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Recent ATA Interview (6/12)

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MesaScott

Active member
Joined
May 25, 2002
Posts
28
As promised, I'm back from work and I've had some time to digest what happened in Indy last week.

The gouge that has been floating around for the last 2 years is still very accurate. They interviewed Monday thru Thursday with 7 people on Monday and 6 on each of the other days. Wednesday was a very long and tiring day. Van picked us up at 8am sharp and took us over to HQ. Sharon and Tony got us started with a warm welcome and an overview of the day. Then we started the paperwork. It wasn't the huge mountain of forms that I had expected. NDR, FAA Records request from any 121 or 135 job, 5 years of previous addresses, ten years of previous employers, and a 2 yr $24K note. As will filled the forms out, Mike Gerdes came in and talked about the company. Mike is the Indy 737 Chief pilot. He was very positive about the company and the upcoming contract.

When Mike was done with our questions, they left us to work on the paperwork and started pulling us out one by one for our interviews.

My first interview was with Rusty from HR. Rusty has been with ATA for over 15 years (if my memory serves me correctly). He's worked in crew tracking, scheduling..just about anything related to the day to day operation. He was very friendly and I immediately felt at ease talking with him. The interview seemed more like a conversation than an interrogation! He asked about why I wanted to work at ATA, my biggest frustration or pet peave at work, my greatest strength and weakness, how I would react to an FO that was very weak in his skills but had a great attitude, what I liked least about flying, and how I felt about commuting to work.

My second interview was with Mike Gerdes. He asked which of the essay questions was most difficult for me to answer, what was the hardest thing from training in my most recent airplane, my definition of CRM, preference of 737, 757 or L-1011, why I wanted to work at ATA, tell me a little about ATA's history. He then opened it up for questions and accepted any letters of recommendation. Mike read the letters on the spot.

At noon, Todd Seif picked us up in the van and drove us to lunch at Holiday Inn. Todd has been driving the van for 10 years or so and does it for the flight benefits. He formerly was a Corporate pilot and flew the Kingair. We were met at lunch by about a dozen of the ATA folks from the office. It was very friendly and I never felt that I was under the microscope. It felt just like going out with the crew on any of our trips.

After lunch, Todd drove us to Lafayette, IN for the sim ride. Its about an hour trip and Todd is able to answer all questions about the company. We checked into the Raddison where we were met by Gary, Toby and Roy. Gary is a 737 captain and check airman in Indy. Toby was another Capt and also flies the C-141 at WPAFB. Roy had just retired a few weeks earlier and was a 737 capt. At Purdue, they briefed us oon the sim ride and then gave us a 10 question test. It was very easy questions about approach plates, low charts, airport diagram, etc.

The sim ride was 30 minutes in the 727. Took off on 14R at ORD. The departure was RW heading to 3000 ft until 6 dme then climb to 6000 and turn left 090 to joing the ORD 120 radial SE. After leveling at 6000 and intercept, they gave a left turn direct to Northbrook VOR. On the way there they give holding instructions. You tell them how you will enter and they ask few questions about holding speeds at different altitudes and when you need to start slowing. They asked if I needed any practice holding and I said no...so depart VOR on 240 heading for vectors to ILS 14R at ORD. When they give the heading they ask where you are and you tell them you are on base to final. You fly the ILS down and break out at 300 AGL. On the rollout, they asked a few questions about the runway lights. Thats it!

We all went to Outback with the 3 ATA pilots. Again, it didn't feel like we were under the microscope. They picked up the tab for the food and soft drinks, and we all paid for our beers. By the way, I had 2 and I got hired. So I guess its a myth that you must have 1 beer!

Sorry this was so long, but that was the day in a nutshell. I don't think I'm letting anybody in on a big secret. The process seems to be identical to what has been reported in the past. I hope this is useful to anyone who may need it.

Overall, I'm estatic about getting the job. All the people you meet in Indy were great and they really wanted to share their enthusiasm about the company. I was lucky enough to get a call on Friday 6/14 with a job offer. No painful waiting involved. I need to confirm this on Monday, but I am in the L-1011 class that starts on July 29th. At this time, I have only been contacted by 1 of the other guys that interviewed with me. He is also in the July 29th class (furloughed USair).

Again...thank you to everyone that answered my earlier questions and I hope we can keep the information flowing!

Scott
 
If you dont mind me asking, I was curious what kind of jet time you had, both mil and civl. It is my impression that the people ATA selected to interview this week tended to have a fair amount of experience. If you would elaborate on the age/experience composition of your interview class that would be appreciated.

Thanks and congrats.


:)
 
To tell you the truth, I don't know what the total time was for the other 5 guys interviewing. All of the 5 other guys were furloughed from other airlines...USair, Sun Country, Express One and Emery ( I think).

As far as my experience..I'm about 2300 jet, about half of which is PIC in the E145 and the rest is SIC in the C-141.
 
Congratulations Scott! You will love the L-10, it is what I started out on here. It is a great plane to fly, and the fleet manager is a great guy as well. Of course I have to say that as we are both Indiana State grads and we Sycamores have to stick together. But seriously though, once again congratulations.
 
Congratulations, Scott!

Great news, Scott!! I hope everything works out great with your new job at ATA. Again, I thoroughly enjoyed meeting and talking with you. Please keep in touch.
 
How many pilots does ATA plan to hire this year / next year? I am on the bottom of the USAir furlough list and would gladly give up my number to work at ATA.

Thanks,


Jeff Kent
 
How many pilots will be hired by ATA in the next year? Who knows. Maybe quite a few to replace those who may leave in disgust.

I'm a little bummed about the company right now. After getting my hopes up with news of a TA Monday night, I'm now depressed after seeing our MEC Chairman quoted in the Indianapolis Star as saying pay raises will range from 34-68%. That may sound like a lot, but our current rates are so pathetically low, that these raises won't come close to getting us up to the bottom of the top ten airlines (America West excluded).

My guess is that if the TA is as bad as rumored, it won't pass, and thus it could be months or even years (mediator tabling the negotiations) before getting a quality contract.

Yes, I guess working beats being on furlough, and I hate to be seen as one of those whining airline pilots, but I was hoping for so much more from ATA...

You can read about it yourself.

http://www.indystar.com/article.php?ata19.html
 
Thanks Scott for the info,

For the ATA folks out there, I was curious what the rumored fleet plans are now that they snagged the big increase in military charter. More L10's, or a mix of L10's and additional 757's?

Thanks for the info
 
Fleet Plans remain unchanged.

The additional military flying will be handled by the current L10 fleet.

Since pulling much of the other charter work from them it sounds as if they could use the work.

If this contract gets voted in then you may see ATA announce conversion of options to firm orders. But that is just an assumption.

As of now the fleet plan by 12/02 is:

13 - L10's
10 - 75-300's
15- 75-200's
30 - 73-800's

There are still airplanes left on the original order:

9 - 73-800's
2 - 75-300's

There are options for:

8 - 75-300's
40 - 73-800's
 
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