SWA Interview an "Audition"

[ivauir]

Not to be a wiseguy, but I seriously doubt your statement is true. .

Your doubt doesn't make it any less true. Do your research - even at our most "desperate" it was about 30% success rate.

 

[pipejockey]

Could have been a test, you never know. Hope youre somewhere good now though.

Pipe jockey, hope you find what youre looking for in this industry. We obviously arent a fit for you, and you definitely arent a fit for us. Its not hard to see why so many would rather fly the "Big Iron" overseas, have the long layovers in exotic places. Some of us prefer not to sit around for five to ten hours to get there. I would only like to do that kind of flying from first class with a beverage of MY choosing in hand. Just my .02.

Lets face it, for many young guys this industry has been ruined by those who came before us, both union and management alike. If we were to live by a standard that you leave things better than you found them, Id still aspire to wear the double breasted coat and white hat. In SWA I have found the ability to go to work with people that want the company to succeed, both union and management alike. We do our darndest not to furlough, manage our money, and go the extra mile to treat our customers well. We are capable of these things because our leadership knows that treating us well means we treat others well. If that isnt important to longevity and stability then I dont know what is. This is the mess that deregulation has forced on the business model. We are good at it. No, most of us didnt dream of flying baby poo brown or barney butt purple 737s around the contiguous US for the rest of our careers. Many of us had dreams of military glory, or flying the clipper with 14 hot little "nurses" to chase around Rome or Paris all day. The guys who came before us blew it. Union, management, government. If you find the one guy who you could blame, go ahead and start with him. I dont know where Frank Lorenzo lives, but he might be the antichrist, go blame him.

What I do know is that it takes alot of energy to want, hate, and spew venom. None of the above betters ones lot in life. Best of luck.

Thank you for the polite response. I just wish there were areas of aviation that contained at least a little of what we dreamed of growing up. But SWA's business model is so successful they in effect force every other carrier to try to do things their way and have a cost structure which is similar, precluding the grandeur there once was. It is these feelings I emote that cause people to consider me a "hater" as cptcrunch has now so eloquently explained to me....way to go crunch!! I knew you had it in you.

And I realize I will be cutting myself off from some halfway decent jobs in the future by refusing to embrace SWA, Critter, JB, etc.

I would venture to guess that your wife never considered you her number one choice, how did that work out?

What? I am a pilot, that equals poor, no money, broke!! And as you know of my disdain for the LCC (Low Cost Chick) I cannot afford the high class of women that I have a taste for. So alas, I am single.

 

[Capt1124]

What's this I hear about friendly service at Southwest? I've never experienced any friendly service at Southwest. People fly Southwest because they can't afford anything better.

 

[pipejockey]

What's this I hear about friendly service at Southwest? I've never experienced any friendly service at Southwest. People fly Southwest because they can't afford anything better.

Hey Capt., there is nothing better out there anymore because every carrier has had to turn themselves into an LCC to stay in business. Service has deteriorated in just about every facet of our society due to everyone's lust for cheaper and cheaper products. Everyone pays an unconscionable amount for gasoline these days and consumption of gasoline has not fallen one bit! It has actually increased since the prices first began to rise a couple years ago. But oh the horror if they had to pay a fair price to travel by air.

 

[AlbieF15]

Kathy,

I would venture to say that the "interview" really starts the moment you contact a company to enquire about getting a 737 type, provided you don't already have a 737 type rating or you interview before you get your type rating, and continues the entire time you are at that company getting your type.

This is a close-nit community and I'm sure the PD folks know all the people at the various type schools and I'll bet a first year FO trip that they talk.

Are you guys suggesting that a type company that a guy or gal just paid $8000 to get training would talk down about a student? Or that they would consider danging the student with faint praise?

Has anyone experienced that? I know a guy who had a tiff with another AZ company about a bill and thought that might have hurt his chances at a DB, but that was just his impression. If that is the case, then I think the type factories WITHOUT ties to SWA would be a better choice. Perhaps Chase can throw in his two cents...he has helped a lot of SWA hopefuls in the past and has done some work for HPA. He's usually got some good insights into the SWA process.

 

[cptcrunch]

What's this I hear about friendly service at Southwest? I've never experienced any friendly service at Southwest. People fly Southwest because they can't afford anything better.

are you joking? no seriously

 

[seahorse]

You are all liars, so give it up. We all know that when all the other majors were hiring like mad in the late 90s, that SWA was suking up every pilot that interviewed with a B737 type rating. SWA probably only turned down a very very small percentage.

True that they now pay among the highest, especially since almost every legacy airline has had it's contract ripped apart. I'm not denying that SWA pay is better than the legacy airlines. But they are just acting like UAL did during the late 90s; turning down almost 80 - 90%. Once the legacy contracts get back up, and hiring picks back up, things will change again. Although it probably won't be for many years.

 

[hawk16e]

Speaking of SWA interviews...

After being turned down at SWA in 6/01, would you need another 3 letters of rec, and do they compare their notes from last time?

 

[scoreboard]

After being turned down at SWA in 6/01, would you need another 3 letters of rec, and do they compare their notes from last time?

Well, you need three currrent recs, it only makes sense that they would be "new", not neccessarily from different people. I would bet they compare notes, but that is probably a good thing, unless you know they found something bad.

Good luck!

 

[ivauir]

You are all liars, so give it up. We all know that when all the other majors were hiring like mad in the late 90s, that SWA was suking up every pilot that interviewed with a B737 type rating. SWA probably only turned down a very very small percentage.
.

What you are saying might make sense in your strange little world, but facts can be inconvienient things. The reality is that we have always hired about 1 in 3 or 1 in 4. Go ask Kit Darby or anyone who does interview prep.

 

[chase]

There were times when other carriers were hiring the numbers were much smaller than they are now, 1 in 10 or 2 in 10....it is what it is...to bemoan it is to want an explanation that isn't available from anyone who would say....just speculators like us all.

 

[737tanker]

Not to be a wiseguy, but I seriously doubt your statement is true. Back in the late 90s and 2000 when all the career airlines were hiring like mad, I would venture to guess less than 10% of pilots considered SWA their #1 choice. To the other 90%, SWA was the booby prize. Now everyone is going gaga over them like little school girls. SWA management has to know most guys even today would not be interested in them if all the legacies were hiring and the contracts of old were in place. In other words they're all a bunch of fakes. It doesn't matter to me anyway. I won't be sending SWA a resume ever anyway. I don't hide my true feelings to get ahead in life like others. They would see through me as if I were a piece of glass.

I hate to bust your bubble but I interviewed and got hired in 1994. At that time we were hiring about 1 out of every 12 that interviewed. We even hired guys from other airlines, 1 of the guys in my new hire class had come over from UPS.

 

[slaquer5]

Not to be a wiseguy, but I seriously doubt your statement is true. I won't be sending SWA a resume ever anyway. I don't hide my true feelings to get ahead in life like others. They would see through me as if I were a piece of glass.

Pipe I think you are leaving the true reason out and maybe you should be telling these guys on FI.C

 

[canyonblue]

What's this I hear about friendly service at Southwest? I've never experienced any friendly service at Southwest. People fly Southwest because they can't afford anything better.

So since you never experienced any friendly service at Southwest, does that mean you flew Southwest because YOU couldn't afford anything better? You need to find a better paying gig.

 

[pipejockey]

Sorry guys, I left this thread but tanker and slaquer have drawn me back in, blame them.

tanker, ok I'll believe you about the 1 out of 12, But It was probably due to the fact that those 11 who didn't make it had interviewed with every other major airline in the country, but didn't get hired. And by the time they got to SWA they were so depressed that they could not hide their true feelings, much like I wouldn't be able to.

Which brings me to slaquer.
What do you mean I am leaving out the true reason??

 

[TheDogsBollocks]

Not to be a wiseguy, but I seriously doubt your statement is true. Back in the late 90s and 2000 when all the career airlines were hiring like mad, I would venture to guess less than 10% of pilots considered SWA their #1 choice. To the other 90%, SWA was the booby prize. Now everyone is going gaga over them like little school girls. SWA management has to know most guys even today would not be interested in them if all the legacies were hiring and the contracts of old were in place. In other words they're all a bunch of fakes. It doesn't matter to me anyway. I won't be sending SWA a resume ever anyway. I don't hide my true feelings to get ahead in life like others. They would see through me as if I were a piece of glass.

You are probably closer to the truth on this one, remember it was around the 1999-2000 hiring boom that SWA dropped the type requirement for the interview. The probability that they were not interviewing the best and brightest was not lost on them!

 

[canyonblue]

...remember it was around the 1999-2000 hiring boom that SWA dropped the type requirement for the interview.

It's dropped now also, so where is your logic on that one? I also find it interesting that the two biggest jackheads on this thread BOTH have flown the Metroliner. Anyone who has flown it care to chime in what it does to your thought process.

 

[TheDogsBollocks]

It's dropped now also, so where is your logic on that one? I also find it interesting that the two biggest jackheads on this thread BOTH have flown the Metroliner. Anyone who has flown it care to chime in what it does to your thought process.

Hey Dips**t,

My point was to simply point out that SWA has changed their hiring requirements to fit the market conditions at the time, SWA in the past was considered "second tier" (not my opinion however). You are indeed correct SWA dropped the type around the last hiring boom, because of the most attractive salaries and working conditions of the legacy carriers at that time.

SWA, the only carrier requiring a type for interview must have realized if it were to hire the most suitable candidates, especially during the last boom it would have to cast a "wider net' to get people in the door, thus dropping the type.

Furthermore, there was a brief period post 9/11 that the "type for interview" was reintroduced, then subsequently recinded, also now with SWA being the "top dog" in the industry with more than enough qualified candidates seeking employment, the turbine PIC requirement has also been increased.

In regards to my Metro experience, it has had no ill effect on my demeanor whatsoever, regretfully your experience at SWA has turned you into a conceited pig!

 

[Tomct]

Fella's Fella's Please! Can't we ALL just get along?

 

[capt. megadeth]

It's been said before. They are protective of who they let into the family. Seems to be working to me. Hoping I can join the Team soon.

A SWA thread.....I just couldn't help myself.

Um, there are plenty of toolboxes there from what I have heard from my friends. I don't think any airline has it down that perfectly.

 

[Benhuntn]

Capt. m I am sure we have some guys that are rough around the edges but if you say we "toolboxes", I am sure we do since you know your boxes better than anyone.

 

[capt. megadeth]

Capt. m I am sure we have some guys that are rough around the edges but if you say we "toolboxes", I am sure we do since you know your boxes better than anyone.

Well it came from other SWA pilots not me. Believe it or not I actually have very good friends at SWA and yes, they know I bash on SWA.