Air Force to UAL New Hire

[ROSWELL41]

I think your post pretty much sums up the white male perspective of "it's over lets move on" while ignoring subtle and sometimes not so subtle discrimination that continues to this day. You think it's solved but have you asked any women of African Americans what they thought? There are still many hurdles to overcome and prejudices that need to be changed. It is hardly over with, as you seem to think. If the US is 50% women, 14% African American, and 32% Hispanic, do the demographics at any US air carrier even come close to resembling those demographics? Why not if we are so far along on the road to equality?

Are you suggesting that the demographic makeup of the UAL pilot group should reflect that of the country at large? That is the most absurd comment in this entire thread. Women CHOOSE this career at a much lower rate than men. No need to artificially inflate their numbers. The discrimination you speak of is a myth in 2014. Quit propagating the victim mentality and boosting the grievance industry.

 

[Tripower455]

Are you suggesting that the demographic makeup of the UAL pilot group should reflect that of the country at large? That is the most absurd comment in this entire thread. Women CHOOSE this career at a much lower rate than men. No need to artificially inflate their numbers. The discrimination you speak of is a myth in 2014. Quit propagating the victim mentality and boosting the grievance industry.

Exactly!

 

[Tripower455]

I think your post pretty much sums up the white male perspective of "it's over lets move on" while ignoring subtle and sometimes not so subtle discrimination that continues to this day. You think it's solved but have you asked any women of African Americans what they thought? There are still many hurdles to overcome and prejudices that need to be changed. It is hardly over with, as you seem to think. If the US is 50% women, 14% African American, and 32% Hispanic, do the demographics at any US air carrier even come close to resembling those demographics? Why not if we are so far along on the road to equality?

In the world of hiring, particularly airline hiring, it has been over for more than 3 decades. GMAFB.

I lived through that BS. Did you?

 

[AirCobra]

Are you suggesting that the demographic makeup of the UAL pilot group should reflect that of the country at large? That is the most absurd comment in this entire thread. Women CHOOSE this career at a much lower rate than men. No need to artificially inflate their numbers. The discrimination you speak of is a myth in 2014. Quit propagating the victim mentality and boosting the grievance industry.

Again spoken from the perspective of the white male. We often choose not to go places where we feel we will not be welcome. Ever discussed it with a female pilot/ I have and they all say the same thing, that they feel they have to be better, that they get no slack, and constantly have to prove themselves. They also say they need to help change attitudes and try to attract more young women into aviation. You can't with a straight face tell me the cultures of airline and military pilots is open and welcoming to women.

Don't you think that 25 years later, if everything was just fine that it should reflect society a little more than it does?

 

[AirCobra]

In the world of hiring, particularly airline hiring, it has been over for more than 3 decades. GMAFB.

I lived through that BS. Did you?

Well the stats don't lie. The "300 hour wonder" hiring was nowhere near as prevalent as you made it out to be or perhaps you just misremember, yet you obviously harbor plenty of resentment. Don't you think that may be part of the problem? I ask again have you ever discussed the situation with a African American pilot or a woman?

You don't have to answer but honestly when you see a woman or African American pilot do you automatically think they received special consideration? Have you ever thought that about a white male pilot?

 

[AirCobra]

Exactly!

:laugh: Figures you would say that. Don't you see the inherent contradiction in the post? Let me help you: Why do women not choose aviation, a job always listed as a top ten career for pay and satisfaction? Why would that be the case if everything was just fine?

Do you think groups like the 99's, the WIA or the Whirlygirls are just making stuff up about the challenges women face?

 

[waveflyer]

Well, since there are more total civilian-trained pilots than military-trained pilots at Southwest (55 to 45%), then I'd say that you've had more than an equal spot at the hiring pool. Ya know what I mean?

And here's something for you to consider, Wave: the most recent new hires, including the class you mentioned with a preponderance of ex-military, were picked for interview by a third party computer program based on total qualifications, not by a bunch of "secret handshake" Southwest military guys. That's not the way it works anymore. The way to get hired here has changed radically in the last few years, and selecting applicants has become much less subjective with respect to qualifications. That means that "back in the day," when people could get "hooked up," the company hired more civilian-trained guys than ex-military. I'm not sure how your military conspiracy theory can explain that.

Bubba

Where do you get the 55/45 number bubba?

As far as computer algorithms - I've dealt with those at two airlines

Garbage in garbage out
There are many ways to manipulate that and it almost always is

 

[waveflyer]

So this is your bar for an acceptable 121 pilot, MUST fly an RJ for two years?

Sorry, I'll take ACTUALLY hand flying a jet for 3000 hours, over any spikey haired punk who knows which gate has the Starbucks, and has only sat and watched a plane fly itself. Those are exactly the guys who have trouble in our sims and on the line.

See?
What kind of stereotype is that?^^^
Spiky haired? Really?

2000 hours of RJ time or a year each on a turboprop and RJ, would be a good qualification for many military pilots before they end up with the six figure end goal 121 job.

One should have some experience in the job you're applying to do before ending up at the top of the food chain

 

[waveflyer]

AC you're example is as dated as your beliefs

9/11

Age 65

Very few airlines have hired in the last decade

Virgin was asking for and getting 5000 total turbine time and 2500 tpic-
For the least paying job

RJs and 9/11 BKs changed things- I had 3100 hours when I got my first major airline job- also my first jet - furloughed - checks, turboprops, charter& back at a regional - I had 8000 + hours and a few more type ratings when the pipeline turned back on for a minute before age 65- then the financial crisis- now after more than a decade of mostly stagnation pilots are in the 40's with a lot of time and experience and probably a kid or two at home
WAY more polished than the days of the 2000 hour civilian applicant

 

[waveflyer]

Considering United didn't hire its first black pilot until 1965 and it's first woman pilot until 1973, a different kind of BS was perpetuated for over 30 years. How do you remedy a situation like that? Pretending it never happened is not exactly justice or fairness.

This is well said^^^
A lot of that was well earned-

Plus low minimums always exist so that a well deserving captain's kid or intern could slide in- I don't begrudge that

It's certainly not for affirmative action- those are entirely different rules and regulators

 

[scoreboardII]

Again spoken from the perspective of the white male. We often choose not to go places where we feel we will not be welcome. Ever discussed it with a female pilot/ I have and they all say the same thing, that they feel they have to be better, that they get no slack, and constantly have to prove themselves. They also say they need to help change attitudes and try to attract more young women into aviation. You can't with a straight face tell me the cultures of airline and military pilots is open and welcoming to women.

Don't you think that 25 years later, if everything was just fine that it should reflect society a little more than it does?

Your going to rethink this.

Go look at the accident rate for part 121 women compared to men. Sorry, but it's heavily slanted against your argument that "they are the same".

 

[Tripower455]

Well the stats don't lie. The "300 hour wonder" hiring was nowhere near as prevalent as you made it out to be or perhaps you just misremember, yet you obviously harbor plenty of resentment.

BS. They were hiring anyone with a commercial, instrument and a pulse, provided they weren't white males.

Of course I harbor resentment. I watched that show for almost a decade.

I resent(ed) UAL to the point that when I finally got an interview, 8.5 years after I sent my first app, I blew it off. I briefly considered going, and completely screwing with those aholes during the interview (aerobatics in the sim, wear jeans, tee shirt and leather jacket etc.), but I already had a major job and DEN was too far away to bother. It might've been fun though...

Karma's a bitch and I have NO regrets. The irony is that they actually did me a favor, career wise, as I am far better off where I am, but that doesn't make discrimination, in any form, OK.

During my time in the commuters from '86 til mid '95, EVERY (numbering 40-50) female or "minority" person I knew of was either scheduled for an interview with UAL, was waiting for a class date, or, in a (very) few select cases, had interviewed and been turned down. The vast majority had well under 1000 hours when called for an interview (most of the Captains at the commuters were hovering around 5-6k hours), and at least 10 were below 500. One of the airlines I worked at went to PFT in the early '90's, and the FOs that were subsequently hired were particularly unqualified, yet EVERY "minority" pilot "hired" during that period was somewhere in the UAL system.

Ironically, all but one of the folks that were turned down were by far the most qualified of the lot, and should've gotten the job. The one that wasn't was a complete basket case and had no business in an airplane, much less an airliner. She's now a Fed.

The first time I submitted an app to UAL was spring of '88. A friend of mine (female) submitted hers within a few days of mine. We were pretty comparable, education/time/experience wise (roughly 2000 hours... in my case, more than half of that in scheduled, turbine service). She had also been involved in an "at fault" accident a few years prior and had received certificate action as a result. My record was (and still is), totally clean. She was called for an interview within a month, and got hired a month later. I got called for an interview 8.5 years later. We've kept in touch over the years, and she's a relatively senior widebody Captain now and doing great.

Don't you think that may be part of the problem?

G.M.A.F.B.

How the hell am I part of the problem? I wasn't the one hiring less or even unqualified pilots while there were thousands of qualified pilots available for the jobs.

The problem was entirely with UAL's ridiculous and DISCRIMINATORY hiring practices. I don't blame the folks who got the jobs, heck, they'd have been foolish not to take them. Bypassing thousands of perfectly qualified pilots to hire those that were far less qualified, except for their color/sex was the problem.

I ask again have you ever discussed the situation with a African American pilot or a woman?

LOL.. Yeah, plenty. Most agree that it was heavily skewed in favor of skin color or sex, rather than ability. One of my best friends is a female pilot, who TURNED DOWN UAL (moron) in '93, solely due to the stigma attached to being a female pilot at UAL. I thought she was nuts then, and told her as much. I still think she's nuts and tell her every time I see her. She is a great stick and would've excelled there, btw.

You don't have to answer but honestly when you see a woman or African American pilot do you automatically think they received special consideration?

Truthfully, I only think that of UAL types that were hired between 85 and 95 or so, since they got the deal of a lifetime. Many didn't have to pay their dues like the rest of us. Good for them, bad for us, but hey, their parents and grandparents were discriminated against (as if mine weren't....), so it's OK!

Have you ever thought that about a white male pilot?

Only AF fighter types.....

Actually, I know of plenty of white guys who got a leg up due to who they knew or were related to, but that was nowhere near the wholesale discrimination perpetrated by UAL for nearly a decade.

 

[HowardBorden]

Ever discussed it with a female pilot/ I have and they all say the same thing, that they feel they have to be better, that they get no slack, and constantly have to prove themselves.

That very well may be true on the line, but I don't believe it to necessarily be true in an interview.

 

[Tripower455]

:laugh: Figures you would say that. Don't you see the inherent contradiction in the post? Let me help you: Why do women not choose aviation, a job always listed as a top ten career for pay and satisfaction? Why would that be the case if everything was just fine?

I have no idea, but maybe, until UAL lowered their hiring minimums, they were smart enough to realize that they'd have to put a ton of time in at lousy jobs, like everyone else, in order to someday (maybe) get a good paying major job, so they avoided it. Once the game was heavily skewed in their favor, a few more (but still far fewer numbers than males) pursued it, since they knew they'd not have to endure poverty wages, no job security and lousy QOL for a decade or so before the career paid off.

They say that women are smarter than men.

Somehow, I am to blame that more women don't choose this career? Well, maybe the fear of the possibility of actually having to fly with me is enough to send them elsewhere.

I went to an aviation college, and in my class, we started with roughly 100 guys, and less than 10 girls. FWIW, the % of guys that dropped out was about equal to the number of girls. Not sure what that proves, but the ones that stuck it out, both male or female, were dedicated and did it for the love of flying. The ones that dropped out either ran out of cash, or just didn't have it in them, again, it was the same whether they were male or female.

Do you think groups like the 99's, the WIA or the Whirlygirls are just making stuff up about the challenges women face?

I've heard of the '99s and WIA, but can't speak, on any level, about their motivations, what they think, or anything else regarding them, as I am not a member of either and have never been asked to join.

Never heard of the Whirlygirls, but I assume they're heli pilots?

I've also heard of the QB, but I'm apparently not cool enough to be one of them, so my knowledge of their activities is on par with the above groups.

What does any of that have to do with UAL's discriminatory hiring practices during the '80's and '90s?

 

[Tripower455]

This is well said^^^
A lot of that was well earned-

Plus low minimums always exist so that a well deserving captain's kid or intern could slide in- I don't begrudge that

It's certainly not for affirmative action- those are entirely different rules and regulators

Discrimination is OK, as long as the "correct" group is being discriminated against...... Got it.

Wait......... Aren't you the person railing against military guys because they get some kind of perceived advantage and are unqualified when seeking a major job, but it's OK for an (actually) under qualified, yet somehow "well deserved" captain's kid or intern to get those jobs?