Shot at a legacy

[Dan Roman]

When were they hired?

We have always hired pilots that fit that background, even today. Most hired have large jet time, but not all. Quite a few come out of Island Air. FWIW I don't see a huge difference in skill levels relative to background. It's mostly attitude and how serious they are about learning. Over the years I've flown with relatively low time guys here and elsewhere that do an outstanding job.

 

[Dan Roman]

But if you are wondering, the pilots hired about 4 years ago are now becoming junior Captains. A lot of them are ex Aloha, but not all.

 

[Dan Roman]

Not true at Alaska. Yes you are ranked, and if you don't "score" high enough, nobody can help you, but somebody going to bat for you presuming you made a cut-off score can absolutely pull your resume off the bottom of the pile.

That sounds similar to HA

 

[Dash Power]

But if you are wondering, the pilots hired about 4 years ago are now becoming junior Captains. A lot of them are ex Aloha, but not all.

Are those the captains mentioned above that are in their early 40's and "who had nothing more than FAR 135 or 121 small turboprop PIC when hired."

 

[CesnaCaptn]

Neither Hawaiian nor Alaska are typical in the way they find their new hire pilots. It seems they both rely heavily on internal recommendations. For the "typical" applicant who will be one of 1000s applying to DAL, AA, and UA going forward you can't use what works at those smaller legacies.

 

[poor2thecore]

Does Alaska have a TPIC requirement? I remember hearing about some Horizon FO's going over a couple years ago.

 

[Dan Roman]

Neither Hawaiian nor Alaska are typical in the way they find their new hire pilots. It seems they both rely heavily on internal recommendations. For the "typical" applicant who will be one of 1000s applying to DAL, AA, and UA going forward you can't use what works at those smaller legacies.

Very good point

 

[Dash Power]

Neither Hawaiian nor Alaska are typical in the way they find their new hire pilots. It seems they both rely heavily on internal recommendations. For the "typical" applicant who will be one of 1000s applying to DAL, AA, and UA going forward you can't use what works at those smaller legacies.

They are both popular airlines with smaller hiring needs. They have the luxury to be more selective than maybe the larger carriers.

SWA has always relied heavily on internal recommendations and it has worked well for us.

 

[Dan Roman]

Are those the captains mentioned above that are in their early 40's and "who had nothing more than FAR 135 or 121 small turboprop PIC when hired."

No, those would be guys hired in the 90's or early 2000's, from 2001 till about 4 years ago we didn't hire. The pilots upgrading now are typically ex Aloha. Although not all.

 

[Dan Roman]

Actually I wouldn't be surprised if some of those upgrading now are in fact upgrading in a large jet for the first time. We have always hired local gen av (135, Island Air, inter island cargo, etc).