Alaska Interview? Just Kidding!

[Fox2]

Gents:

Have the Silver Bullet and would like to get my app in. Yet, everytime I attempt to get the on-line app. I get "the page you are requesting has been moved, or is no longer available." Has the online app page been taken down since it went up last week?

Thanks

 

[dogg]

"We have the best and most challenging flying anywhere and we need the best pilots. No arrogance, just pride."

Mach, I think you drank the company line as well.....Let's see, you fly in the state of Alaska which has some of the most stable and predictable weather in the country and you fly up and down the west coast which with the exception of some fog has the best weather in the country..... For difficult and challenging flying you might want to try from the Great Lakes to the East coast ....Lets see, blizzards, thunderstorms, wicked icing, 5-700 mile long frontal systems, atc congestion beyond belief and on and on.....the silver bullet or whatever it is called is just friends gettin' friends a job period end of story...I think in other circles it is called networking........but one thing it is not about is the "best pilots"

And one more thing....I talked to a couple of Alaska pilot who are seriously in the know and they say that until Mgmnt can get new pay and benefit rules for new hires there will be no hiring. And according to them, that wont happen until you have a new contract sometime after 2005..............should be interesting to watch

 

[AK737FO]

Sorry, wrong answer...

[the silver bullet or whatever it is called is just friends gettin' friends a job period end of story...I think in other circles it is called networking........but one thing it is not about is the "best pilots"

Dogg,
The silver bullet will get you a phone call. The rest is up to you. I don't know what the official stats are, but I bet close to half don't make it through the sim, and even more are dropped after the Captain review board. Hardly "gettin friends a job".

It most certainly is about getting the best pilots. I say again, who is better to choose who we work with than the pilots out there doing the job each day?

If you think it is better to have a HR department calling the shots, or a psych test making the decisions then there are plenty of other airlines available to you - someday...

 

[dogg]

So AK, what I think some of us are trying to figure out is this...suppose a pilot has flown for another airline in the 737 for a few years. Obviously this pilot is competent and qualified. Now what you are saying is that because this pilot does not know an Alaska pilot that they are somehow not good enough to fly a 737 for Alaska. And if they take the time to fill out an online application, as requested by Alaska and meet and exceed the requirements as stated on the website(which makes no mention of a "silver bullet")that they will not be considered. Dude it does not make any sense. Why bother having a web site at all. If it is as you say then dont you think that the pilot doing the silver bullet would have to provide some password or something along those lines. And if it is as Mach says that they are just working the bugs out of the system, what a bunch of jerks. So a couple of thousand very qualified pilots sit down and spend a couple of hours filling out an aplication for a job that they are very qualified for, thinking that they may receive a call for an interview and the truth is that they are just guinea pigs for an online "good old boys network". Makes a person question the honesty and the integrity of the folks that you work for plain and simple.........

 

[iluvetops]

Dogg

well said

 

[FlyBoeingJets]

Re: Sorry, wrong answer...

[B
Dogg,
The silver bullet will get you a phone call. The rest is up to you. I don't know what the official stats are, but I bet close to half don't make it through the sim, and even more are dropped after the Captain review board. Hardly "gettin friends a job".

It most certainly is about getting the best pilots. I say again, who is better to choose who we work with than the pilots out there doing the job each day?

If you think it is better to have a HR department calling the shots, or a psych test making the decisions then there are plenty of other airlines available to you - someday... [/B]

AK737FO,

I agree that recommendations are MUCH better than the stupid psych test or other half baked attempts by some HR departments.

And I agree recs are really important. You want people to come on board who want to keep the airline a great place to work. You want them to feel like they shouldn't let their friends down. It keeps training costs down instead of hiring to replace those that leave for other jobs.

But I have to disagree that it brings on the "Best" pilots or even tries to do that. What it does is ensure no marginal or jerk pilots are hired. BTW, airlines don't want the best skill wise, they want the best employees (attitude) that have the appropriate skill level and competence.

If Alaska is like other airlines they will interview, and turn down, a percentage of recommended pilots and hire some who were not recommended.

 

[sf340flyer]

A couple of things, just because you have a 737 type and a couple of thousand hours in it, DOESN'T MAKE YOU A GOOD PILOT. A type doesn't make a pilot. We could state that mid-west flying is harder than west coast. I've done my flying(3,500) in the mid west. Yes there are t-storms, icing, and 700 mile fronts, but the real question is HAVE YOU DONE ANY ALASKA flying?? I think Alaska is the hardest state to fly into, with Mountains, icing, t-sorms in the summer, and frigid temps in the winter. Yes the traffic isn't as much as the east coast, but in AK if you are off course you are into a mountain.

AK has a GREAT company culture. They wan't you to fit in. The silver bullet program is a way for the employees to tell the company who would fit into the "Alaskan Spirit"

 

[FlyBoeingJets]

Also,

I'm not trying to bag on the "Best" pilot assertion. I'm sure Alaska requires very skilled aviators and has some of the best.

However, I wouldn't assume the only way to find a great pilot is by asking an Alaska pilot. There just might be some they don't know about.

 

[trainerjet]

"We have the best and most challenging flying anywhere and we need the best pilots. No arrogance, just pride."

Mach, I think you drank the company line as well.....Let's see, you fly in the state of Alaska which has some of the most stable and predictable weather in the country and you fly up and down the west coast which with the exception of some fog has the best weather in the country..... For difficult and challenging flying you might want to try from the Great Lakes to the East coast ....Lets see, blizzards, thunderstorms, wicked icing, 5-700 mile long frontal systems, atc congestion beyond belief and on and on.....the silver bullet or whatever it is called is just friends gettin' friends a job period end of story...I think in other circles it is called networking........but one thing it is not about is the "best pilots"

This entire post is so full of misinformation that I wouldn't even know where to start. Alaska weather stable and predictable? Go to Dutch Harbor, check out the weather conditions, fly on to Adak, then return to Dutch Harbor, and see what the weather conditions are there now. Stable and predictable? RIGHT. Fog and ice? Try the Pacific Northwest for that. Congestion...how about SFO and LAX for starters. Challenges? How about the approaches into places like DUT, JNU, KTN, etc.

What it boils down to is you haven't a clue about Alaska Airlines or their operation. You wouldn't fit in, you don't like the way they select their pilots (primarily because it leaves you out of the picture), you won't be working there, so why do you care what they do or how they do it?

 

[de727ups]

And another thing...

UPS uses the same system as Alaska in reference to needing a pilot recommendation to get the interview. So does America West, based on recent threads here. I think Fedex does, too. The question is....what major airline doesn't use... Wait, let me rephrase that. What major airline that might be hiring in the next five years doesn't use the silver bullet method? (this is a sincere question)

Point being, you can whine all you want about how wrong the system is but, in the end, you have to play the game by the rules that currently exisit....otherwise don't play.

Oh...and this best pilot stuff is all crap. Everyone knows freight dawgs are the best pilots....

 

[RocketRob]

How many "silver bullets" does each AK pilot get? Is it a annual thing or a lifetime thing?

 

[reepicheep]

I don't feel there is any conscious intent to exclude certain pilots from consideration, rather it's a simple function of supply and demand. With many thousands of highly qualified applicants how else to narrow the playing field? Southwest to their credit has used the type rating - a more equitable system since the resourceful and motivated can achieve the rating even if he/she cannot control who his/her friends & coworkers were hired by. But with their new system it appears even SW may begin to incorporate the LOR into their screening system. The rhetorical "Who is not using the Old Boy Network to select interviewees" is valid.

The fact is today it's a buyer's market and some otherwise excellent folks are going to be left out. 3 years ago it was a different story and maybe 3 years from now it will be again, but at this moment it's clearly a "Who You Know" game.

 

[Ih8AFYesmen]

Silver Bullet, Referal system, whatever......
I think the system of hiring by Alaska Airlines is a good one. Who else knows better than the employee themselves on who would fit in the best at the company. I know it's a good 'ol boy network for those looking in from the outside, but isn't this business all about networking?!?! So then, network!
As far as the question of who's a better pilot.......
Dudes and dudettes, we in the airlines industry fly from point A to point B; it doesn't matter whether there are thunderstorms, poor visibility, air traffic congestion, etc. On a daily basis, when everything goes well, it's not a difficult job. With the state of the art auto pilot and weather radar, it's simple as monkey see monkey do. The RNP approaches and flying down to minimums in Juneau or Ketchikan ain't a big deal either. So is flying around thunderstorms or flying on the east coast. After you've done it a couple of times, it's no big thing. I will agree that some pilots are better than others when it comes time to doing the "pilot stuff" (ie. flying skills and being able to handle multiple tasks at once).

 

[dogg]

Trainer, don't get so puffed up. It just proves my point..... And the Aleutian chain hmmm I think I have spent more time flying up and down it then you ever will and I think that I know the weather there just a tad better than you ever will.....I still say that a day spent flying back and forth from ORD to the east coast is harder and longer than a day spent flying in and out of DUT, KTN or JNU.( But that is just me and maybe I am more at home in AK). I think you must be one of those pilots that bought into the whole "Alaska time " scam.. Time is time and Airports are airports and if you follow the rules it does not matter what chunk of geography they are located they are all the same....So I still say the "silver bullet" system is about hiring your friends (which is not a bad thing) but it is not and never will be about hiring" the best pilots because of how hard it is to fly for Alaska". Simply searchin for the truth............and it has made for some good discussion

 

[mach none]

Dogg:

Did we turn you down? What is up the the attitude?

 

[trainerjet]

Trainer, don't get so puffed up. It just proves my point..... And the Aleutian chain hmmm I think I have spent more time flying up and down it then you ever will and I think that I know the weather there just a tad better than you ever will.....I still say that a day spent flying back and forth from ORD to the east coast is harder and longer than a day spent flying in and out of DUT, KTN or JNU.( But that is just me and maybe I am more at home in AK). I think you must be one of those pilots that bought into the whole "Alaska time " scam.. Time is time and Airports are airports and if you follow the rules it does not matter what chunk of geography they are located they are all the same....So I still say the "silver bullet" system is about hiring your friends (which is not a bad thing) but it is not and never will be about hiring" the best pilots because of how hard it is to fly for Alaska". Simply searchin for the truth............and it has made for some good discussion

Whatever, Dude..

I've spent my entire flying career basically in Alaska. First in the Bush, then for ERA, and now for Alaska. I could give a sh!t less what you think of me, or my company or the flying we do. I am extremely grateful to be where I am, and just as grateful that people like you are not.

Have a nice life doing whatever feats of aviation strength that you do.

 

[iluvetops]

Is there anyone here that have had the experience of IGS 13 in Hong Kong? In typhoon and a strong crosswind, this will be a challenge to any of us.

Degrees of difficulties in IGS is by far more challenging than a RNP in Juneau.

 

[trainerjet]

Degrees of difficulties in IGS is by far more challenging than a RNP in Juneau.

No doubt. Just like the days of the LDA in Juneau were more challenging than the RNP. Personally, I'm going for degrees of safety vs. degrees of difficulty. I don't need to prove anything to anyone anymore. Just collect a paycheck and get as much time at home as possible. My current position allows for all of that, and you can't ask for much more than that.

Apparently there are still those on here who feel the need to prove that their ba!!s are bigger than the next guy's. (Not referring to you iluvtops.)

 

[mach none]

Is there anyone here that have had the experience of IGS 13 in Hong Kong? In typhoon and a strong crosswind, this will be a challenge to any of us.

Degrees of difficulties in IGS is by far more challenging than a RNP in Juneau.

Been there and done that.

I still think Alaska flying is more challenging as a whole. RNP has made it much easier, but you always have to fly the jet and think about where you are going and how to get there when all the magic goes away( as you alway should). Non radar, down in the terrain. 30+ knot winds with driving rain-snow, very exciting.

Just my humble opinion.

 

[Ih8AFYesmen]

Yeah, me too.... been there done that Hong Kong, JNU, SIT, KTN (southeast AK flying and them some) etc. etc. etc. acts. I definitely don't mean to be arrogant, but an aircraft is a human controlled machine and if you keep your cool, anyone can succeed in putting that thing on the ground safely as long as you stay within its designed parameters. As I mentioned before, some are better than others just like anything else in life. I think most people on this board are qualified to do the job; just my humble opinion. And, oh yes..... without a doubt, Alaska Airlines is indeed the last great airline.