majors hiring practices

[bgaviator]

Hey all,
I know I have made postings about this in the past, but this is more a specific question in these regards.
Out of curiosity, do most of the majors only hire internally? I heard recently Southwest hired two, but it was internal candidates only. I have NEVER seen postings for Delta...and I was thinking that with the recent merger some of the Northwest dispatchers wouldn't have made the move. But alas, I never see anything. I am curious what will happen with the Continental/United merger as well. So if you're currently at a regional, is your only hope to really possibly flow through to the existing major you're associated with, or is there hope for us yet?


I like the company I work for now...but it just has one major problem....I will NEVER make good money here....it makes me want to puke sometimes thinking that our major counterparts start out making more than what I will top out. Going back and reading responses to some of my past posts, I know a lot of people have said regionals are no longer just a stepping stone, but more of a career....but I just don't know if I can accept that...I expect more, I want more ... I don't think that's wrong of me.

 

[bcp7]

CO, UA, DL and NW have all hired from outside in the past. DL didn't hire very many from outside as their old corporate culture considered dispatchers as management. Employees needed 10 years experience in the company and 2 years as a manager in some other area in order to apply for a dispatch position. Selectees were then sent to Sheffield to obtain their license.

At this point, I would not expect to see hiring by CO or UA individually. Then the number of openings will depend on how many of the CO dispatchers will move to Chicago. Many senior people will probably retire, however the pay increase could entice a large number to move.

A large number of NW dispatchers made the move to ATL due to the 10-15k minimum pay raise they received with the DL scale.

Southwest only recently started hiring from outside the company, probably within the last 3 or 4 years. From what I understand, their criteria is pretty strict and it doesn't necessarily help to have a connection. I worked with a guy at Flexjet who had 10 years or more experience in Part 121 and Part 135 operations whose wife was a dispatcher at Southwest. He couldn't get a look.

Some of the above could be old news. It's too bad that most of the freight dogs are in places I don't really want to live. I am not that interested in the Northeast or Michigan, but may have to change my tune at some point in order to secure employment.

 

[bgaviator]

wow....doesn't really give me a warm fuzzy feeling about my future :-(

 

[dispatchguy]

wow....doesn't really give me a warm fuzzy feeling about my future :-(

Want a warm fuzzy - dont get involved in commercial aviation. I'm just too stupid to get a real gig...

 

[bgaviator]

Want a warm fuzzy - dont get involved in commercial aviation. I'm just too stupid to get a real gig...

Too little, too late for that my friend....I just have to try to achieve the best I can with the skills and career I chose.

 

[aviator202]

Apply at ASA....The dispatchers have a new TA...and if ratified this week, will be an industry leading contract...Good money relatively quickly.

 

[bcp7]

any details? starting pay - work sked? Thanks

 

[clr4theapch]

They just hired a full class last month.. a friend of mine was hired there.. dont expect too much hiring for a while.. F...it... yea I said it..report me!

 

[ABC123]

bgaviator...it appears the majors do not pay the scale like in the past. I interviewed at CO about 2 years ago, and would start out only 2k more than what I am now.

23 years doing this it is my career. I worked for a major, made 42k annually, and presto gone when another carrier purchased their assets, and back to regionals.

It is a tough field, and to tough it out, you have to love aviation, and cannot be looking at money anymore. It is not there any longer

 

[bgaviator]

so how do I get into rail dispatching then? ;-)

 

[aviator202]

Well, bgaviator, I don't know what you consider good money....How about a range you are looking to be paid....

I do know this, the pilots are all psyched that the age 65 requirement will have a lot of pilots retiring, starting in the next 3 years or so....Good for them

No such luck for dispatchers....We have no retirement age ( I know of some dispatchers for a major in their 70s )....Plus most of the folks at the legacy airlines are middle aged or less....So we are looking at about 20-25 years before we see real movement there....

So think about moving to Atlantic Southeast....If we ratify in a few days, we will have the highest paid regional dispatchers....

That is probably the best that can be hoped for in the next two decades or so....

I understand completely if this isn't your cup of tea....May I recommend medical school or law school?

Or you can stay where you are and fight for better compensation....Get involved in your union....If you don't have one, start one!

 

[Squirrel29]

If you want to make decent money look into Cargo. They seem to be doing the hiring right now.

 

[aviator202]

Dang it, I missed that one.....good option Squirrel

 

[bcp7]

There are probably fewer train dispatch jobs than aircraft dispatcher jobs.

I interviewed for a position earlier this year, they did a group presentation for about two hours then one on one interviews based on the time you signed in. They told me they had 12 positions open, and there were like 10 in the group so I figured I was a shoo in but I was not selected. They didn't like the number of jobs on my resume I guess, because that was one of the questions. Several of my employers don't exist any more: Morris Air Service, Prestige Airways, Express.Net Airlines, Cargo 360, but I have to include them (except Morris) to get to the ten years.

Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah

 

[bgaviator]

Yes, we have a union, but personally I feel our contract far more benefited only the utmost senior people at the company. I feel we overall lost far more than we gained ... a lot of the stuff in the contract was not crystal clear to a lot of people, and we basically had just a couple of days to analyze it before we had to come to a vote. Overall I guess it's our fault for signing it ... but when your company has stalled for years on negotiations, you're almost willing to sign anything to get it over with. Our company will never change its mindset I don't believe when it comes to fair compensation.

As far as was what I consider good money ... well, personally I believe I do the exact same job as anyone at a major airline. So why shouldn't I get paid the equivalent, just because I dispatch a 50 seat jet vs. one that has 200 seats? So what? Does that change the basics of being a good dispatcher?

Well, bgaviator, I don't know what you consider good money....How about a range you are looking to be paid....

I do know this, the pilots are all psyched that the age 65 requirement will have a lot of pilots retiring, starting in the next 3 years or so....Good for them

No such luck for dispatchers....We have no retirement age ( I know of some dispatchers for a major in their 70s )....Plus most of the folks at the legacy airlines are middle aged or less....So we are looking at about 20-25 years before we see real movement there....

So think about moving to Atlantic Southeast....If we ratify in a few days, we will have the highest paid regional dispatchers....

That is probably the best that can be hoped for in the next two decades or so....

I understand completely if this isn't your cup of tea....May I recommend medical school or law school?

Or you can stay where you are and fight for better compensation....Get involved in your union....If you don't have one, start one!