Kit Darbys AirInc goes TU!

[Captainzero1]

Kit, for all his percieved faults did help a few people get on with airliners over the years. No denying that.

Rez what happened to getting a job based on your qualifications instead of who you know. Just like a meritocracy you repubs are always preaching to me.

 

[jetjock6]

The bad news is that the future generations will not get a chance to spend a $100 to let Kit tell them how great of a pilot he is.

So long D-bag!

 

[F/O]

WTF, the pilot shortage is almost here!!

Sorry, just had to chime in there....

 

[CatfishVT9]

He's got a new job now. He's been working at the Alteon Training center teachin' them furiners in the 737 sim. He's looking a lot older too. Saw him several times during my forced training in Sept.

 

[Smacktard]

Kit, for all his percieved faults did help a few people get on with airliners over the years. No denying that.

Rez what happened to getting a job based on your qualifications instead of who you know. Just like a meritocracy you repubs are always preaching to me.

Thousands of people used Kit's services and benefited from his help. A vast majority of his business was helping pilots make themselves look better (and a lot of you need that) so that they look better in the eyes of the interviewer. How this can be construed as being a snake-oil salesman is beyond me. Air Inc isnt even in the same league compared to the snake-oil men of Riddle, Flight Safety and even ATP. They take tens to hundreds of thousands of your dollars and lie to you. Kit charged you $200 and you got all sorts of material and counselor support, hardly what you could call a rip off. And for the guys and gals that didn't have connections, Kit's career fairs were great. I went to a few them in 2000, 2001 and 2004. They were all well planned events that were worth the price of admission.

So go on, bash if it makes you feel better, but also remember you're laughing at some good people that worked for him for almost 20 years that are out on the street. Wow, isn't that a real knee slapper...

 

[GogglesPisano]

Excuse my ignorance but who is Yip?

Do an FI search for Pilotyip's posts. He's a nice enough guy, with very civil posts, but he discourages potential pilots from "wasting" resources on a college degree and propogates the myth that there is a pilot shortage -- or there's one right around the corner.

More pilots, less pilot pay (he's management.)

 

[avbug]

Pilotyip was management...now unemployed. He's also a pilot, however...not simply a desk jockey.

Air Inc was certainly more snake oil than help. While it may have provided some help to military pilots just entering the civil world, for the most part it was all window dressing and no substance.

Even the magazine, airline pilot careers, suddenly went out of print a year or two ago...they took the money for subscriptions and then went to an internet-only service...no refunds offered, no extention or discount. Simply poor and dishonest service.

Their customer service was legendary for rudeness and the inability to return a phone call or email.

Their products were overpriced. They inflated their hiring states severely, lying to prospective customers about the pilot demand, and also about their own results.

Now, they send out an email on the 12th, saying they're out of business on the 13th. You might call them honorable...but professionals don't behave that way. Kit Darby's a dirtbag that preyed on inexperienced pilots and military pilots who didn't know any better.

I'm surprised it took them this long to shut down.

One day's notice. How efficient of them.

 

[tomgoodman]

But that was then

Air Inc was certainly more snake oil than help. While it may have provided some help to military pilots just entering the civil world, for the most part it was all window dressing and no substance.

I think that, like many organizations, it was good when it started. Thirty years ago there were no forums like this one, and FAPA (as I think it was called), provided a helpful service at a reasonable price. That and Molloy's "Dress for Success" were about all we military guys had for guidance until deregulation kicked in. From that point on, a gypsy fortune teller would have done as well.

 

[Carl_Spackler]

I remember seeing newsletters from Air Inc listing airlines, a/c type, hiring, minimums, contacts and addresses. This was good information until the internet came along and you could find the same stuff, find it faster, and get it for free.

 

[pilotyip]

In defense of Kit. He provided a service; over the years many pilots have benefited from that service. I wish he had been around in 1977 when I got out of the Navy my career may have taken a different path. I always recommended it to military pilots when they seperated. Go at least once, some of thee best money you could spend. I attended shows 2-3 times per year for 8 years until the pilot shortage made it impossible to hire at the shows. I had a lot of fun, meet a lot of industry people, got some job offers which I turned down because USA Jet was great place to work. Why is it Kit can not be part of the brotherhood, he certainly paid his dues.

 

[GogglesPisano]

It's not what he did 20 years ago, it's what he's done over the last 10. Convincing starry-eyed kids that there is a pilot shortage and that there is a tremendous return on investment. A lot of people learned the hard way that he was full of dog poop.

 

[Browntothebone]

Krap! I just renewed my membership. Sux that they didn't let me know of the impending shutdown. I'm going to call them and get my money back since I just renewed.

 

[Motive Flow]

There goes that free AirInc membership to recent ALPA furloughees...right down the toilet.

 

[saabservant]

My first job offer in late 1997 came from attending one of his seminars and job fairs.
Went to a couple more over the years, but no direct interviews or offers.
His newsletters were good sources for learning how to conduct a search, do apps, and survive an interview, and pass a sim ride.

My only gig would be his prices, which were steep for the job fairs.

He did arrange special fairs for groups in trouble, ie the Mesaba pilots during their bankruptcy. I know a few guys who got offers, a couple from Continental...

If his only sin was peddling optimism and being prepared, I'll forgive him....

the sadder message is: there is no hiring anymore, even Darby admits it!

 

[NuGuy]

Heyas,

FAPA and the follow on Air, Inc was a product of the times. There was no internet, and no ubiquitous method of communication. Some aspects of aviation were VERY hard to find information on unless you just happened to know someone.

The Internet has changed the way we think about information, but more importantly, how information flows. That has put a LOT of information "brokers" out of business, not just FAPA, et al.

Nu

 

[freightdogfred]

He was a money grubbing weasel, and that's being nice. He could give a rat's ass about helping anyone, he was in it for the money and nothing more. There was a real decent old guy out of LA, a real old-skool dude that cut his teeth flying the old iron to places I can't even spell. I think his name was Nichols or something similar. He had a rag called FCI (Flight Crews International) that came out once or twice a month, and it had real time, accurate info on hiring and contract work, complete with phone numbers and contact names. If you had some experience you'd find work right away with it. Well, Kit bought him out just to shut it down, to force people to go to his service. Maybe when the pilot shortage shows up he can find work.

 

[FreightGod]

He's looking a lot older too. Saw him several times during my forced training in Sept.

Caught a jumpseat with Kit back in the 90s.
Not sure what he looks like now or back then.

He pumped me some on the Tower Air hireing, operation, etc.

Nice enough chap I guess, but all business.

There was a real decent old guy out of LA, a real old-skool dude that cut his teeth flying the old iron to places I can't even spell. I think his name was Nichols or something similar. He had a rag called FCI (Flight Crews International) that came out once or twice a month, and it had real time, accurate info on hiring and contract work,

Yeah, we all rememberd him and subscribed to his rag. $35.00 per month was it..?

Some guys got a job from it, most did not.

Most jobs came from connections and friendly intel:

"Evergreen are having a class next month and they are short of 2 guys."

So and so are looking for 747 drivers, call so and so ASAP..

Etc, etc.

Once ya got a foot inside the "community" the phone would ring.

 

[FlyFastLiveSlow]

Uh, no, shutting down "for tax reasons" would officially qualify you as a scumbag . . . . .

That summarily describes Kit, no?

 

[rajflyboy]

It's not what he did 20 years ago, it's what he's done over the last 10. Convincing starry-eyed kids that there is a pilot shortage and that there is a tremendous return on investment. A lot of people learned the hard way that he was full of dog poop.

I agree 100%

I was always ticked off that Darby woud never give phone numbers to the Hiring HR folks at company's. Thats really helpful when you are looking for a flying job.

I could always find that info on my on and never did spend any money with Air Inc!

 

[pipe]

When I was in college (one w/ an aviation program), he came to town to "speak". In retrospect, he came to town to take everyone's beer money in trade for a subscription to his worthless rag. I am proud to look back on my early wisdom -- I knew at the time that the beer was a better investment. I have since landed interviews and offers with four majors over the years and not even referenced a borrowed copy of his rag. Anyway, I digress.

I was sent by the school to pick him up about an hour away in a light twin. He asked if he could fly on the way back to the school. I was a current MEI at the time so I didn't care, as long as it went in my logbook. He proceeded to underperform my worst students all the way back to the home drome. I was phenomenally unimpressed -- so unimpressed that I didn't even bother to go hear his talk. In addition (and this is important when you're 22 years old) he dressed like a ******************************, he had ******************************bag hair, and he had the social panache of a lump of dung. At that age you tend to look at an airline captain and a USAF reserve pilot and assume that they walk on water -- this guy was the most singularly umimpressive lump of plasma you could imagine. Good riddance.

PIPE