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flydog

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 28, 2001
Posts
542
I interviewed last week and thought I would pass along some info:

Currently have 200 a/c and 890 pilots. 139 new aicraft on order including Beechjets, Hawker 800XP, Hawker Horizon, Premier, King Air 200s, and Envoys. These aircraft will be delivered over the next 5 years. This number doesnt include sales of their pre-owned fleet. They recently took delivery of 2 GIVs for the preowned fleet.

Hiring plans for this year are 15-20 pilots a month through the end of the year. Their goal is 2500 pilots by 2005

Starting pay is $34,000 yr for FOs + about $8,000 in per diem. Upgrade times are 12-18 months to light jet. 1st yr CPT pay is $52,000. Schedule is 8/7 off but if you need extra cash you can fly a 9/6 schedule. Live anywhere you want as long as its within 1 hr of an airport served by 3 airlines with 6 outbound flights a day. Mid-size jet pay is $38,000 FOs, $62,000 CPT. Check airman pay is $800 month and after 3 yrs you can apply for the senior flight officer program which among other benefits pays another $1,250 a month. Its possible by their current pay scale for a 4 yr Hawker CPT to make over 100k a year

Some other neat benefits are the 2 month paid leave of absence after 6 yrs. Medical is $79 a month for single and pays 100% of all costs. Dental is $27 a month. They also have a jumpseat agreement with Airtran.

New hires are starting in the King Air 200 as SIC. Upgrade to light jet SIC is currently about 3 months. No training contract. I didnt ask about furloughed pilots but I think the answer is no. They are looking for long term players. Their turnover is about 2.5% and hasnt changed much since Sep 11.

They prefer pilots with corporate jet experience and turbine time particularly 135. The last class all had bizjet type ratings and corporate experience. Total time is not an issue as long as you meet the mins. They evaluate the person and place a great deal of weight on recommendations from their pilots.

They even pay for airline, hotel AND rental car for the interview. A first class operation all the way around that is getting better by the day.
 
Hey Flydog
Guess you got the interview afterall. Didn't you post that Eric called you and you turned it down? Maybe it was someone else. So what happened? Did you get the job?
I thought when you posted before, you said that your time wasn't competitive. I am about where you were so I guess I am still uncompetitive - maybe?
If you haven't heard if you have the job yet, Good luck.
 
I havent heard anything yet. They complete the background check before they call anybody back. The estimate is 1-2 weeks but some have told me 3 months. They are trying to fill a July 22 class so hopefully Ill hear something next week. There is another class the 1st week of August.

The interview was pretty straighforward. The impression I got is its your job to lose. The interview is 2 pilots a day and both go throught the whole process together. Starts at 8:30 AM with a 3 hr Q&A session with Eric Gerhard, mostly a presentation on the company and where its going and then he answers your questions. They let you look over the employee handbook, pay scales, benefits and you can ask anything you want.

Then its a 30 minute tour of the operations control center which is a miniature NASA mission control that coordinates the 300 legs a day they are currently doing. After that is a lunch break.

After lunch is the sim evaluation in a King Air 200 Level B. They are looking for CRM and basic instrument skills. Basic takeoff, intercept a radial, holding, and ILS to a landing. Then you swap seats and do it again. Let the PNF do all the work and you do all the flying. VERY pitch sensitive and about twice the performance of the real B-200. Use the manual instead of the electric trim and youll reduce your workload a great deal. The VSI also oscillates so try not to use it. Takes about 3 hrs.

After the sim is a 45 minute interview with a Program Manager. The 2 pilots are split up with different PMs for this. Some basic questions about why FO, do you want to work for an airline, tell me about your background, etc. Then some technical stuff. Brief an approach (probably be ASE or EGE), questions on a DP, when do you go miss on the LOC approach into EGE (the answer is you cant land from the MAP because it requires a 2500 FPM descent rate - you need to have the field in sight and start a descent prior to the MAP) Nothing too stressful.

At around 4:00 PM Eric comes back in and tells you great job, no problems, when we conclude our background check we will Fedex you an offer.

The interview is basically to get to know you and make sure youre not a jerk. They dont want guys with God complexes or egos. If they feel they could spend 8 days on the road with you half the battle is over. Some recent accidents where the Captain has exerted his control to continue into a bad situation when the FO called for a go around have made this a priority. They want team players.

As a said total times arent a priority. I applied as soon as I reached the mins and turned down my first offer to interview when I was right around 2000 hrs. The other pilot had 3500 hrs TT, a CJ type rating and current 91 Captain. Both of us were recommended by current pilots.

Someone told me the hire 80% of those they interview. I cant confirm this but from what I experienced at the interview its right on the money.

If you have problems in your past such as DUIs, accidents, etc. be honest and up front with them even if its not on your FAA record. It will not keep you from getting hired and if they find out from a former employer or someone else it will make things much worse.
 
See ya in 5 years, whoops I thought I was on the netjets birkshire money boards and not the I just lost another 36 million FO board. Read all about it in the coming weeks in the avaiation mags.
 
Dont worry about him

It looks like he picked to wrong week to quit sniffing glue
 
We have 115 airplanes on order. We will never see the Envoy.

We do not have any King Airs on order. The company does not care for them.

The Senior Flight Officer program is highly political with less than
1% passing the review board. You have to wait 3yrs to apply and then an additional 2 yrs to re-apply.

C650 Capt.
 

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