Please join me in congratulating Sean Wheelington on being May’s Pilot of the Month!

Before Sean went on leave to take up assignment in the military, he could always be found on Teamspeak rapping with his Metro buddies for hours per session. He has a passion for aviation, inspired by family members with military/civilian aircraft experience. He’s an aviation buff, working with Delta and around military types himself and he shares his wealth of knowledge freely.

We wish him all the best and congratulate him once more on being POTM for the month of May.

Island Air for the most part is a small regional airline operating an all Dash8 fleet and currently only operates flights around Hawaii. Since its launch in 1980 it has grown steadily to become one of just 3 major passenger airlines based in Hawaii. Following the sudden demise of Aloha Airlines passenger operations in mid 2008 there has been a large gap in the Hawaiian island hopping market and since then Island Air has been growing rapidly and frequently selling out on most of its flights. As mentioned, the airline operates Dash8-100/200 series which only have a capacity for 37 passengers. The airlines CEO, Leslie Kaneshiro  said this at a press conference earlier today:  “we are delighted to be working with one of the main land USA’s largest and fastest growing airlines for what we feel is a very exciting time for our small airline, as we strive to be even better in what is a difficult time for many airlines. The extra seating capacity should help bust us even further up the airline ladder while also offering our passengers even more choice, space and comfort. We hope that the partnership with Metro Air will be a rewarding and prosperous time for both of us”  Mr Kaneshiro went on to say how long the partnership would last to which he continued; “We are partnering up with Metro Air mainly for the busier summer months and expect the operation to last until the end of September, however we hope that both airlines can work together again in the future.” Also present at the press conference was Metro Air’s Vice President of Operations, William Hogarth who had this to say about the upcoming charters ” We promised our customers an even better set of summer charters and I think I can safely say that with every summer they seem to get better and better! It has already been a pleasure working with Island Air and we at Metro are very much looking forward to the months ahead and hope that we can achieve the usual successes that our customers expect as well as our dedicated workforce” Before the press conference concluded Metro Air’s CEO, Matthew Calsada said “These new charters will not only benefit the people of Hawaii in enabling them to maintain easy access to the other islands but they should also prove a firm favourite with our passengers who are flying into Hawaii on our mainline flights, meaning they can commute easily to all four corners of this pacific paradise”

The destinations that will be on offer to both Metro Air customers and Island Air customer a like are as follows:
From Honolulu: – Maui, Lahaina, Kona, Lanai, Lihue, Kaunakakai, Hilo
From Maui: – Honolulu, Kona, Lanai, Lihue, Kaunakakai, Hilo

We hope to see you down in Hawaii! Aloha!

Now on to my job here at MetroAir. My official title is Director of Mentorship. My job is to pretty much keep the Mentor Program in check and running as a well oiled machine. I also assign new pilots to our mentors, assign checkrides to pilots when they need it, and also answer any and all question that new pilots may have. If you have been a new pilot here at MetroAir from the middle of November onward chances are I have made contact with you.

Ok now that we have gone over what the Mentor Program and what my position is here at MetroAir, I think it’s time to share some tips on how to do well on the checkride.

1. Study the “MAV Training Guide for New Pilots” it contains all the information needed to successfully pass the Mentor Program.
2. Know how to navigate the MetroAir website well, ie. Know where you can find info on different cities, where to find info on the aircraft/fleet we fly etc.
3. Next is simply being prepared. The more you look over and study the training guide and the website the better.
4. Last but not least is taking your time on the checkride. I cannot tell how many pilots fail the test because they rush. If you simply take your time read the question fully and take the time to look up the answer you should be golden and pass the checkride without a hitch.

In addition to the partnership with Royal Caribbean International MetroAir also announced that there would be several other charter flights to other European Destinations including Moscow Domodedovo, Lisbon, and Tenerife South.  Details on the other destinations have not yet been finalized though MetroAir is expecting to fly these charters once per week.  Further details will be announced at a later date.

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About MetroAir
MetroAir is one of America’s leading choices of airline travel, with a formidable domestic route system using a fleet of the world’s most technologically advanced aircraft and with numerous regional connections through its partner company Allegius.

Originally founded in Detroit, MI flying Boeing 737-200s and Bombardier Dash-8-Q200 feeders, MetroAir has since grown to become one of America’s most impressive startup airlines of the last decade now operating flights to over 150 cities worldwide using a fleet of Airbus, Boeing, Embraer, and Bombardier airliners.  Built on a simple home-grown attitude of quick, affordable, and efficient service; MetroAir has seen a groundswell of critical acclaim from the flying public in response to a return of service to the days of old.

The people here are some of the best you will find in the virtual skies, both as pilots and friends. Everyone here has something to bring to the table, whether it be well versed in the cockpit, being able to program, painting airplanes or helping others with tweaking their systems, they are always willing to help. Being apart of something like this is rewarding in the sense that I can help someone with something and know that if I ever need something that they have my back as well.

Metro has a great program for pilots who fly the same flight together on Teamspeak and VATSIM. Doing so get’s you bonus hours. However it’s much better than that. You will be surprised what you may learn about Metro, flight sim or that person. You may also be impressed on what you already know and are able to pass on to others. I have done many of these types of flights and have become a better pilot for it. William can attest to the fun we have had, both causing chaos and pulling off some hairy approaches.

I like to think I have made some friends for life here, some who I have even had the pleasure of meeting in person. There is more to a VA then just routes and planes. The forums, Teamspeak and VATSIM are great outlets to get the most out of this great thing we have here. I strongly encourage everyone to hop on Teamspeak and meet others, don’t be shy or intimidated for any reason… we can’t wait to meet you.

In closing I can’t thank those enough who make this possible and wish to be a part of this for a long time.

Last year we switched it up a little and the joke was that we weren’t joking; We announced that we were going to acquire a few new 777′s .  Phillip Lecrenier was the inspiration for the 2011 post.  Phil would jump on teamspeak and would always joke with the executives asking for a 777 freighter. We wanted to pay him back with his very own April Fools and let him dwell on the thought of a 777 before someone crushed it by saying it was April Fools day. Within minutes our forums were abuzz with pilots commenting about it being an April Fools joke. It worked. The very next day, April 2nd, we pulled the ultimate prank and let everyone know that it was for real. One year later, we have fully integrated the 777 into our fleet and route network.

This year we went back to a tradition preposterous idea that we’d be acquiring A380′s, one of which would be used to start a daily service to Beijing from Baltimore. We wrote it with so many clues that something was fishy with the post it was hard to keep a straight face while writing it.

• “An average load factor of 98.6%” Sound like a familiar number? It should if you live in the US and remember your 4th grade science class. 98.6F is the average temperature of the human body.
• “Most days of the week we were finding that every ticketed passenger for the flight was arriving at the gate” – It’s rare that every ticketed passenger would show up for a long haul flight, especially on a daily basis. Like most travel industries, there is a degree of overbooking involved to make up for that number of passengers that are typically no-shows.
• “Airbus has promised to complete the first aircraft for us by or before April 1, 2013.” – Come on..It’s there in plain sight. We included the date of April 1 right in the post which is synonymous with April Fools Day.
• The image of the A380. Some of you may recall it was used in a forum post titled “Four Engines and a big nose“. I even commented to say that an A380 wouldn’t happen in the foreseeable future; I only wrote that a year ago.

With so many clues in the post, it didn’t take long for our pilots to post in the pilot forums that it was an april fool’s day joke. As always, we have some perceptive pilots who see right through our shenanigans. This year was no different. Thanks to all of you for playing around.

This year though we managed to fool some others. Another virtual airline proudly boasted that they “slammed” us and pointed out our flawed calculations. Kudos for them in seeing that the numbers were far-fetched. Unfortunately they didn’t pay attention to the calendar. I’ll leave the other virtual airline’s name out of this story to hopefully give them a bit of dignity and an ounce of pride for finding issue with what was an  obvious prank but the savvy pilot will quickly find them out. I guess the joke is on them this year.

So to all of you keen readers out there, remember to mark your calendars for April 1, 2013. Let’s see who we can fool next year.

Mohammad’s contributions to the airline cannot be understated. If you happen to catch him on Teamspeak or the forums make sure to say congrats!

Not everyday is spent working on new paints, ads, header images (just a few of the things) or other items that you may see on the site that looks good or makes the site/flight sim come to life. I try to get a lot of flying time in, but with this job there are always new things to show up on my desk that need to be planned, and worked on. The timelines can always go from long and not need right away, to quick and needed within the week. Many of the items I have worked on that you may not notice have been the TS3 skin, MetroAir Google Chrome Skin, and even the MetroAir ACARS Splash screen.

Many of the items that are needed right away are done quickly, they have also been done ahead of time. A lot of my files are .psd files or Photoshop files. If you are looking to get into editing photos or graphics then Photoshop would be a great program to learn, there are so many things you can do that I still have not mastered or know about. This first post is more or less an overview of what all I get to do for metro to make the visual experience better for all of you (the pilots). This is something I enjoy to do in my free time as well as for MetroAir. So if you ever have any questions to ask me then I would be more than happy to answer them!

Oh, and if you wanted a list of items that I have done then check out just some of them below (this is just a small list):

• Metro aircraft paints (Anaheim Ducks, Kansas City Royals 1, Long Term Charter Livery, University of KansasQ400, University of Missouri Q400, Kansas State University Q400, University of Oklahoma Q400, Winter Classic 2011, Embraer 170, Legacy 600)
• Main site ads and blog photos (some of the blog photos not all)
• Website header images
• Some website graphics
• Hub images
• City images
• Training tutorials
• Wallpapers
• And other items…

Check back for more on part 2 because you will get to see how a livery for metro is made!

This morning, MetroAir executives announced their intentions to start a new daily service from Baltimore to Beijing. While MetroAir has already established a route from the Western United States into Beijing, the “demand for tickets is surpassing our available seats on the A330″ said VP of Operations, William Hogarth. In what was even more stunning news, executives announced firm plans on orders for 4 Airbus A380′s to service both Beijing routes.

Artist rendition of a MetroAir A380

Asia, and particularly China, is establishing itself as a leader in the communications and technology industries. With such integral ties to US-based companies, airline executives released figures showing an average 98.6% load factor on Flights 54 and 55. Kim Gesch, Chief Operating Officer for the airline explained a recent shift in their sales policy for the Beijing flights. “With unprecedented demand for the flights, we have neglected overselling on these 2 particular flights. Most days of the week we were finding that every ticketed passenger for the flight was arriving at the gate. We were beginning to lose money in the amount of comps we had to distribute for the flights.”

Hogarth was on hand to release some more details about the A380 order. MetroAir chose the three-class configuration which will more than double the number of available seats on the route. He hinted that the airline is expecting to take its first delivery of the A380 in approximately one year. “Airbus has promised to complete the first aircraft for us by or before April 1, 2013.” said Hogarth. He continued to say that in the interim, the airline was planning to lease 4 additional A330′s to increase available seats on the existing route. Due to route distance, the airline will be waiting to commence the Baltimore-Beijing flight but has said it will be increasing it’s Ontario to Beijing route and will begin A330 service from Baltimore to Ontario to serve the needs of our east coast passengers who are Beijing-bound. With new routes and aircraft come new jobs.

Shortly after the press conference Chief Personnel Office Lindle Romero was overheard speaking with Gesch about needs to hire an additional 45 staff to support the new aircraft and route. While they would not comment publicly, it is expected that an extra 8-12 pilots would be hired and 25-35 flight attendants. Additional ground crew would also be needed in both Baltimore and Ontario.

In the next 30 days you will see the unveiling of the Metro Air/VATSIM P1 program.  Have you ever been flying on VATSIM and you hear a controller say to another pilot, congratulations you have passed this phase of your training?  Have you ever thought it would be fun to use your Sim for training like events?  Well this is what this program is designed to do.  Another step if you will when it comes to your online experience.  This program will partner with VATSIM in the training of our pilots in all aspects of VATSIM flying!  Look out for this becoming available in the next 30 days!

In the next 60 days, you can look forward to the METRO GOLD program.  This is a program designed for the pilot that has reached the rank of Captain or above.  It will further their knowledge much like attending a flight school.  It is a simple yet very difficult exam administered online that is designed to separate the best of the best.  These questions are directly from the FAA private pilot written exam, and can cover much more then you will ever use on VATSIM or FS.  These Pilots will earn a monthly allotment of Metro Miles and the distinguished Metro Gold Badge!  You must pass this exam with a score of 90% or higher.

In the next 90 days We are looking at working with William and Matt C in the possibility of opening a training base.  This base would be the home of Metro Air University, the Mentorship Program and will offer different staff opportunities in the role of Instructor.  This facility would act as the training base for Metro Air Virtual and will be available to all pilots old and new for their instruction or brush up on different items, coursed offered may vary from “Tuning a VOR to Private Pilot Ratings”

This is a glimpse of what is happening, I hope some of this will spark your interest and you will be ready and waiting when these roll out.  Lots of opportunity for advancement both through the airline as well as your aeronautical knowledge.

Green Skies

Ken Adams MET1208

Director of Training