A Career Question

[General Lee]

AA flyer,

I think you are going to find that well over 10,000 applicants are going for Continental since they will join the short list of Airlines that are hiring.

If I were at SWA, I would not leave for anyone. If I were somewhere that did not pay well (I.E. regional airline with crappy work rules and bad management) I would consider trading my seniority to go to Continental or any of the other airlines that are hiring.

I do enjoy working for my present Employer flying 737's, however things are not really stable ( I stand a chance of being furloughed) so I will apply to CO.

If I have to leave, I suppose my dream line-up would be SWA, UPS, FEDeX, CO, JBLU, AirTran, AWA. Delta is actually my number one choice (being a Georgia boy) but I don't think they are going to be hiring any time soon. Any encouraging words, General Lee?

As a side note, I go to work every day and realize that I am still flying a jet during the worst economic conditions for the airline industry. Just hoping they don't get any worse.

I would love to say everything here is "Peachy"---but it is not. We are still working on getting our act together, and hopefully not going to Chap 11. I think we finally have some good management and a "plan", but we need a lot more things to go right for us. We are retiring a bunch of people (due to pension scares and a rising Gatt rate which affects the size of the lump sum), but we still have 638 people out, although 100 more of them should return by the end of Summer supposedly. We had 34 retire April 1st, and we may have up to 150 retire on May 1st due to that Gatt rate rising and vacation payout (unused vacation) on the mid April check---adding to their final earnings. Also, some of those 638 furloughs have probably moved on to JB etc, so we really don't know the number. We will be happier when good ole Dave Griffen and TBKANE come back. After that, we will see about hiring. In the meantime, going to another one of your choices might be a good thing to do. Good luck.


Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[Wesb737fo]

Falcon20driver,

I'm trying to figure out what your beef with B-1900 pilots being hired at SWA and AirTran. I think that hand flying 8 legs a day in the weather (1120 hours my last year flying that p.o.s) in the Northeast corridor will give you the experience that alot of places like. I'm sure you fly alot in your Falcon, but,why should that give you an advantage in the eyes of those that do the hiring?

 

[falcon20driver]

Wesb737fo,

I don't have a problem at all with B1900 pilots, I don't think that they are any more qualified than a 135 jet captain, but apparently AirTran thinks so.

 

[Wesb737fo]

Hey There Falcon,

No disrespect to Ty, but life doesn't hinge on AirTran not hiring 135, unless AirTran is where you want to be. Do you have any contacts at FedEx? UPS (or any other numerous airlines that aren't going to hire me right now).

Like someone said in an earlier post, there are vast numbers of qualified pilots out there, so companies can set whatever qualifications they want to. By the way, I might be needing a job soon. How much do you make flying a Falcon20?

 

[Dinger]

The way I figure it, the best airline to work for is the one that hires you!

 

[NEDude]

Wesb737fo,

I don't have a problem at all with B1900 pilots, I don't think that they are any more qualified than a 135 jet captain, but apparently AirTran thinks so.

Apparently AirTran is telling people from my company that B1900 is not very valuable. This comes from the WAI conference. I believe the phrasing was something to the effect of "It takes 4000 hours of B1900 PIC to equal 1000 hours of Jet PIC".

 

[lakelivin]

The way I figure it, the best airline to work for is the one that hires you!

Chime in here... I work for x-jet(coex) so CAL has always been on my short list. Prior to them hiring I got busy networking for UPS an FedEx. I am currently in the pool w/ UPS so they are the best (and only for me ). I will still work on the others until I am in training but the major down side to CAL is the bases...CAL like every where else has it's problems but I think they will be one of the legacy airlines to pull through still smelling like roses...

 

[-9Capt]

I'll state one more time, just for the record, I think the 121 PIC time requirement is B.S.

However, it has been the experience of the AirTran training dept. that pilots with prior 121 capt and/or prior military flight experience are better able to upgrade after 2-3 yrs.

Fact of the matter is, starting tomorrow, they can require 20,000hrs and at least one shuttle mission and they'll still be over-run with resumes.

 

[SWA/FO]

Total BS..... in my opinion, I believe flying in the middle of the night in a Falcon 20 is better time then a B1900. However, I don't believe in the above post about the 4 to 1 time conversion.

I once heard from a former military pilot (as we were getting out of the hotel van) and current SWA Capt. that 10000 hours of civilian time = 1000 jet fighter time. The Captain, I was flying with (civilian too) looked at me and we started laughing.... right.

The airlines make up the rules of the game.

 

[-9Capt]

Total BS..... in my opinion, I believe flying in the middle of the night in a Falcon 20 is better time then a B1900. .

Exactly what part of my post is "Total B.S."?

All things being equal, personally, I'd take the 1900 guy. He already knows the part 121 regs, CRM, airline training, and has probably hand flown quite a few 1800RVR appchs. without an autopilot, in the middle of the night.

You may not agree with AirTran's policy, I don't either, but regardless of what you deem B.S., AirTran has had better success with prior 121 guys, that much is fact (sorry TY).

 

[Double Shot]

I left Continental for Southwest. Best thing I ever did. Continental was and still is a major dissaster.

 

[English]

I'll take a job with ANY airline on the list in ANY order!

That comment scares me.

 

[aa73]

Guys, don't put all your eggs in one basket. Remember, no matter how bad you want to work at SWA/UPS/FedEx/Airtran, etc.... you will still be at the bottom of their respective seniority lists. Anything can happen.

Personally, I'd go with the first one that calls. If it's CAL I'd go in a heart beat. You only live once, roll the bones.

73

 

[enigma]

I will add Continental to my short list and apply. At the present, I am only applying to SWA, but am danged near to deciding to send in stuff to AirTran and JetBlue.

No, I don't think that I would pursue any of the other legacy carriers. Maybe AA, but they've got way too many on furlough to even think about them at the moment.

Here's my ranking, and it's heavy on the "MY".

Anybody who has been a flightinfo'r for more than a month knows that I put SWA at number one.
Then, Continental, Airtran, and finally JetBlue. I think that all three of the companies would be a fine place to work, but I factor in a commute when I rank them for my situation, and CAL has a base close to my house. AirTran and Jetblue don't. I don't include FedEx nor BigBrown, because I have no desire to attempt being a FE. If they hire into the right seat, they'll get into my ranking. Not that there's anything wrong with the FE, I just don't know if I could be a very good FE. Personal preference and all, you know.

If I were to offer a ranking based upon what I thought was the best in general (instead of best for my specific situation) it would be: FedEx UPS, SWA, JetBlue, AirTran, then Continental.

Goods will continue to be transported, and that puts the freight companies on top. SWA is the proven entity among the carriers, and they are personel friendly, they get the next highest rank. And they are continuing to grow.
JetBlue treats their people exceptionally well and is on a roll. I liken JetBlue to the new, hot nightclub in town, everybody want's to be there, or ride them as it maybe. They will continue to grow.
AirTran is well managed, but not as "showy" as JetBlue. They too, will continue to grow.
And finally, Continental. They are well managed, but I'm not sure about growth. It seems that their hiring projections are somewhat based upon retirements, but I wonder what a pilot retirement age increase will do to anyone who happens to get hired in the near future. Even at that, If I were offered a job there tommorrow, I'd resign from Spirit in a hearbeat in order to go to IAH.

regards,
enigma

 

[English]

Why does that "scare" you?

The bottom of any legacy carrier's list is absolutely the wrong place to be right now.

It is amazing how many pilots have been brainwashed into thinking that is the golden carrot.

Been there, done that.