I need SWA advice

[avoidingmyboss]

I have a few questions for all you SWA people if you don’t mind. I have been watching this site for a while now, and have been following SWA since I started flying. There have been a lot of changes to the way SWA will hire in the future and I want to see how competitive it will be, and how competitive I will be when the hiring starts

1. I have 1100 pic turbine time and counting all part 91 in a Citation and a C-90. I spend most of my time in the Citation. No slowtation jokes please it has all glass cockpit, which is very nice. Is this type of a/c time competitive?

2. 121 vs 91, I have some 121 time as a FO and loads of 135 time. I left the commuters because there was and is no movement.

3. LOR’s, I have loads of current LOR’s but no one whom currently works at SWA. I have friends at SWA but have not flown with them. People have left my employer to go to SWA in the past but before my time. Will the LOR’s be a major problem if they are not from a pilot at SWA?

4. The type, I can get the type. I can afford it where I'm at now

5. QOL, I have a great QOL but need more in my professional life. This is as far as I can go with my current employer and I miss the 121 environment. I don’t want to take the pay cut and start over at a commuter but if I need to I will because I want to work at SWA. If I go back to the commuters I cannot afford the type. Will I need more 121 time.

My friends say that I need to relax and it will come but if there is some thing that I can do today I want to help myself out now. Thanks for everyone’s help. One more thing to FL717 if you are reading this and you fail the check ride you should have spent more time studying and less time surfing the net. LOL

 

[Snoopy58]

1. I have 1100 pic turbine time and counting all part 91 in a Citation and a C-90. I spend most of my time in the Citation. No slowtation jokes please it has all glass cockpit, which is very nice. Is this type of a/c time competitive?

In the absence of any recent data as far as who is getting interview invitations & who is getting hired, I'm guessing a little bit here. My first thought is that you're on a good start, but to be truly competitive right now, more time T-PIC will help you a lot. With SWA one of the few carriers interviewing, they have a LOT of apps, some with tons of time on them. While I do NOT think that the order people get called to interview is anything LIKE a strict "most hours to least hours," I'm guessing that the middle of the pack as far as applications goes has well over the minimum.

That isn't to say you have no chance if you sent in an app today (if you could), but I think you'll do yourself some real favors accumulating more T-PIC time.

2. 121 vs 91, I have some 121 time as a FO and loads of 135 time. I left the commuters because there was and is no movement.

Being able to explain that in an interview will help you. They apparently look for guys who keep progressing & aren't content to stagnate. A desire to not stagnate but go to a position where you could progress won't hurt you a bit... just be sure you present leaving the 121 outfit as such.

3. LOR’s, I have loads of current LOR’s but no one whom currently works at SWA. I have friends at SWA but have not flown with them. People have left my employer to go to SWA in the past but before my time. Will the LOR’s be a major problem if they are not from a pilot at SWA?

In the past, no problem at all. In the future, who knows?
There was a report somewhere that they would give serious weight to SWA pilot LOR's in the new system; don't know any more details. The "old" system was that LOR's weren't even read until the decision board (i.e. after the interview was complete), and they didn't help you get the interview. Also, SWA pilots had the ability to give a "verbal recommendation" to the chief pilots about "good guys" who were coming up to the decision board. These weren't nearly so detailed as LOR's, nor did they require much in terms of "flying-with" experience, so (old system) your buds could help you in that regard. New system, who knows?

If you go to Higher Power for the type (probably K&S and others too), they have a seniority list there so you can look for guys you've flown with who are at SWA that you didn't know about. If "insider" letters become really vital with the new system (would be a bit surprised to see it, but who knows), this might be a useful approach.

4. The type, I can get the type. I can afford it where I'm at now

It may not be required, but I think it will be a HUGE plus throughout the process.

5. QOL, I have a great QOL but need more in my professional life. This is as far as I can go with my current employer and I miss the 121 environment. I don’t want to take the pay cut and start over at a commuter but if I need to I will because I want to work at SWA. If I go back to the commuters I cannot afford the type. Will I need more 121 time.

My first instinct is to say no, stay where you are & get the turbine PIC time. Without hard data to look at, I can't offer any guarantee, but I think that you've done yourself all the favors you need in the -121 world by having checked the "121 experience" box. Sure, if you could be getting -121 T-PIC within 6 months or a year, that would be nice, but I don't know that -121 PIC is worth so much more than -91 or -135 PIC to be worth the cost to you in terms of time spent in the right seat, QOL, backward progress, etc. If the trade off is no type if you go to the -121 world, it's an easy call: stay where you are & get the type!

One of the great things about SWA is that they do NOT require everybody to be stamped out from the same cookie cutter... guys with part 91 experience get hired right alongside guys with -135 and guys with -121 experience, along with military single seat & military heavy guys.

Just my opinions, and I'm a line swine with no special "in" at the People Department, just seeing the guys who come through class. Chase may have a different take, and if so I'd pay close attention to his opinions -- he has better connections there than I do. Best of luck to you, and please feel free to PM me if you have more questions.

Snoopy

 

[Swerpipe]

Advice from someone who knows little

I have a similar situation to you and background. Metro and Hawker jet instead of King Air and Citation. I met with a chief pilot a while back to ask him if I should get part 121 experience or upgrade to a jet as a captain and he said nothing will make you more competitive than Jet PIC Part 135, 91 or 121 (obviously 121 would be best). While you can get more jet PIC, in the Part 135 or 91 world you will not fly that much that in a couple of years the resume will change that drastically. However, a type rating is something that you can do to enhance your resume. It will put you on a different pile while allowing someone to see your commitment to SWA. However, get a type only if you know that SWA is where you want to go. Good luck with SWA and your decision...