Express Jet Interview

[SkyBoy1981]

Sometimes you do. See the Flight Safety Academy direct track program that advertisies Express Jet jobs at 400 total and 100 multi....commercial multi. How does that make you feel?

Glad that I'm not a check airmen.

I can honestly say that when I was hired at XJT with over 2000 hours I was much easier to train than I would have been if I had gotten hired at 800 hours. I think the same would apply to anyone else.

Don't bother dragging out the "well there were some 800 hour guys in our class that flew better than this guy with 4000 hours" nonsense. That doesn't change the fact that experience still means a lot in this business. Sometimes it goes beyond just your ability to fly the simulator around in a training environment.

 

[Alchemy]

A large contingent of our captains Paid for their Training here, then took the job when it paid about 60% what it does now, so I don't see how they have much room to criticize someone who takes the job today. This company has a long history of hiring low-time pilots and dare I say it's worked out okay so far. 400 hours direct track doesn't guarantee a job anyway. It may guarantee an interview, but not a job.

 

[SkyBoy1981]

A large contingent of our captains Paid for their Training here, then took the job when it paid about 60% what it does now, so I don't see how they have much room to criticize someone who takes the job today.

Well, you are correct, but thats a whole different argument for a whole different thread (that would probably exceed 10 pages).

 

[de727ups]

"400 hours direct track doesn't guarantee a job anyway"

Yeah it does. Dude, where you been?

With FSA direct track, you interview and are HIRED before you start training. Then, all you need to do is finish training with FSA and you are in initial with Express Jet. That's the way FSA says it works. Am I wrong?

"I guess being a low time newhire does not mean complete and utter incompetence after all"

Never said it did. I said 250 hour F/O's are baby sat for their first couple hundred hours. I think that's wrong and it's not necessary that airlines hire such low time pilots. But, for the record, what is your time in the seat now and what was your time when you got hired? If I was a Capt at ExJet and I had a 250 F/O, no way I'd let them handle and engine out landing.

"A large contingent of our captains Paid for their Training here, then took the job when it paid about 60% what it does now, so I don't see how they have much room to criticize someone who takes the job today"

Did they get hired at 250 hours total time from an ab initio program? Not sure what your point is?

 

[bptham]

Gee, did I strike a nerve??? I've gotten some great advice as can usually be expected off of here. Thanks for the help.

 

[Alchemy]

Yeah it does. Dude, where you been?

With FSA direct track, you interview and are HIRED before you start training. Then, all you need to do is finish training with FSA and you are in initial with Express Jet. That's the way FSA says it works. Am I wrong?

If that's true then it's pretty bad. I've never heard of that. It seems like I would have heard about it working here for the past year or so and trying to help friends get hired. I'll look into it when I get some more time.

Never said it did. I said 250 hour F/O's are baby sat for their first couple hundred hours. I think that's wrong and it's not necessary that airlines hire such low time pilots. But, for the record, what is your time in the seat now and what was your time when you got hired? If I was a Capt at ExJet and I had a 250 F/O, no way I'd let them handle and engine out landing.

At 250 hours, yes, they would be babysat. I wonder how many people with less than 600 hours, the published minimums we have actually hired here. I would guess less than a few dozen. I only know of one personally, (he was former mx which is how he got in with 500 tt) and he washed out during IOE. I guess if they're THAT bad, they won't get the job after all. The training department does wash out about 1 in 30.

Did they get hired at 250 hours total time from an ab initio program? Not sure what your point is?

My point is merely to illustrate that the pilots flying the line today have a direct impact on the quality/experience of the newhires they will see tomorrow. Instead of passing contracts that pay next to nothing for newhires, how about upping 1st year pay to a respectable level? Until they do that, than I have no sympathy for the check airman and captains that have to deal with under-qualified pilots. I don't know of anyone who did an FSA style ab-initio program, but a lot of our current captains didn't instruct or have any kind of real aviation job before they came here. They bought or rented a twin and flew it for a few hundred hours because "instructing just seemed like too much of a hassle", or they "didn't have the patience to teach". Is doing that somehow better than ab-initio? Seems like about the same thing to me. So for the guys b*tching about having to deal with low-time newhires: "What goes around, comes around."

DE, you're a good guy and I respect you as a professional. I agree with you more than I disagree, it just gets my goat when people specifically target people like me who found themselves in the right seat of an airliner with relatively "low-time", and I'm compelled to offer some defense. Personally, I attended small part 61 flight schools and instructed to get here, largely on your advice from another website. You can call me wrong, but I don't think I sold anyone short or imposed on anyone by taking the route I did. For the record I had about 900 hours in type when I flew the engine-out approach and landing a few weeks back.

 

[msuspartans24]

If I was a Capt at ExJet and I had a 250 F/O, no way I'd let them handle and engine out landing.

Right.....single engine landings are SO HARD on the erj

 

[Alchemy]

Right.....single engine landings are SO HARD on the erj

You're right, they aren't. The plane in general isn't that difficult to fly, which is why you can put low time pilots in it.

 

[Rook]

You're right, they aren't. The plane in general isn't that difficult to fly, which is why you can put low time pilots in it.

They're probably not that hard in a 747 either.

 

[TEXAN AVIATOR]

I have no problem with lower time guys getting hired personally. If they can make it through training just like everyone else, why not? My sim partner was a lower time guy, and he understood some things better than I did. I think it comes down to the individual. But ANY "low timer" hired should feel fortunate that they didn't have to pay the dues that the guys who CFIed for 1300hours in the Texas heat did.

If I had the opportunity to come to XJT with 600 & 100 I’m not sure I would have. I think I may have felt like I was missing out on the instructor experience, maybe not adequately experienced in general. I also think out of all the Captains I’ve flown with the EX CFIs are the best. Lets face it a Captains job is to take the hot chick on the overnights, but in the plane teach me crap!

Just my 2cents.