pilot

captain

baggage handler

flight attendant

customer service representative

Piedmont Airlines

Hiring process requires commitment of a lot of "unpaid" time & driving to finally get on the payroll.  They refuse to pay for the actual time when you punch in and out, & only for hours you're scheduled.  You're required to drive to the airport & park in a employee lot & then shuttle to the terminal (all unpaid time).  Once walk all the way through secure doors, employee entrances and punched in - you are already 1-2 hours into your day with NO PAY.  If your working over or come in early to help you don't get paid.  Never trust managers that you will get OT when you stay, its like an act of congress to even get 15 minutes.  Their time clock system automatically ROUNDS YOUR HOURS DOWN, - punch in at 545am = your in at 615am.  Out at 307pm = your out at 245pm (if your scheduled hours are 615-245)   
Get this, You're hired to find ways not for them to fire you, for practically nothing!!.  Employees treat you with disrespect and try bullying you just because you are new.  Its very clicky and management is full of Hypocritical personnel. God for bid look at your cell phone, or hydrate and catch a snack without being wrote up.  You work your tail off and looked at like you're just a parking line that's supposed to be there.  They will literally do whatever they can to find every agent at fault to point blame.  Their internal investigations violate your civil rights and are never performed with dignity and integrity.  One will never get a, "hey great job and mistakes happen and you are still learning".  Its automatic suspension, drug test and ignoring you.  Managers lie and make up their own rules. There is ABSOLUTELY no fairness when it comes discipline.  One employee can be fired for the same mistake another did, but only was told verbally to be more careful.  People sell contraband, steal and report to work intoxicated!  Yet they will fire someone learning the job and accidentally made an error where nobody was injured or damages occurred.  It is very sad and their image in the aviation business if very poor!!  STAY AWAY.

The Company is still adjusting with the USAirways/American merger. Currently the Piedmont employees are apart of a separate Union than American Airlines workers & because of poor leadership/disorganization from the previous Union leadership the current Contract with Piedmont Airlines is very poor with a very low starting pay (Compared to American Airlines) although it's not realistic for Piedmont to pay workers the same rate as American's; there's still a big disparity in starting pay. ($9.70 vs. $13+) 

Piedmont Airlines employees have the exact same job duties as American Airlines employees but with a larger volume of planes (This is due to Piedmont being a primarily regional carrier & working smaller planes. Smaller Planes=Higher Volume of Flights)

Although the pay is much lower than American Airlines, because CLT has a large surplus of Agents available, you have much more flexibility in scheduling than American Employees. As a PT Agent, you can have a schedule as low as 2 scheduled days a week, at American (In CLT) every Agent (Part Time or Full Time) gets a 5-Day schedule regardless of hours. Great Flexibility at Piedmont.

Having said all of that....when you work for Piedmont Airlines you are basically considered a relative to American Airlines (Like a step-child) therefore you receive all the benefits that American Employees receive, including the Ability to Fly Domestically for FREE & very low cost internationally. Flying is the safest, most time-efficient, & most expensive form or travel in America. As an employee of this Airline you never have to worry about paying to travel long distances, which is extremely valuable (If you're actually into traveling, going on adventures, experiencing new places, seeing the world, that type of thing.)

The work environment is no Bueno. Expect working conditions that will worsen your vision, hearing, and back. Expect working with employees whose conversations revolve around harassment. The fumes from the aircraft is what really will damage your breathing capacity the most. Don't bend at your legs to pick objects up, but the environment you will be expected to work in involves picking up objects in areas you can't bend at your knees. The Aircraft Bins have poor air circulation expect to breathe in the fumes and hurt your knees in there when the temperature is unbearable. Expect poor management due to lack in the HR department, let's face it the company doesn't want to pay an actual HR rate to someone. The management will make you feel like from day one, they will walk all over you and make sure you feel like. You will get angrily yelled at in situations that don't require yelling. You won't make enough money to enjoy the benefits, it's minimum wage. Your schedule will be randomly generated and permanent, expect to quit within the first couple months if you need a specific day off. I wouldn't recommend anyone to work there unless they bumped the wage up to $15 hr. The Union needs to actually help the workers in this industry but they lack and are most likely owned by the airlines. You may be able to get your wage up to $20 after years of employment but expect the contract to fall through with the airline. This is the Airlines way of not paying employees what they deserve and beating the Union system "contracted work". The Airline Industry is not somewhere to work.

A typical day at work:
A typical day as a Ramp Agent at American Airlines was busy and fast-paced. I handled a variety of ground operations, including loading and unloading baggage, guiding aircraft in and out of gates, performing safety checks, and ensuring on-time departures—all while working closely with a dedicated team.

What I believe I learned:
I learned the importance of teamwork, precision, and safety in a high-stakes environment. The role strengthened my ability to work efficiently under pressure, communicate clearly, and stay organized in a constantly changing operation.

Management:
Management was focused on safety, efficiency, and keeping operations running smoothly. They maintained high expectations and emphasized accountability, which helped build discipline and attention to detail.

Workplace culture:
The workplace culture was very team-oriented and fast-moving. Everyone depended on each other to get the job done, and there was a strong sense of camaraderie among crew members working together on the ramp.

The hardest part of the job:
The most challenging part was working in all types of weather conditions and handling physically demanding tasks while maintaining safety and performance standards.

The most enjoyable part of the job:
The most rewarding aspect was being part of the operation that kept flights on schedule and passengers moving safely. There was a real sense of pride and satisfaction in knowing your work directly contributed to the success of each flight.

Piedmont had the ability to make a turn in the right direction after transitioning over to the jets, but seems to have fallen back into the same old routine if not gone backwards. Long work days and old contract leave you the choice  of minimum  pay.  Not a place I would recommend with the pilot shortage and hiring offers out there  now.  If you do not live in Philly or Charlotte it is a hard company to commute to work and spend time with family.  Basic schedule is 4 on 2 off and hope you don't get called in, the lines are as such you have to sacrifice time at home to make a decent wage, contract negotiations are not going well and the future is a steady turn over with pilots.  The recruiting department promises quick training ( 7-9 months)  and the ultimate promise of a flow to AA plan on 5 per month for the flow to AA. Upgrade is 1000 hs 121 time so you can figure on 60-70 hrs a month your looking at 16-18 months once you hit the line or hold a line plan on reserve.  If you are 23 and no kids, mortgage, or no life id say go for it I've seen 6000+ paychecks ( no LIFE) if you have a family you'll be gone and miss pretty much everything.  So just food for thought which is more important Charter w a set 7-7/8-6 schedule and 2-3Xs the money or the promise of a flow to a major which you can get there at the same time but be several thousands $$$ ahead and have the time at home... hope this helps...im going back to 135 flying better hotels, food, schedule, and peace of mind...

Point system for employees.  Being tardy 1 minute got you points and with enough you'd be fired. Did not make sense because some people called out every other day and still didn't get fired. When they called out, they forced the person with least seniority to stay and work their shift. Management and supervisors had favorites. Everyone is supposed to be trained at every job but the people who had been there a while & favorites would do the easier jobs (baggage in the shade, turn "clean" the plane in the AC'd jet bridge) while they put others to do the hard labor (ie loading, unloading bags, being in the sun wing walking). It was so obvious who worked and who didn't based on body weight. They rush you to get bags unloaded by yourself. Understaffed, barely paid for the amount of work and the benefits didn't make up for it. How can you travel if you don't have enough money for hotel, car rental, or even enough days off in the first place? It would take an act of God to get days off. They don't work with your schedule, unless you were a favorite. If you wanted days off after the schedule came out, shifts would have to be traded/ covered and nobody would help you out. Learned a lot of lessons about favoritism and exploitation while working at ILM. Like another review said, they will work you until you're used up and then kick you to the curb. Unless you're a brown nose favorite. 

I had a great time with Piedmont. the friends I made weren't limited to my airport of operation. The training for ramp and counter agents is a great opportunity to make connections as well as friends across the globe. But, depending on the station you are hired at enjoying your job can be difficult at times. Management can be problematic when their self interest comes before employee safety and training. But if you push past the bumps in the road there is an entire world of opportunity, literally. Your achievements get recognized by important higher-ups if they deem them to be well enough. Which is an experience I never had before making it feel as though you are truly appreciated by the company you work for. As for pay and benefits the pay is not the best depending on your airports size. But with countless jobs at airports nation wide there is always a way to bump your pay if you have the work ethic and drive. As a part time agent insurance and sick days are non existent for a good while and  you still have to pay for a fraction of full time insurance. Although, the flight benefits are the absolute best of any airline I have seen. So to make an incredibly long summary short, great job if you make it that way with ok pay and great fight benefits. 

You are hardly told anything but expected to know everything. The learning hubs by American airlines emphasize team work and the importance of equality and respect but it's all just cooperate window dressing. They can really careless regional management is the power and the attitude becomes clear, everyone for themselves The split shifts are not ideal. If you live more than 20 minutes away and or can afford the gas great but if not you have to find somewhere to go for 3 hours!  You have to have a second job the flying benefits are cool when you can find time to use them when you have to work two jobs. You are fortunate if some of the coworkers do like you and are helpful in helping you learn. The supervisor s are good people! Some co workers will not tell you anything and just straight refuse to give you important information. If you do not check the schedule every day you might not know you are scheduled! The culture there in noway reflects what the learning hubs want you to believe about you the employee! Corporate don't care they will find someone else! With the right management and team player coworkers it would be an awesome job. I only have awesome coworkers and supervisors! 

The people I've worked with have been very kind, but very disorganized. In ramp class I was taught that we'd do a pre-landing huddle to figure out what everyone is doing, but it's more-so a free for all. The benefits are free flights, if the seat isn't bought by someone else. So busy flights are never going to go in your favor. And, frankly, the pay isn't high enough to afford to save up even for a hotel or anything if you DO intend on traveling. I was told, during the hiring process, that it would start at $12 an hour, but the union was currently negotiating on raising that to $14. It's been months and nothing's changed. They also do not compensate properly for overtime. If you take other people's shifts, it doesn't count AS or TOWARDS overtime. You can work 200 hours and get maybe 20 hours of overtime. It's ridiculous, not to mention back-breaking. You are rushed through every process of preparing the flight. Cleaning is done in half the time it should really take, loading bags is rushed, unloading bags is rushed, getting them out to passengers is rushed. It's all on a very tight time-table while simultaneously having none of the benefits that go along with that. Those being, proper preparation and training. The people are great, the environment is great, runways are incredibly pretty, but it can be back-breaking and the compensation isn't enough for that.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Flight benefits on the American Airline network. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
If you have a second job, work schedules, possible mandatory overtime, and schedule bids every three months are the most stressful as Piedmont Airlines make no accommodations whatsoever. They are not flexible at all and attendance/punctuality is extremely strict with no grace period for clocking in (if you are one second late, you are late, period). They work off of an attendance point system. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Management is pretty non existent unless you make a mistake or if you need to be written up about something. Other than that, they will hardly engage with you, which can be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it. Learn the job, learn it quick, do ur job right and you’ll be left alone type of environment. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Clock in on time, get a quick briefing for the day and your assignment. Help passengers in the front office locating luggage that is delayed or lost, damaged luggage claims, working the luggage carousels pulling luggage left behind, or working the back office organizing and sending luggage to its appropriate destination.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Pilot 1566 salaries reported	$146 per hour
Captain 1566 salaries reported	$146 per hour
Baggage handler 24 salaries reported	$15.20 per hour
Flight attendant 6 salaries reported	$26.33 per hour
Customer service representative 22 salaries reported	$13.87 per hour

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