Swa Pool

[airlinepilot]

Just back from PC in Dallas

For what it's worth.....word on the street with management in training is they will be surprised if only about a hand full (5 to 10) make the cut with the interview and recommendation process.

 

[Whataburger]

I am still trying to figure out why a captain making 170/hr or whatever it is would want to come back and throw the gear for 50/hr and be on reserve in OAK. I guess if they love the job that much then more power to them, but if it were me...i think I would just go buy a small plane and enjoy my retirement.

Seen the latest Vacancy Posting for April? Three words:

Viva Las Vegas for the old dudes.

 

[hyeflyin]

Whataburger,
How many vacancies does it show for LAS? Is that going to be filled with new hires or do they transfer people from other bases there? Thanks.

 

[Senio101]

Apparantely, the retired guys have until Feb 8th to interview. So far, the number is 11. Got that from a reliable source. Good luck to all of us in the airline business. God speed.........

 

[huronip]

Whataburger,
How many vacancies does it show for LAS? Is that going to be filled with new hires or do they transfer people from other bases there? Thanks.

40 FO's displaced from PHX in April.

Also found this today:

Law change has airlines seeking retired pilots

By TREBOR BANSTETTER
Star-Telegram Staff Writer


Travelers may soon notice more gray hair in airplane cockpits when they board their flights, thanks to a wave of recently retired pilots trading in their beach chairs for seats on the flight deck.
A recent change in federal law, which raised the mandatory retirement age for commercial pilots from 60 to 65, means that some retired pilots can return to the skies. Airlines, facing a growing pilot shortage, are beginning to recruit retired pilots who are younger than 65.
"There are lot of pilots who love flying. It's an absolute passion for them, and they may be interested in coming back," said Brandy King, a spokeswoman for Dallas-based Southwest Airlines. "So we want to give them that opportunity."
The change, which Congress approved in December, came as many newly retired pilots were adjusting to living with far less retirement income than they had planned during their careers. The termination of most airline pension plans cut deeply into pilot nest eggs, forcing some to turn to nonflying jobs to bring in more money.
"Many of these pilots are living on just 25 to 30 percent of what they thought they were going to have," said Kit Darby, a pilot and president of consulting firm Air Inc., which helps pilots with career decisions. "So they're a needy group, and some of them are going to jump at the chance to go back to flying."
According to Air Inc., retired pilots have been interviewed for jobs at Delta Air Lines, Southwest and Eos Airlines, which flies between New York and London.
Fort Worth-based American Airlines has no plans right now to recruit retired pilots, spokeswoman Sue Gordon said. American still has more than 2,000 pilots on furlough, who are first in line for new jobs.
Southwest created a team to contact retired pilots who are still young enough to fly, and interviews will begin this month. King said there are about 200 retired Southwest pilots eligible to return.
Pilots who want to come back would go through a two-week interview process and then undergo additional training before returning to flight duties. "It would be all the things that a new pilot does," King said.
But there are drawbacks. The law mandates that retirees who return to their old jobs must be placed on the bottom of airline seniority lists and treated the same as new hires. That means retired captains will come back as first officers, and they will likely earn less than before they retired.
They will also fly smaller airplanes and won't get to pick the choice routes.
"That could be frustrating for some pilots who were at the peak of their careers," flying as captains on the biggest airplanes and earning the largest paychecks, Darby said.
Still, he added, many older pilots may still choose to resume flying, particularly if they're already working to augment their retirement income.
The new pool of veteran pilots comes as the industry is struggling with a growing shortage of pilots. Many regional airlines have slashed their hiring requirements during the past year to meet the demand for new pilots, and some, including American Eagle, have had to adjust flight schedules because of fewer pilots.
That's why "every airline is looking at this right now, and at some point I think all of them are going" to be recruiting retired pilots, Darby said. "It's a group with a lot of experience, and a lot of them want to come back."
Share of Southwest (ticker: LUV) finished at 11.96, up 25 cents in trading Wednesday. Shares of AMR Corp., American's parent company (AMR) finished at $15.25 per share, up 61 cents.
TREBOR BANSTETTER, 817-390-7064
[email protected]

 

[flybynav1965]

hey guys,

this is off the subject of the "hiring pool", but the question was asked. i was in the Oct newhire class, and our whole class of 20 got assigned OAK. i think the previous class of 20 got OAK as well. as of now, no one has been awarded a transfer out of OAK yet. i bet 75% of our class wants to leave OAK.

so, all new hires will most likely get OAK. many of us are hoping this size increase of LAS will help us out.
cheers,
NAV

 

[Babylon]

I am still trying to figure out why a captain making 170/hr or whatever it is would want to come back and throw the gear for 50/hr and be on reserve in OAK. I guess if they love the job that much then more power to them, but if it were me...i think I would just go buy a small plane and enjoy my retirement.

There are a ton of losers in the industry and anyone who comes back for first year wages is exactly that - underlined. Interview them? Heck yeah - you really want that level of loser in the cockpit with you? I mean you've got them already but here you've got a real chance to keep their sorry *** out. Duh.

 

[Whataburger]

Whataburger,
How many vacancies does it show for LAS? Is that going to be filled with new hires or do they transfer people from other bases there? Thanks.

I dont remember the numbers exactly but I think that 40 FOs will be added to LAS with a major reduction in MDW and PHX. This is due to 2 more overnighters in LAS.
The pilots being displaced in MDW and PHX will fill spots their seniority can hold. Once the smoke clears, the newhires will get the leftovers. Most likely LAS.

 

[Mach 80]

>>>>>There are a ton of losers in the industry and anyone who comes back for first year wages is exactly that - underlined. Interview them? Heck yeah - you really want that level of loser in the cockpit with you? I mean you've got them already but here you've got a real chance to keep their sorry *** out. Duh.<<<<

A LOT of guys got hired at SWA in their late 40's or early 50's and didn't have the opportunity to get their 401k and profit sharing accounts up as high a value as guys who spent 30 years at SWA. Some of these guys got bounced around in the industry...furloughed or lost jobs due to bankruptcies and their retirement accounts are not too high. Now...go out and try to find a job that pays more than $60,000 at age 60 when all you've ever done is fly airplanes. It isn't going to happen. First year guys at SWA can easily make > $60,000 and then close to $100,000 in their second year. That can make a big difference in your retirement account combined with the fact that you aren't taking money out of your retirement savings. So -- they aren't losers, they are being smart and doing what they must to provide for themselves and wives so their children won't have to help them. Some of these guys are going to live to 90...that takes a lot of money. Most of these guys are great guys. You are making an incorrect supposition that these guys have lots of money to go out and buy their own airplanes when in fact, the opposite may be true.

 

[PCL_128]

Now...go out and try to find a job that pays more than $60,000 at age 60 when all you've ever done is fly airplanes. It isn't going to happen.

NetJets pays over $60k first year. FlexJet and Citation Shares also hire plenty of guys over 60, and they pay about $50k first year.

 

[Whataburger]

NetJets pays over $60k first year. FlexJet and Citation Shares also hire plenty of guys over 60, and they pay about $50k first year.

...and for the most part you can live where you want.

 

[huronip]

hey guys,

this is off the subject of the "hiring pool", but the question was asked. i was in the Oct newhire class, and our whole class of 20 got assigned OAK. i think the previous class of 20 got OAK as well. as of now, no one has been awarded a transfer out of OAK yet. i bet 75% of our class wants to leave OAK.

so, all new hires will most likely get OAK. many of us are hoping this size increase of LAS will help us out.
cheers,
NAV

I don't understand it either. I have been trying to bid back to OAK for the past two months because I would be able to hold a line instead of sitting reserve in PHX. If people are trying to bid out of OAK and others want in what keeps that from happening?

 

[JumpJetter]

in the last few months there have actually been NO vacancies in OAK. If you are near the bottom of the list, you can only leave OAK if (1) there is a positive vacancy bid for OAK (which for the last two months there has not been, it has actually shrunk due to Vegas) and (2) people junior to you are being added to the seniority list. Again, this has not happened either cause we have had very few new hire classes lately (in fact nobody brand new hitting the line in Jan and Feb I think).

JJ

 

[TonkaF16]

Stuck in Oak

I bid back to OAK in dec and have stagnated there for the Jan, feb, March Vacancy?

From the words above it looks like April will offer an opportunity to get back to Vegas.

OAK- Well oiled machine, crack town for crash pads, harder commute, better seniority and choice of lines/open time

Vegas-Historically smaller bid, and lines for open time, hotels are rough, better commute

Oh, the life of a junior FO

Any ideas on where the January class of new hires are doing their hard lines????

Thanks,

Tonka

in the last few months there have actually been NO vacancies in OAK. If you are near the bottom of the list, you can only leave OAK if (1) there is a positive vacancy bid for OAK (which for the last two months there has not been, it has actually shrunk due to Vegas) and (2) people junior to you are being added to the seniority list. Again, this has not happened either cause we have had very few new hire classes lately (in fact nobody brand new hitting the line in Jan and Feb I think).

JJ

 

[jke406]

I bid back to OAK in dec and have stagnated there for the Jan, feb, March Vacancy?

From the words above it looks like April will offer an opportunity to get back to Vegas.

OAK- Well oiled machine, crack town for crash pads, harder commute, better seniority and choice of lines/open time

Vegas-Historically smaller bid, and lines for open time, hotels are rough, better commute

Oh, the life of a junior FO

Any ideas on where the January class of new hires are doing their hard lines????

Thanks,

Tonka

This is the SWA Pool thread. I.E., for folks who are waiting for a job. I seriously doubt if there is any sympathy for your plight here, fella. Take it somewhere else.

 

[Mach 80]

>>>NetJets pays over $60k first year. FlexJet and Citation Shares also hire plenty of guys over 60, and they pay about $50k first year.<<<

Yep, certainly a choice, but if you've been flying part 121 airlines and the Boeing 737 for a long time, I'm sure it'd be easier, less stressful, less of a change, and more comfortable to stick with it plus be around your long time buds and airline routine. BUT-- my point is for an earlier poster -- many guys don't have the retirement $$$ and do need the work...it's not just a matter of "I want to fly for fun"...as if these guys could afford to buy their own $175,000 airplane or something, as he infers.

 

[PCL_128]

Yep, certainly a choice, but if you've been flying part 121 airlines and the Boeing 737 for a long time, I'm sure it'd be easier, less stressful, less of a change, and more comfortable to stick with it plus be around your long time buds and airline routine.

Excuse me while I weep for the poor geezers that can't make the transition to the fractionals and would rather hold up the careers of those that are coming behind them at SWA. [/sarcasm]

 

[humuakalaka]

I've been at SWA now for almost two years. I bid out of OAK for LAS for Feb. Saw the bid results for Feb, immediately changed my bid back to OAK, and now am stuck in LAS at least through the end of Mar. Anybody know what the chances are of going back to OAK sooner rather than later? I would be about 40% or so up the OAK FO list.

 

[sandyPAN]

Has anyone heard the official number of retreads that actually did re apply? And, any word of class dates.

 

[Mach 80]

PCL,

>>>Excuse me while I weep for the poor geezers that can't make the transition to the fractionals and would rather hold up the careers of those that are coming behind them at SWA.<<<

Excuse me while I weep for the unhired.

The age 60 guys could make the transition, but if they have been happy and it's easier to stay with what they have been doing, why change? Would you? It's smart and they have the right. As far as "holding up..." thanks for your dose of libarilism...Hillary and John Edwards would love you, but what about some of these guys who have little in retirement, don't they need and have the right to take care of themselves? The answer is yes.