New Comair hiring minimums

[WMUSIGPI]

Hmmm, how about not filing a 1113c motion to again cut the pilots' pay. Not to mention the threat of a furlough soon.

 

[RiddleEagle18]

I would hope a company that just made 50 million would not be allowed to void contracts..... but who knows these days.

 

[flyby]

Hmmm, how about not filing a 1113c motion to again cut the pilots' pay. Not to mention the threat of a furlough soon.

What is with the logic train derailment at Comair? The company files this motion to cut pilot pay and compromise your work rules. Now your HR people are lowering the newhire qualifications and offering incentives for referrals.

Maybe they could hire David Copperfield Consulting to help them fill classes while they make those same jobs less appealing.

 

[atpcliff]

Hi!

I had my ATP MEL and I got a nice letter from Comair saying I didn't meet the minimum requirements!

Comair, TSA, Pinnacle, AWAC, and a bunch of other organizations are all having a very difficult time filling their interview and new-hire slots. I heard TSA was hiring some guys with 100/10.

This is an example of the pilot shortage that PilotYIP talked about coming in 2007. It will only get worse until the next downturn in the industry, which normally would be in about 5 years from now.

The pilot shortage is due to a number of factors. One of them is that the military is turning out less pilots, and there are less civilians starting flight training. The FAA said that new pilot starts are down about 50%.

cliff
LRD

 

[imacdog]

Hi!
This is an example of the pilot shortage that PilotYIP talked about coming in 2007. It will only get worse until the next downturn in the industry, which normally would be in about 5 years from now.

When a shortage of qualified applicants is due to this job being less and less desirable all the time, it isn't a good thing! This has nothing to do with fewer qualified pilots and everything to do with the simple fact that no one wants to work here any more.

 

[time builder]

The pilot shortage is due to a number of factors. One of them is that the military is turning out less pilots, and there are less civilians starting flight training. The FAA said that new pilot starts are down about 50%.

cliff
LRD

I think there's plenty of other factors. Cost of training vs. Expected Salary is the biggest. When I got into this, I was paying $35 an hour for the plane and people were only spending a couple years in the regionals to get their six figure spot in the majors.

Now they spend over a hundred an hour for a plane, and have a resonable expectation that they might spend their entire career in the regionals.

My question is: when are banks going to stop financing these students? Many go 80,000+ into debt and end up either defaulting or paying interest only because they can't make the payments with the jobs they get.

 

[slipstream]

When a shortage of qualified applicants is due to this job being less and less desirable all the time, it isn't a good thing! This has nothing to do with fewer qualified pilots and everything to do with the simple fact that no one wants to work here any more.

That's what I don't get, what's changed since last January that has really sapped morale and why are ppl staying away? There are contentious negotiations over pay and benefits at every carrier, and the pilot group at Comair has weathered far worse in the past. What's different this time that's causing so many to bail like it's a sinking ship?

 

[imacdog]

That's what I don't get, what's changed since last January that has really sapped morale and why are ppl staying away? There are contentious negotiations over pay and benefits at every carrier, and the pilot group at Comair has weathered far worse in the past. What's different this time that's causing so many to bail like it's a sinking ship?

Our attrition rate has been very high since January, and I don't know if it has gone up or down since July but I believe it is the same. I don't think you could say that Comair is going through what every other carrier has gone through at all. We have everything to lose, and management is making sure we know this. 1113c, the RFP, the threat of masive furloughs, other carriers being brought into the DCI operation (Mesa), have made many people decide that Comair is not where they want to be any more. We are no longer treated like employees, but liabilities.

The reason our attrition rate was not a big deal in the first few months of the year was that we were slightly overstaffed, since Delta had taken away a good percentage of our flying. Now that it has stabilized (at least until Delta decides to take more away), we are becoming severly understaffed because we can't find enough quality pilots to show up for class. This shortage has resulted in the abuse of our reserve pilots, which make up a good portion of our pilot group.

Additionally, line holders are down to minimum days off because our trip pairings are so unproductive. Though I wasn't here during the strike, I can't imagine that being any worse than this because the company is now using the courts to impose labor terms and possibly transfer our flying to other carriers.

 

[BYUFlyr]

I heard TSA was hiring some guys with 100/10.

Wow! TSA's hiring private pilots now?

 

[atpcliff]

Hi!

Yeah, obviously it doesn't make sense, so I guess the bare mins would be a commercial with a few hrs of multi.

Back in 2001 I know for sure they were hiring guys with less than 20 hrs of multi, and the hiring situation actually sounds worse for the regionals today.

cliff
LRD