Spirit to hire directly from ERAU?

[The_Russian]

Whats the deal with this? I heard Spirit is going to hire pilots directly from ERAU with 250 hours or less in their book. Are they looking to destroy the current level of safety at the airline, or are they trying to find guys who will break the contract to benefit the company?

 

[motch]

find guys who will break the contract to benefit the company

I've said this before...
ALPA needs to go to Flight Schools and Colleges and talk to the next generation of Airline Pilots.

Hopefully as long as you have Captains with time on the aircraft and something greater than ATP mins sitting in the left seat, safety may not compromised to much... hopefully!!

Always~

 

[1031Guy]

That's funny! Have you ever had an emergency??? Things can get pretty busy real quick. Adding fuel to the fire by having an F/O who can only program the computer to go from A to B and nothing else because he has no experience.

 

[Way2Broke]

Its not new news... this has been going on for at least two months. That was when I spoke with a woman with a fresh multi comm from ERAU that had been offered a position.

 

[huncowboy]

That's funny! Have you ever had an emergency??? Things can get pretty busy real quick. Adding fuel to the fire by having an F/O who can only program the computer to go from A to B and nothing else because he has no experience.

Sounds just like the regionals to me. Except I surely did not know how to properly program the computer when I hit the line first.

 

[Princedietrich]

I think I'll be taking the bus from now on.

 

[lionflyer]

Spirit wants cheap labor, nothing more. Any chimp can "program" the Airbus. God help the poor capt that has to deal with an emergency single pilot. It's one thing when the regionals are hiring low timers because they can't find anyone else, but Spirit has plenty of more than qualified applicants.

 

[treefifeniner]

If I was a Captain at Spirit, I'd be slightly irate. Nothing like being forced to flight instruct all over again!

 

[ualdriver]

Whats the deal with this? I heard Spirit is going to hire pilots directly from ERAU with 250 hours or less in their book. Are they looking to destroy the current level of safety at the airline, or are they trying to find guys who will break the contract to benefit the company?

http://biz.yahoo.com/pz/080130/135197.html

Looks like JetBlue is starting some sort of bridge program as well with ERAU, UND, and Cape Air.



JetBlue Announces Aviation University Gateway Program for Pilot Candidates
Wednesday January 30, 10:00 am ET
Airline Partners With Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, University of North Dakota, and Cape Air to Fill Pilot Pipeline
NEW YORK, Jan. 30, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Award-winning JetBlue Airways (NasdaqGS:JBLU - News) today announces the creation of the Aviation University Gateway, a career-planning and mentoring program designed to identify and recruit talented men and women into the professional pilot ranks. Through rigorous academic training and regional airline experience, the Aviation University Gateway creates a clearly defined career path for aspiring pilots, beginning early in an aviator's college career and culminating in the possibility of a final interview at a major airline.

 

[BoilerUP]

So how much do folks pay for the shot at a Spirit job?

 

[Mike man]

Here is what I have heard about the program...(I am not defending it, just giving information).

* It is a very experimental pilot program and the success of the 6 currently in training will determine the future of the program.

* The F/O's must complete 50 hours of IOE and 25 landings.

* Once online they will have an F/O "line check" so to speak where they will either get a "line check" or fly with an IOE CA monthly (or quarterly)--as yet to be determined.

* Each CA they fly with will (or may be required to) submit an evaluation--as yet to be determined.

* At the end of the one year probationary period will be required to pass a probationary PC.

In the words of Dean [SIZE=-1]Vernon Wormer of Faber College, "[/SIZE]Well, as of this moment, they're on DOUBLE SECRET PROBATION!"

 

[gatorbird]

Mike O. was right on. From the CP's mouth, this is a see-how-it-goes-just-in-case-we-need-it program. He spoke of the possibility of a pilot shortage in a few years; I'm not sure he was convinced of this as he was speaking, though.

Here's my take of it, if it matters. Our DO is a Riddle grad and supposedly sits on some board there. This is a way for him to throw a bone back the ole alma mater's way. If, by some chance, there is a shortage of pilots in the coming years, then he looks really smart and is heralded for spearheading the project. If it doesn't, it goes away and ERAU still gets the "Jeff Carlson Honorary Hall".

This will probably fail one of two ways: the most likely is one of these guys/gals will open their mouth too much and poop will fall out; the other is a situational awareness/possible safety concern will happen somewhere and they'll have to shelve the program.

Hey, these guys are in class as of last Monday. Not many, but some of them are here. The best thing NK pilots can do is educate these guys, not isolate them. The most assured way to make them management-friendly is make them feel threatened by the pilot group. We don't have to like the fact that they are here, but life ain't fair. You want to place blame, place it with the FAA. They're the ones who say these guys are qualified to be a 121 SIC on an Airbus.

gator

 

[greyskyracer]

This will probably fail one of two ways: the most likely is one of these guys/gals will open their mouth too much and poop will fall out; the other is a situational awareness/possible safety concern will happen somewhere and they'll have to shelve the program.

Hey, these guys are in class as of last Monday. Not many, but some of them are here. The best thing NK pilots can do is educate these guys, not isolate them. The most assured way to make them management-friendly is make them feel threatened by the pilot group. We don't have to like the fact that they are here, but life ain't fair. You want to place blame, place it with the FAA. They're the ones who say these guys are qualified to be a 121 SIC on an Airbus.

gator

Are the guys that are in class right now fresh from riddle or did they do the required time at cape air?

Is Jet Blue still looking down upon turbo-prop guys?

thanks in advance

 

[mvedepo]

Its not new news... this has been going on for at least two months. That was when I spoke with a woman with a fresh multi comm from ERAU that had been offered a position.

Might as well start offering single pilot types in the bus.

 

[jke406]

The whole reason for pursuing this has got to be to hire someone without any PIC time, therefore making it impossible for the youngster to jump ship to another carrier in a few months/years.

They've found a way to eliminate attrition to the major carriers.

The "lucky" kids need to be educated on how un-marketable they will be outside of Spirit without any PIC experience.

 

[Mr. Irrelevant]

Quite unreal, except that it's real. Friend of mine has been there about nine months and he was hired with 8k TT, 6k multi, 4k turbojet and 2k turbojet PIC. And he was sending resumes to multiple carriers hoping for a bite. Everyone in his class had multi turbojet PIC. Big change in less than one year.

Mr. I.

 

[Beetle007]

The "lucky" kids need to be educated on how un-marketable they will be outside of Spirit without any PIC experience.

Legacies are hiring people without much PIC. Some don't require any jet PIC. I just had a friend get hired at a Legacy with 1700 total and 0 jet PIC.

Legacy airlines also have these types of programs (internships, internal hires, etc). I know people hired this year at legacy airlines with less than 500 total time.

 

[Draginass]

Management doesn't care. All they care is filling the seat with the cheapest, most compliant, and naive person possible . . . . with of course, the bleat that the beginner pilots are certified by the FAA.

Management merely transfers the danger to the Captain who has to compensate for failings of inexperienced copilot. He's, in effect, at best, forced to act as an instructor, and at worst, just fly the airplane solo.

As long as Spirit captains put up with this, they get exactly what they deserve.

 

[gatorbird]

As long as Spirit captains put up with this, they get exactly what they deserve.

And just what is it that Spirit captains deserve? If these guys come to work and do their job, with no unusual circumstances arising, what are our captains supposed to do? Go cry to the CP that it isn't fair? I mean, the bus isn't hard to operate given nothing unusual happens. Heck, I've seen some of the most experienced pilots make mistakes/get overloaded at times.

What would you do, Captain Draginass, if you went to work tomorrow and your employer announced plans to do the same? Slam your manuals down and walk away?

Don't try to put this burden on the pilot group; most here are just like anybody else--they want to come to work, get paid for it, and go home and live their lives.

gator

 

[ackattacker]

Whats the deal with this? I heard Spirit is going to hire pilots directly from ERAU with 250 hours or less in their book. Are they looking to destroy the current level of safety at the airline, or are they trying to find guys who will break the contract to benefit the company?

Now that you don't "work" at Gulfstream anymore I suppose this isn't hypocrisy.