For those folks waiting for a class date the following was sent to me from a recent new hire. The info was enlightening & I asked his permission to share with folks on here. I wish to thank him & hope it is useful to those who have questions about what to expect when they show up. Again congrats to those who have been selected & to those who are awaiting the DB in Feb after interviewing last month. For the patient who are still waiting, hang in there....be on the ready, you'll never know when Ed McMahon will show up at your door with that big announcement!!!
Keep in mind this isn't an endorsement for purchasing any of these products by me (I do have them myself) or an endorsement from SWA....Southwest sends you a CD with a lot of useful info several weeks prior to you coming to Southwest that is very good & gives you all the necessary info to do well during your training. cheers,
__________________________
I recommend buying the flash cards, flows, and profiles at http://www.pass737.com/ and the 737SW Cockpit Companion at http://www.fmcguide.com/ . Make sure you order the fourth one down the list (Southwest specific). The stuff at Pass737 will come in handy during training. Don't sweat - you'll know the flash cards, flows, and profile info by the time the sim phase starts. The "Cockpit Companion" should come in handy on the road after training since you don't have to carry the "Dash 1" (called the FRM).
For financial planning, plan on spending close to $1200 in your first week of training - luggage, gym bag, flight bag, leather coat, uniform jacket and 3 pairs of pants. All uniform items are mandatory purchases except the hat and leather coat. You can order shirts from VanHuesen.com. I recommend four (4) Commander or Aviator style short-sleeve shirts and maybe one long-sleeve. You do not want a shirt with nametag eye-holes. I decided to post-pone the hat until Captain upgrade because it looks more official and seems weird when the FO has a hat the Captain doesn't. You can do pay-roll deduction or pay the $1200 outright if you are financially ready. There are two leather jackets - lamb skin for $575 or goat skin for $475. I went with the goat skin with zip-in liner because it should last longer. The lamb is definitely smoother, but fades to almost gray over years and isn't as warm in the Northeast winters. Plus, you WILL be getting de-icing fluid dripping on it (How do I know?). For shoes I strongly recommend a pair of Deer Stag "Motivation" slip-on shoes. We found these for $50 at Penney's. They are the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn and are all rubber sole, so you don't have to take them off in security. They also sell a lace up version.
As far as pay goes, I am getting a SWA paycheck on the 5th and 20th. Be ready to float your own finances for the first 6-8 weeks because it takes a little while for the payroll to kick in. Your paycheck on the 5th will be around $1470 and it is an advance from SWA. The paycheck on the 20th is a reconciliation of your flying time and is around $2600 but varies greatly depending on trips flown. You can pick up trips for "2nd Year" pay, but I have only done that once. I flew a 2-day trip and earned almost $800! With my cross-country commuting I usually just enjoy the time off. Once I am based at Orlando and am only gone 3-4 days a week I'll pick up more.
Looks like Chicago is growing huge! They just announced 23 FO's going there in March and another 30 in April! I may head back to Chicago vs Baltimore and get a better flying line. The flying time is the same from Tampa and the crash pads are 4 blocks from the airport, vs the train or taxi ride in BWI.
__________________
Keep in mind this isn't an endorsement for purchasing any of these products by me (I do have them myself) or an endorsement from SWA....Southwest sends you a CD with a lot of useful info several weeks prior to you coming to Southwest that is very good & gives you all the necessary info to do well during your training. cheers,__________________________
I recommend buying the flash cards, flows, and profiles at http://www.pass737.com/ and the 737SW Cockpit Companion at http://www.fmcguide.com/ . Make sure you order the fourth one down the list (Southwest specific). The stuff at Pass737 will come in handy during training. Don't sweat - you'll know the flash cards, flows, and profile info by the time the sim phase starts. The "Cockpit Companion" should come in handy on the road after training since you don't have to carry the "Dash 1" (called the FRM).
For financial planning, plan on spending close to $1200 in your first week of training - luggage, gym bag, flight bag, leather coat, uniform jacket and 3 pairs of pants. All uniform items are mandatory purchases except the hat and leather coat. You can order shirts from VanHuesen.com. I recommend four (4) Commander or Aviator style short-sleeve shirts and maybe one long-sleeve. You do not want a shirt with nametag eye-holes. I decided to post-pone the hat until Captain upgrade because it looks more official and seems weird when the FO has a hat the Captain doesn't. You can do pay-roll deduction or pay the $1200 outright if you are financially ready. There are two leather jackets - lamb skin for $575 or goat skin for $475. I went with the goat skin with zip-in liner because it should last longer. The lamb is definitely smoother, but fades to almost gray over years and isn't as warm in the Northeast winters. Plus, you WILL be getting de-icing fluid dripping on it (How do I know?). For shoes I strongly recommend a pair of Deer Stag "Motivation" slip-on shoes. We found these for $50 at Penney's. They are the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn and are all rubber sole, so you don't have to take them off in security. They also sell a lace up version.
As far as pay goes, I am getting a SWA paycheck on the 5th and 20th. Be ready to float your own finances for the first 6-8 weeks because it takes a little while for the payroll to kick in. Your paycheck on the 5th will be around $1470 and it is an advance from SWA. The paycheck on the 20th is a reconciliation of your flying time and is around $2600 but varies greatly depending on trips flown. You can pick up trips for "2nd Year" pay, but I have only done that once. I flew a 2-day trip and earned almost $800! With my cross-country commuting I usually just enjoy the time off. Once I am based at Orlando and am only gone 3-4 days a week I'll pick up more.
Looks like Chicago is growing huge! They just announced 23 FO's going there in March and another 30 in April! I may head back to Chicago vs Baltimore and get a better flying line. The flying time is the same from Tampa and the crash pads are 4 blocks from the airport, vs the train or taxi ride in BWI.
__________________
