Welcome to Flightinfo.com

  • Register now and join the discussion
  • Friendliest aviation Ccmmunity on the web
  • Modern site for PC's, Phones, Tablets - no 3rd party apps required
  • Ask questions, help others, promote aviation
  • Share the passion for aviation
  • Invite everyone to Flightinfo.com and let's have fun

B-737 Type for SWA

Welcome to Flightinfo.com

  • Register now and join the discussion
  • Modern secure site, no 3rd party apps required
  • Invite your friends
  • Share the passion of aviation
  • Friendliest aviation community on the web

Old Crow

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 6, 2001
Posts
166
I'm sure that this has been discussed a time or two, so please forgive me.

When and If SWA gives me the Conditional offer, go get your type, what did all of you do at your current jobs?CIV pilots.

How long is the school for the type?

Did you quit, take a leave, vacation?

I don't want to quit my current job until I've got the type and SWA says to come and start work.

What does SWA benefit from requiring the type? I believe that you still have to go to school when you're hired right?

I wish all of you the best of luck!
 
SWA needing type

Old Crow,

I'm military so I can't answer the vacation question, but the benefit to SWA for requiring the type is a shorter (read: cheaper) training program for new hires as required by the FAA.

Slug
 
Figure 2 1/2 weeks for the type rating, including travel time. Fairly intense, very little "fun" involved (but some).

Supposedly SWA gets some kind of insurance cost benefit from having two theoretically "captain-qualified" guys in the cockpit instead of one. They can also probably streamline their own training courses for F/O and Captain a little since they're not teaching the plane from scratch.

The civilian guys in my class were all "on vacation" from their jobs. I got the impression that some of their bosses were aware of what they were doing, and some weren't.

Quitting your job would not be a good option in my opinion--the period of time between your interview/type and actual class date is too unpredictable--anywhere from 2-9 months. A long time to not fly and then have to "shine" in a course to keep your new job. Also a long time to eat hot dogs and Froot Loops.
 
Hey OldCrow,

It's pretty much all been said already. I did my type at Aeroservice in Miami (on a scale of one to ten, Aeroservice was almost an eight.) It took 15 days (I had my new ticket on the 17th day.) Aeroservice also offers a four-week course. Since I am domiciled in South Florida, I originally was going to trade/give away days that conflicted with the "15 day" training window. I ended up taking a leave (my airline was grateful-- they didn't have to pay me...) The other guys were furloughees and vacationeers. Like XHercDriver said, I wasn't fun--except for flying the sim, just intense. If you do a 15 day course, study your tail off ahead of time, and there should be no suprises.

Cheers!
 
Hello everyone. I'm almost finished with my type through HPA. Higher Power Aviation in in Dallas and they run an excellent school. The process has been 13 days total and I have had great instructors. The staff at HPA has taken very good care of all of us in my class. Type ride on Sunday. Wish me luck!

I highly this school!

J3
 
737 Type

J3CubCapt is right. Higher Power Aviation (HPA) in Dallas is great. SWA has a representative (sometimes Jennifer and/or Lindsey) show up during the first week of most every class to find out who are SWA pre-hires and also to put in a pitch for students to apply to SWA. They put out great information about the airline and answer questions that do not leave them in a legal bind if they fail to come true. I think SWA really likes the quality of trained pilots that come out of HPA.

HPA also has the capability to split your 737 training into two separate weeks. We had a fellow classmate working for EJA seven-on-seven off so he took his ground school week one, went back to work for a week and then did the sim training and check ride the third week. Great school, great helpful people.

:)
 
Last edited:
HPA

Hello Aviators!

J3CubCapt and I were in the same class at Higher Power Aviation. It's an excellent school and I give it a 10. It requires that you complete a minimum of 60 hours of home study prior to your attendance in class. I studied about 80 hours and still thought the course was pretty intense. The first week is academics and the second week are the sims. Their instructors are excellent and prepare you well for the oral exams as well as the simulator checkride. The staff completes all the paperwork correctly for the FAA so you don't have to worry about anything but studying. I started class on November 26 and had my type rating on December 8. Best wishes to all and Happy Holidays.
 
A little additional info on HPA perhaps not generally known...

HPA teaches primarily the 737-200 (the one with the skinny engines) which SWA has some of, but it's not the primary plane you'll probably fly with SWA. HPA also occasionally has to send a few students down to Houston to use Flight Safety or Continental sims, which are 737-300, which is the most numerous SWA type (turbofans). HPA will pay the added cost of going to Houston.

So, you can "pre-volunteer" for the Houston slots if they have to send anyone down there, and you'll get to learn the -300, which has some significant differences. (Not that this will probably matter once you start actual SWA training, but it's an option...) I ended up doing the -300 course when one of the students in the class ahead of me needed some extra sim time, and I felt like I got a little early exposure to some of the systems I wouldn't have seen in the -200.

If you're doing your type without being called for an interview yet, I'd definitely go with HPA. You'll get some "face time" with the People Dept folks that I don't think you'll get elsewhere.
 
I too went to HPA,
I felt the academics were outstanding for the most part. They have an AAL Sim instructor that taught the majority of our classes and he was great. There were a few other instructors that did the job, but without the motivation and knowledge that Lynn (sp?) had. The sim training is not quite as standardized as what I have had drilled into my pea brain in the Air Force for the last 20 years but is still OK. I do believe that HPA is in bed with SWA. The People Dept sends someone to brief every class on their application process and answer questions. If SWA is in your sights, fork out the bucks for the type (as tough as it is) which shows your commitment to them and I believe it will get you the interview, assuming you meet the mins.
Good luck.
Boots
 
Has anybody used or heard of K&S aviation for the 737 type? If so what is their reputation? Are they competitive price wise to Higher Power?
 
I got my type at K&S in Aug. I would highly recommend them. Ground school was in Phoenix. Very nice hotel accomodations with a van service to/from K&S, the airport, downtown, etc. The ground instructor was excellent. Examiners were SWA capts. We requested the -300 sim at FSI in SLC for no additional cost. They taught the SWA flows, callouts, profiles. In fact, we got quite a bit of extra sim time each session for no cost because there was no one scheduled after us. Total cost was $7,500.
 
I recommend HPA! I received the type from them in March 00 and there is definitely a strong connection to SWA. Make the time if your vacation time can afford it.
 
I'm just a little RJ pilot, but as for the question about why they require the type, another reason is that Herb wanted all new-hires to have a stake in the company. Thus, pilots, who make one of the better wages at SWA have to pay for some of their training ahead of time. I read this in "Nuts," which is about the company. Good luck to you guys.

PS, Higher power is a christian organization, so perhaps that is part of the reason they are nice people who give you a stand-up deal.
 
Hi folks!

I went to K&S for my type and was very impressed with their operation, both in the sim and in ground school. When I went (and I think it's still this way), they taught -200 systems and the oral was based on that. Then, we got to spend a day in ground school doing -300 differences allowing me to get familiar with both versions. There were five sim training sessions, the sixth was a LOFT session that allowed us to use the FMS enroute simulating a line flight. By the time we did our type ride (sim #7), we felt really prepared. As mentioned, SWA flows, callouts and checklists were used which was a huge selling point for me (just having to learn it once is a beautiful thing). I studied a lot (probably about 100 hours) before I went, and I felt it was demanding, but still a pleasant experience because every instructor I worked with was very professional and personable.

Also, for people who are getting government assistance, the hotel is included in the total cost which may save you money depending on which program is funding you.

They do teach -200 sim as well, so make sure you request the -300 program when you sign up and see if you can get a copy of the SWA flows in advance (they are different than the Boeing flows).

Good luck to you all!

VeeOneRot8
 

Latest resources

Back
Top