I was very unimpressed, however, with jetBlue and Comair. At the JetBlue table, myself and two others in my group (going at different times) were treated fairly rudely by some of their representatives. One basically told me to go away and come back when I'm an experienced pilot, because right now they don't want anything to do with me. Talking at the banquet on Saturday with some people at our table, they were expressing feelings about the somewhat "elitist" attitude that the company was displaying the whole time at the conference.
FlyChicaga,
I am very, very sorry this happened to you. That should never ever happen. Please PM the names of the people from jetBlue and any specific examples that you found offensive. This sort of thing can get nipped in the bud from the get-go.
With this said, let me say one thing; there is a minimum level of experience it takes to even have a hope of getting hired these days. What I mean is I hope you didn't rush up to them saying "hire me tomorrow". With 4500 applications on file that meets, or probably far exceeds every qualification that is listed on the web site, you have to be realistic. I just hope none of the three people you referenced were hoping for much more than an initial meeting to say "hi" and hopefully have their face remembered sometime in the future.
As far as Comair is concerned, be grateful they aren't charging 12 grand for their ground school again. Whenever you have a company that hires people that ordinarily wouldn't even apply in good times, things get thrown out of perspective. I am sure they are just glad that people are willing to talk to them.
Now to Delta. Have you ever been to one of these job fairs when Delta was hiring? I have done the shuffle in my blue suit and red tie. It would have been humiliating had I not assured myself it was "for the team". What he was alluding to in his remark is what Plato Rhyne has always maintained; their number one candidate is ex-military working currently at a 121 airline. It may not make sense to you right now, but 121 times is a big draw to these big airlines.
I don't mean to dash your hopes, but at this stage of the game, your goal should have been merely to get your face out there for recognition later. If any one gave you hopes of getting a turbine job for more that the low twenties a year at this point in your career, they were doing you a disservice.
I wish you luck. Keep doing what you're doing (building time and contacts) and something will eventually work out.
JayDub
