Southern Hiring

[ROSWELL41]

Would a guy leaving a regional FO seat be able to upgrade quickly at SAI or is there some minimum heavy/international time requirement that would take a few years to meet?

 

[gringo]

Would a guy leaving a regional FO seat be able to upgrade quickly at SAI or is there some minimum heavy/international time requirement that would take a few years to meet?

The company's policy is 1000 hours jet and 500 hours heavy. Most guys seem to average about 500 hours a year here, so theoretically, you could be eligible for upgrade within 12 months.

Last year they were "upgrading" First Officers right out of ground school ("Captain-qualified First Officer") but these guys already had PIC experience from somewhere else, usually another widebody ACMI trash hauler.

For a regional FO with no PIC time, I'd expect to wait at least a year. Besides, if all you know is the calm quiet comfort of domestic daytime ops, you'd want to spend at least a year flying into such garden spots as Africa or Afghanistan. Or the super crazy places like Amsterdam or Frankfurt. Or Dubai. You really don't want to be making the decisions required here too quickly- it really does take some time to figure out this type of flying and become comfortable with it.

 

[Sir Innocenti]

Inane post on my part, but my fingers are crossed, I filled out the app on July 1st...Ive always wanted to fly ACMI internationally.....I'll keep that quiet at my next FAA physical in case they want to send me for a psyche eval....

 

[ROSWELL41]

The company's policy is 1000 hours jet and 500 hours heavy. Most guys seem to average about 500 hours a year here, so theoretically, you could be eligible for upgrade within 12 months.

Last year they were "upgrading" First Officers right out of ground school ("Captain-qualified First Officer") but these guys already had PIC experience from somewhere else, usually another widebody ACMI trash hauler.

For a regional FO with no PIC time, I'd expect to wait at least a year. Besides, if all you know is the calm quiet comfort of domestic daytime ops, you'd want to spend at least a year flying into such garden spots as Africa or Afghanistan. Or the super crazy places like Amsterdam or Frankfurt. Or Dubai. You really don't want to be making the decisions required here too quickly- it really does take some time to figure out this type of flying and become comfortable with it.

I realize that I would have a ton to learn. I would welcome the challenge of ACMI flying. I just don't want to get pigeon-holed because I don't have previous PIC time. If that's the case, I may as well just stay at the regionals and wait for that upgrade whenever it may come. Does SAI upgrade solely based on seniority or are there merit based upgrades like Omni?

 

[gringo]

I realize that I would have a ton to learn. I would welcome the challenge of ACMI flying. I just don't want to get pigeon-holed because I don't have previous PIC time. If that's the case, I may as well just stay at the regionals and wait for that upgrade whenever it may come. Does SAI upgrade solely based on seniority or are there merit based upgrades like Omni?

Lack of previous PIC time does not seem to be an issue here. I know quite a few guys who have been upgraded here after flying nothing bigger than an RJ or an ATR, with zero PIC time. A few of the Captains here are in their late 20's- just learning to shave! (All of them are excellent sticks, though.)

For the most part, upgrades are based upon seniority, but the candidate must also have at least 3 letters of recommendation in his file for him or her to get the nod. So it's a bit of both systems. And there are a lot of FO's on the list who have no interest in sitting in the left seat of the Classic- they'd rather move over to the 777 or 400 right seat.

All I can say is, if we get the 400's as planned and 777 #3 and 4 next year, there would be a LOT of movement and opportunity to upgrade quickly.

 

[DHPFLYN]

Do you get the airline miles? Do they pay you during training? Also i would assume the training must be good for the type of flying you do.

Are the hotels pretty nice on the overnights?

Thanks for the information

 

[gringo]

Do you get the airline miles? Do they pay you during training? Also i would assume the training must be good for the type of flying you do.

Are the hotels pretty nice on the overnights?

Thanks for the information

1) Yes
2) Yes
3) Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! <*snort*>... *ahem*... the training is, shall we say, sufficient enough for you to hopefully not leave a smoking hole in the ground after your first flight. I'm guessing you never flew ACMI. It's the "fire hose" treatment; you'll really learn more while on the road, kind of an OJT thing.

*note- this applies only to the 747 side of the house. The 777 side is more up to date, so you'll likely get better training over there. But I don't really know, cuz I'm flying a 4-holer, not a 2-holer.

Don't get me wrong, the people in the training department are for the most part, outstanding, but you'll spend more time in training learning the systems of an RJ than you will here (or any other ACMI) learning the 747.

4) Yes, the hotels are for the most part quite comfortable. Usually a decent location, breakfast included, gym included, high speed internet included, except for Anchorage, where the Hilton has apparently hooked up their entire hotel to a single 56k modem. It's faster in Ethiopia.

 

[DHPFLYN]

Thanks for the information.

How are your rest areas are on the plane? Also do they do a good job of catering your plane? Enough food and drinks for the long flights and large crews you have?

I applied last week and just got a email from them asking to answer further questions. I guess that is a good thing?

 

[DHPFLYN]

One other thing. Do you DHD on all different airlines? or do they send you on certain carriers? Coach on a Emirates flight is much different than coach on United.

 

[Nate2046]

I applied last week and just got a email from them asking to answer further questions. I guess that is a good thing?

Hey DHP, I got the same e-mail today. When you clicked on the link did you find anything that took you to a new section with additional questions? I didn't see anything obvious so I tried 'update your profile' and found that a couple of sections were blank. I answered those questions but they still show as blank every time I go back to 'update.' I'm still not sure if the e-mail was an invitation to provide more info or an indication that my app was incomplete.

 

[SBD]

Hey DHP, I got the same e-mail today. When you clicked on the link did you find anything that took you to a new section with additional questions? I didn't see anything obvious so I tried 'update your profile' and found that a couple of sections were blank. I answered those questions but they still show as blank every time I go back to 'update.' I'm still not sure if the e-mail was an invitation to provide more info or an indication that my app was incomplete.

Wondering the same thing. Got a call yesterday to update my application/profile but it's just repeating the same steps. Guess I should give them a call today.

Also to the guys at SA now do any of you have any sort of family life? How many days are you on/off.

 

[Nate2046]

Wondering the same thing. Got a call yesterday to update my application/profile but it's just repeating the same steps. Guess I should give them a call today.

Alright, I broke down and bugged them about this question. They confirmed those were the proper steps. Thought I should share before we all deluge them with calls/emails. Best of luck.

 

[ROSWELL41]

How many is Southern looking to hire? Are all newhires supposed to be for the 747 Classic?

 

[3blade]

Any hope of a better schedule in the future? 20 on 10 off is a tough pill to swallow for a father and a husband.

 

[DHPFLYN]

I updated also but everything looked the same to me also. Oh well hope I gave them what they wanted.