for them can be a good gig for some people and less desirable for others. It all depends on your attitude and what brings you here. It sounds like you are used to living in less than the lap of luxury, so you are less likely than some to be upset that the starting pilot wages aren't enough to pay rent for a luxury rental property. There are some simpler living options for those on a budget who don't demand every possible amenity. At least here you should be able to count on running water!
I believe they just released a new payscale recently that helps new arrivals a bit compared to what their wages were frozen at for several years. They are always in need of new pilots and especially appreciate pilots who intend to stick around a few years and not just come for a season to build twin engine turbine time so they can fly for FedEx or someone like that. Seaborne puts a lot of $$ into each new pilot for ground school and simulator time up in Toronto, Canada. If you already have extensive seaplane experience I'm sure they'd love to chat with you about coming down to see the facility and the island to go through a formal interview.
Posted : May 28, 2008 2:06 pm
