Airtran and their "500 PIC part 121" requirement?

[reepicheep]

Is AirTrans' Part 121 requirement any more unfair or unreasonsable than all the corporate operators out there who specify "prior corporate pilot experience a must"?

 

[English]

reepicheep,


The difference is that most corporate operators don't require 500 hours of PIC in a corporate jet, unless the opening is for a captain position.

AirTran is not hiring captains off the street.

 

[reepicheep]

No, but these days many want a type rating and time in type, which is also pretty problematical for most folks - what would the price tag be to buy a type and 50 hours in say, a Citation X? Probably well over 100 grand.

Anyway, IMO what all this boils down to is an attempt to reduce the workload on the HR department by setting the bar high enough to disqualify most applicant. The same way airlines like Alaska and UPS mostly hire only those applicants who come highly recommended by current employees of the company. They can narrow down their stack of resumes from 10,000 down to a more manageable number. With 8,000 furloughed airline pilots out there chasing an aggregate of a few classes a month among all hiring carriers, I think they can all pretty much do what they want right now.

 

[Swerpipe]

Exactly the same...

Is AirTrans' Part 121 requirement any more unfair or unreasonsable than all the corporate operators out there who specify "prior corporate pilot experience a must"?

Not at all. I work in the 135 world and I have seen the same jerk attitude towards military pilots (those guys are really rough pilots) and airlines pilots (those guys have attitude problems). Every individual is different and must be evaluated as such.

Yes, you do do those jobs and I know that in 135 it is a difficult world. Part 121 is about working with others to get the job done. In 135 if you want to add more fuel, you do. (generally) In 121, you need usually need dispatcher approval and sometimes they don't want to give it. How will you work that out? What if the 2nd FA is whining and complaining because he feels the 3rd FA "disrespected" him? How will you work that out?"

Now, this is a really silly and dumb argument. How is an F-16 pilot capable to deal with dispatchers or flight attendants any better than us sir? Yeah, just what I thought. BTW, anyone with the necessary flight experience and people skills is more than qualified to do the job. "In 121, you need usually approval and sometimes they don't want to give it..." Ha ha ha. Now that would be the end of the World wouldn't it?
"What if the 2nd FA is whining and complaining because he feels the 3rd FA disrespected him?" Well, in this case I would ask the F-16 pilot, now the captain, "hey how did you use to handle those FAs fueling your squadron?"

Silly argument. Airtran can do as they wish. There is no logic other than their contention than folks from the 135/91 world had problems in their training but come to think of it, their failure rate was fairly high according to their own pilots so maybe pilots from all backgrounds are substandard, in which case, maybe they shouldn't hire anyone. Maybe is just their hiring and training process that needs to be looked at.

 

[sleepy]

Sleepy, is that you?

Yes, I'm just not feeling like my old self today. I shouldn't have opened up this can of worms, but you cannot deny that the Airtran policy will make it even more difficult to recruit minority and female pilots. There are still minority pilots out there that meet this 500 hours Part 121 PIC requirement, but I am willing to bet that it is a pretty small group.

Does Airtran make an exception to the 500 hours Part 121 PIC requirement for women and minorities (or the children of current employees)?

 

[FLB717]

Jes0s Fn Crip,
Can you people find anything to else to do! SWA requiers at type to get the job. We want 500 PIC 121. A company can hire by any standart they want based on the number of people that want to apply. Here's a new flash LIFE IS NOT FAIR. Ask a furloughed USAir or DAL pilot if he or she feels like life is fair. And some want to bitch about a 500 PIC.Even the RJ guys want jet time to get a job. 6000 people are out of work and looking for a job and my HR department should just take anyone. And just for the info I could't get hired here based on the new 500 pre-req. I got hired at a different time. It will change again when the job market changes. I for one am happy that some places have not started the PFT crap again.

 

[Meathead]

Dear Ty Webb – I found your post truly inspiring. In my estimate, this forum is to exchange useful info to assist those of us who have not scored our dream job yet. If anything productive or useful came from your post, I don’t know what it was. We wouldn’t have found it satisfying if George W. Bush himself had come up with AirTrans mindless minimums (in other words, I wasn’t impressed by ‘VP of Flight Operations’). May I suggest that you start your own thread titled ‘Pompous, Condescending Blather for those who care what Ty Webb thinks’?

 

[Oakum_Boy]

If that's a reference to whom I think it is....

 

[Fly-By-Cable]

What about the CEO's daughter!

CEO's daughter was hired from American Eagle where she was a captain for a few years.



Freddie Spencer, dude, how low can you get? I think you went thru the bottom.

 

[SWA/FO]

Oh, great now you need 500 PIC 121 to work for AirTran? Next they will require a 25 dollar application fee and type ratings in the 717 & 737.