Airline pilot shortage; Kit Darby still at it!

[pilotyip]

no security

The lesson I got out of that was go military.

Right now there is conflict going on, they need pilots. However the military is as fickle as any employer. Look at what happened after WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf I, reduction in force. To save money we get rid of wings and squadrons. Don't need as many pilots, so hard choices have to be made. These decisions are always hardest on the ones not making the decision, of course. Talk to the pilots who flew in Vietnam on what happened between 1975 and 1980. I put in 11 years was planning on a career and was told in 1975, after evacuating Vietnam the previous spring, your services are no longer needed. Found a reserve squadron and said good-bye.

 

[ACL65PILOT]

I can tell you that DAL felt that toward the end of their hiring this year, there was a shortage of qualified applicants. Whatever that means, that is what I was told.

 

[Lear70]

I can tell you that DAL felt that toward the end of their hiring this year, there was a shortage of qualified applicants. Whatever that means, that is what I was told.

Unlikely...

Not that you weren't told that, but more than likely their idea of "qualified" was half a dozen internal recommendations, previous check airman experience, and 10,000+ total time, 5,000+ turbine PIC.

Last I heard, they had over 10,000 applications that met the minimums, over half of which were from AirTran/ATA/Aloha/JB/Frontier/Spirit/SkyBus/Virgin pilots, many of which had thousands of PIC Turbine hours Part 121 from the regionals, not to mention the regional CA's who have been trying to get in for years...

Unqualified, I'm certain...

 

[imacdog]

Unlikely...

Not that you weren't told that, but more than likely their idea of "qualified" was half a dozen internal recommendations, previous check airman experience, and 10,000+ total time, 5,000+ turbine PIC.

Last I heard, they had over 10,000 applications that met the minimums, over half of which were from AirTran/ATA/Aloha/JB/Frontier/Spirit/SkyBus/Virgin pilots, many of which had thousands of PIC Turbine hours Part 121 from the regionals, not to mention the regional CA's who have been trying to get in for years...

Unqualified, I'm certain...

Exactly. There are thousands of pilots out there capable of doing the job well. Anyone with a little experience and the desire and motivation to succeed could could easily fly for any company. Especially the airlines where the pilots do not need to demonstrate any customer service ability. The idea of a huge looming pilot shortage is a fairy tale designed to get Kit more money. That people still pay him for his services is an indication of how out of touch with reality people are.

 

[HalinTexas]

If there were a true pilot shortage, I'd have a job to replace the one I lost in April.

Can't find a job in this country that pays more than $40K per year. Regionals are paying $20K. I was making $80K as an FO at ATA, not a high payscale.

Don't know anyone in the corp. world to get an interview.

The fracs aren't hiring right now.

I'm DO of a crappy little startup, still awaiting cert. Haven't flown since March. Apps out all over the place, and it looks like I might be going to Asia. Just trying to keep my house.

 

[414Flyer]

Kit once tried to bribe/entice someone that had a free interview website, to take the site down.

 

[Whine Lover]

Kit is a D!CK...I had a conversation with him about 10 years ago.

The recently revealed part about him sitting on Management's side of the table during negotiations makes him a DOUBLE-SUPER-SECRET-D!CK.

However, he's a smart D!CK who has figured out how to steal candy from Babies....Those dumb kids (that we all once were ) with Shiny Jet Syndrome.

I think his Mother is a Lesbian...Not that there is anything wrong with that.


YKMKR

 

[pilotyip]

say what you want, but a lot of pilots got their interview and job offer at FedEx, UPS, SWA, DAL, UAL, NWA with a contact that started at one of his job fairs

 

[DR Beeper]

Job Fairs

say what you want, but a lot of pilots got their interview and job offer at FedEx, UPS, SWA, DAL, UAL, NWA with a contact that started at one of his job fairs

If you are coming off active duty (or trying to), These rip off job fairs are the best way to enter the market and get exposure to the "world". Kit is just capitalizing (sp?) on the market for all wanna be airline pilots. The "pilot shortage" false advertising targets those trying to break into an aviation career.

I did not get an interview (at UPS) from one of his job fairs, however, 12 years later, my attendence verified my interest in the company. Take it for what it's worth.

 

[radarlove]

I posted the video because of the complete disconnect with reality they live under. There is no shortage of pilots, there never has been and there never will.

The military has to resort to not much more than throwing resumes down the stairs to weed out the folks who are qualified, the majors can set the bar so high that it takes 20 years to reach it...

Flying is like acting. There isn't a dearth of aspiring actors, spending their own money on headshots and travel to auditions, because they want the career. Same with flying; many think it's one of the coolest jobs out there (I do, anyway). I used to do it for free.

The point about flying a Seminole around being different than flying right-seat in an EFIS-equipped sim also missed the point. If the airlines thought that EFIS experience in a sim was so important, they would use that as a hiring criteria.

Instead, they use PIC time, expecially PIC time in something interesting, like a twin, or a jet.

And the guy misses the point about hiring experienced instructors. Getting "instructed" isn't the valuable part of a pilot career, it's the experience that counts. Once you've soloed, how important is instruction? Ok, maybe instrument basics, then what?