Southern Hiring

[atpcliff]

Cliff, I certainly hope you're not trying to compare SAI with the propaganda machine of Nazi Germany. Or even that of our own War Department. (God, do I miss that term- "Department of Defense" just dosen't convey the same awesomeness, does it?)

SAI certainly has its share of issues, but things are getting better. I remember a time not too long ago where Atlas's future looked just as bad as ours. They managed to turn themselves around and are now considered to be the premiere ACMI hauler in the industry.

That IS good for the Southern crews. Last I heard was about 1.5 years ago, and I was told it was bad. The captain telling me this said EVERY crewmember at Southern had been out on the road for over 30 days at that point. The capt said they were VERY short of crews and pilots and were worked like dogs.

It sounds like mgmt decided that was not the best way to run an airline...good for them!

cliff
HNL

 

[gringo]

That IS good for the Southern crews. Last I heard was about 1.5 years ago, and I was told it was bad. The captain telling me this said EVERY crewmember at Southern had been out on the road for over 30 days at that point. The capt said they were VERY short of crews and pilots and were worked like dogs.

It sounds like mgmt decided that was not the best way to run an airline...good for them!

cliff
HNL

About a year ago, we were extremely short staffed on the Classic. And the 777 guys did get royally screwed; a lot of them I'm told didn't go home for over two months. I personally was out for almost 60 days myself, but I was able to volunteer for it. Made some good money, too. Not as much as if we were Atlas or even Kalitta, but more than the norm.

There has been a lot of changes here in the last 12-18 months, and most of it for the better. The next 12-18 months look to be even more promising...
But things are much better now

 

[naseft]

Hey Gringo:
would you be able to pass any info/gouge regarding the interview. i have mine next week any input would be great please.
thanks

 

[venator]

Hey Gringo:
would you be able to pass any info/gouge regarding the interview. i have mine next week any input would be great please.
thanks

Hi, I'm not Gringo but thought this post from Wayunderated was helpful.
I have an interview after yours (in 3 1/2 weeks) and wondered if you would post about your interview?
Thanks and good luck.

"The interview was very low key and comfortable. It started out with a group meet and greet followed by an overall discussion of "where are we now, where are we planning to go and what are we all about". Then, they wrapped it up with a question & answer session.

Afterwards, there are two face to face interviews (one with the 777 Chief Pilot and the new DO, the other with two ladies from HR) and a ride in a 737-200 sim.

The face to face interviews were very relaxed so don't get uptight. They really didn't ask any technical or "tell me about a time" questions. It felt like they just wanted to see if they liked you as an individual and they said the main purpose behind the interview was the sim evaluation.

For the sim, they usually took two interviewees at a time. One would sit in the back and watch while the other is evaluated, then you'd switch places. In the right seat, helping you out a LOT, was a Check Airman. No briefings, no checklists, just a straight forward evaluation of your flying ability. He would tell you where to bug your speeds, when to lower the flaps and the new airspeed to maintain for that configuration. You manipulate the flight controls and the thrust levers, however, you can ask him to make the final tweaks to your power settings for take off. Runway heading, a couple vectors, "turn direct to the VOR and hold X on the XXX radial". What they're looking for here is; can you enter a hold correctly, do you know what the max holding speed is for your altitude and did you think to make the required calls (i.e time entering the hold). It wouldn't hurt to brief your FO on your holding intentions and ask for confirmation. Shows good CRM and keeps you from blowing the hold because you're nervous and maybe missed the fact that he said "left turns". Then, it's vectors to the ILS for landing. On the way, they may ask "Where are you? Where's the airport in relation to us?". Then, a normal ILS to landing. The things to watch for in the sim are: Be easy on the controls! As with any plane, if you hamfist this thing, you're altitude, airspeed and heading control will be horrible! Scan constantly and be real careful of the sink as you roll into turns and the balloon as you roll out. It took surprisingly large thrust lever adjustments to maintain a level, constant airspeed turn so be prepared for that. After every flap position change, count 5 - 7 seconds and be prepared for it to balloon! Make small corrections and she'll fly beautiful. Make large corrections and you'll be all over the place. This may sound obvious but you'd be surprised how many comments there were about how hard this sim was to fly. Don't get freaked out, just use finesse and make small pitch corrections."

I hope this helps. Good luck!

 

[naseft]

Thanks for the info Venator. It was very helpful. I will let you know how it went. Keep ur fingers crossed for me
Regards

 

[venator]

Hey Gringo:
would you be able to pass any info/gouge regarding the interview. i have mine next week any input would be great please.
thanks

Thanks for the info Venator. It was very helpful. I will let you know how it went. Keep ur fingers crossed for me
Regards

Best of luck, hope to see you on the line!!!

 

[gringo]

Best of luck to all those who apply!

For those of you who decide to come over, a word of caution: we're entering contract negotiations now, and you'll be hearing a lot of BS being thrown around by various members of management, including a threat to "get rid of" home basing. This is likely to coincide with a mention of CASS.

Do not let this get to you. Home basing IS NOT on the table, and it will never be. We WILL get CASS, it's just a matter of time.

Things are getting better, and our pilot group is getting stronger. It used to be that we were "300+ independent contractors" but 1224 is working hard to solidify the group.

When you come on board, register for the SACG website. Even if you don't feel like participating, keep abreast of what's going on. It's impossible to get the entire group in one place at one time to pass information, so it's up to you to follow along.

I think you'll be happy over here, overall. It's a lot more fun than flying cattle in a light twin, and more satisfying as well. With the new airframes coming on board, and the new duty regs coming down from the FAA, those of you who get onboard at the beginning of the wave will see rapid movement.

Best of luck to all involved, and please, DO post your interview experiences here for the new guys!

Gringo

 

[ROSWELL41]

I am curious to know: Are the schedules better at Atlas or World vs Southern and why? If so, what in their contracts makes them better?

 

[Classicdriver]

I am curious to know: Are the schedules better at Atlas or World vs Southern and why? If so, what in their contracts makes them better?

I have no knowledge of the Southern contract, but I know a few FE's that went to Southern last year while furloughed from Atlas. They say their schedules are a lot worst at Southern. A lot more sitting around, messed up schedules, travel messed up and hotels not reserved. They got a recall to Atlas right after starting at Southern and regret not taking it.

Disclaimer, things may be getting better if Gringo is right. But, if your thinking things will get better just because your in negotiations, don't count on it. I bet you have at least three years to go before a new contract is signed.

 

[swordfish]

I have no knowledge of the Southern contract, but I know a few FE's that went to Southern last year while furloughed from Atlas. They say their schedules are a lot worst at Southern. A lot more sitting around, messed up schedules, travel messed up and hotels not reserved. They got a recall to Atlas right after starting at Southern and regret not taking it.

Disclaimer, things may be getting better if Gringo is right. But, if your thinking things will get better just because your in negotiations, don't count on it. I bet you have at least three years to go before a new contract is signed.

^^^^Everything said above true, southern travel and scheduling is so jacked up, heard this from one of our top manager last month; and i quote " If the company can't get scheduling and travel under control we will be out of business in the next 6 months". But the good new is the company is aware of how F-Up they are.

 

[tubineotter]

so 6 months when do i have to have my resume tuned up by?

 

[gringo]

We will totally be all out on the street within the next six months. With the new long-term DHL contract we just signed, the new long term Saudia contract we just signed, the new 777 CMI contract we've signed (I'm not going to say with whom until the Company comes out with a press release, but they were recently mentioned in other cargo newsletters. Like I said before, it's a dynamite client)... totally. We're losing money like it's going out of style.

Plus we're hiring what, 130 pilots? Because everybody knows that's exactly what one does right before they go out of business. Increase the pilot group by 33%.

It just makes sense that inefficient travel and scheduling is what's going to sink us. Totally.

Anyone got that number to that truck driving school?

I am curious to know: Are the schedules better at Atlas or World vs Southern and why? If so, what in their contracts makes them better?

Ros, our schedules depend on the contract. The Malaysian contract has you sitting a lot on your @$$. The Ethiopian or adhoc contracts have you flying a lot. Korean has a good amount of flying.

What you need to realize is that that there really is no such thing as a "schedule" in the ACMI world, regardless of whether you're at Atlas, Omni, Southern or Kalitta. When you leave your home, your butt basically belongs to the company, and you can end up anywhere. Most of the time, you'll fly whatever routes you bid for, but as an example, a few months ago I was awarded the Korean line. I started in Anchorage, and ended up in Dubai. It's just the way it is.

Like I said, the amount of flying you do more or less rests on whatever contract you're flying. If you like to sit, bid Malaysian. I haven't broken 30 hours there in well over 6 months. If you want to get closer to 40-50 hours, adhoc or Ethiopian have been good to me.

Ultimately, however, the question you posed is a moot point. Our schedules are what they are; if you're trying to compare to Atlas, you'll be disappointed. But unless you have a job offer from Atlas, what difference does it make? And if you DO have an offer from Atlas, you should take it.

The bottom line is the schedules are what they are, some better than others, all of them nothing like what you're used to flying where you're at. Welcome to the world of ACMI. We're working to make scheduling more efficient, but it's a Sisyphean task. But until that happens, relax and enjoy the ride.

 

[DA-20]

Because everybody knows that's exactly what one does right before they go out of business. Increase the pilot group by 33%.

That's what Gemini did.

 

[gringo]

That's what Gemini did.

You're absolutely right, I totally forgot about them.

Did they also sign major contracts right before they went under? I wasn't paying attention to them at the time...

 

[Zoneload]

How is the Saudia contract going?