Is this the future soon here?

[Whine Lover]

They have been doing this for at least 30 years. Old news.

 

[J.Otto]

LH never hired off the street to mainline if my memory serves me correctly (at least the last 20 years). All ab initio training was done through their flight school. The selection process is/was quite brutal consisting of a series of aptitude tests.

I believe that is how their whole educational system is setup as well. Nationwide, kids around age 16 take aptitude tests which determine their vocational course from there on. It would seem the process used for LH hiring is not much different.

 

[GogglesPisano]

Yes. They've been doing this since shortly after WW2 -- when they realized all their pilots were dead. The rest of the European flag carriers slowly migrated to this system as their WW2-trained pilots began to retire in the 1970's. It's rare for a pilot to transition from mil to flag carrier in Europe.

The downside is that the hiring is more competitive and selective than it is here in the US.

The upsides are many. Once you're selected you've earned the golden ring -- no "paying your dues," no 1st-year poverty pay, better pay than in the US. And generous pensions. No wonder their quaking in their boots at the thought of ME airlines entering their turf.

 

[RedBelly]

I taught many German students back in my CFI days. Two of my all time best students were German, and they both didn't pass the Lufthansa process.

 

[jmreii]

I know this is in German but you can set English subtitles. This is from a German news magazine. Basically it's what Lufthansa does for pilots. They don't hire much off the street anymore. They own a flight school at Phoenix Goodyear and train pilots from 0 to airbus time. They pretty much own these kids for their career.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZCN86eobpE

Some European and Asian countries have recognize the future is now and plan their needs accordingly. The only US businesses recognizing this fact are tech and software companies because assets and personnel are important in order to stay relevant.

A classmate from one of my business classes told me businesses in Japan plan for tomorrow whereas businesses in the US plan for today.

 

[Dornier 335]

I taught many German students back in my CFI days. Two of my all time best students were German, and they both didn't pass the Lufthansa process.

The LH process is IMHO ridiculous at best. The aptitude process is done by the German Air and Space Center (DLR) and consists of spinning cubes, recalling 6 random numbers, memorizing and recalling symbols etc. Quite painful, and does not really eradicate the not so gifted aviators (kept hush-hush). I don't wish this testing upon anybody.