World Airways Questions?

[sat74]

How long will you be at the botton of the seniority list, especially if they pass the age 65 rule?

 

[On Your Six]

Well guys;
They called me to interview Mon-Wed. I went since I am local. It worked out really well. Not a bad process, but it is a little time consuming.
What I want to know is this. Is World a good enough job to turn down an interview in a few months at DL. I had a class date that was cut there in 01. The rest is history. I know the whole sure thing vs a maybe, what I am looking for is this. Is the company worth staying with for the long haul? It looked to me that even though you do not top out over 200K, you could make some good coin if you worked hard. The bennifits are better than any at the majors (currently.) That may change and may not. My wife is also due with our first in April. That is about the time that we are projected to finish IOE. Is the company willing to work with you even though you are not elgible to receive FMLA.
Any info/advice is welcomed.

Has DL assured you that you would get an interview once they start up again given your previous class date?

 

[Bellerophon]

ACL,

Sounds like your heart is really in the hometown airline offer there in ATL. Although, World pays more than Delta, I am certain things will improve at Delta in the future.

You need to ask yourself and your spouse, Do I really want to be in the Middle East, Europe or Far East for two weeks at a time when your baby is young. If this is your first baby let me tell you the work just starts when the baby is born. There are many sleepless nights that lay ahead. You will not have seniority to hold 4-6 day trips for a long, long time.

World is not a career for everyone. The pilots I see that are the happiest here seek it out for its unique offerings. Top of the list is the pilot who does not live, or wants to live, near an airline hub. World offers a paid commute that they schedule and pay you for. World is a attractive airline career for the pilot just retired out of the military. He/she can jump right into the international flying that the may not see during their career at other airlines. The retired military pilots and their spouses are comfortable with the long distance world travel. World is also a great airline for the single person looking to enjoy his/her three day layovers all over the world. Then when its time to have a family you can sit back and enjoy the senior flying at World.

Bottom line, in a year your going to be mad at yourself as you pull up to that Delta counter in ATL to get your ticket to Frankfurt where you have to fly to start your two week trip. When if you waited and took that job in ATL you don’t have to be at the airport until you drive to Atlanta Hartsfield airport to start your trip.

Just my read on your post, but what do I know?
Bel

 

[RedDogC130]

But the question still arises, what will happen with Delta? Do you pass on a sure opportunity (assuming the job is offered) for the hopes of another. Risky chance in this era. Say Delta merges with someone else in 2-3 years...what happens then, furlough, pushed back to the bottom.... I think the away from home for 16 days is tough, but it makes the time at home much more valuable. Try it for a couple of years and if it doesn't leave a good taste in your mouth...leave

 

[ACL65PILOT]

That was my thought. I figured that at 32 it is only two years. I do have a gurantee of an interview, but I feel the same way about DL. My wife and I have talked it over and she is all for it. She wants to move back to TX to be near family and World offers that. I am just wondering if I am just trying to get out of my regional for a the first thing that I get. I feel it is a good place with great bennies, I am just asking if I am fooling myself.

 

[lurker]

Well guys;
They called me to interview Mon-Wed. I went since I am local. It worked out really well. Not a bad process, but it is a little time consuming.
What I want to know is this. Is World a good enough job to turn down an interview in a few months at DL. I had a class date that was cut there in 01. The rest is history. I know the whole sure thing vs a maybe, what I am looking for is this. Is the company worth staying with for the long haul? It looked to me that even though you do not top out over 200K, you could make some good coin if you worked hard. The bennifits are better than any at the majors (currently.) That may change and may not. My wife is also due with our first in April. That is about the time that we are projected to finish IOE. Is the company willing to work with you even though you are not elgible to receive FMLA.
Any info/advice is welcomed.

As a parent of little ones, my experience at World has been a good one. My wife was expecting when I was hired here, and as far as the medical benefits go, they are better than any other company I have ever heard of. My wife is in the medical field, and she too raves about the outstanding medical benefits.

The first two years were fairly tough for me to get used to the 2 week on, 2 week off lifestyle, but now I am a convert. Besides, my first 2 years here were with only 6 guaranteed days off a month, where with the new contract, it's 12. I was abused quite a bit over the first 2 years, but this past year, it's remarkably better. I've been home so much, people have been asking if I'm unemployed.

I can't imagine going back to the commuting lifestyle for a 3 day trip. With little kids, I actually think it's easier to be gone for longer periods. it will suck to be gone that long, but the difference is when they are younger, they don't really have a life to speak of. You won't be missing christmas pageants, little league games, etc. I know that this job will be tougher for me when they're older in grade school and I'm missing functions. And again, I know it will suck not seeing your baby for 2 weeks, but the sad part is....they probably won't even notice you're gone when they're that young (I'm sure your wife will notice however). The good side is that you will be home for huge chunks of time. Vacation is basically a moot point, as you will get ~2 weeks off every month.

When I'm home however, I am superdad. I try to do anything and everything for my family, because I know I'm basically useless when I'm gone. I really have 2 completely different lives. The other thing I found is how much more difficult a job it is to take care of young children than being a pilot is. Honestly, when I go to work, it feels like a vacation. I feel like the difficult part of my month is over, and the World Beer Tour begins. That's not to say we don't work hard occasionally.....just that it's more tiring for me to stay home with kids.

As far as your case living in ATL, it's got a couple pros & cons. Quite a few trips start and end in ATL, so as an open time line guy (junior), expect to be called quite a bit for last minute stuff. I live about 1/2 hour from BFE, so as an open flyer, I get the sense I'm not used as much as ATL (or other people near other huge hubs). The good side however, is that there are a few lines that do ~4 ATL-europe turns, with 40+ hour layovers in ATL. Meaning, you'd only be away from home for 8 nights a month, almost like a Delta gig. One note about that flying (and all of our flying in general) is that it does change quite a bit. Contracts come and go, and military flying grows & shrinks. Point being, if the US position does change in the Middle East, maybe the prime ATL flying goes away when you would be senior enough to hold it. I kind of doubt it, but just keep in mind that the flying here is nowhere near as consistent as at a *normal* airline.

One note about homebasing....not having to commute is a HUGE level of stress that is removed from my life. It sounds like you don't commute from ATL, so maybe it's not as big a deal for you, but as a commuter all my airline career, it's not an insignificant factor. I moved cross country while I was at World, and basically, I picked up the phone, and said "I'm moving to XYZ", they said "OK", and that was the end of it. 2 christmas's ago (the year of the big snowstorm in CVG that screwed everything up), I was scheduled to commercial out of my home airport a couple days before christmas. I showed up to the airport, which was in complete bedlam. Basically all the flights had been cancelled, and there was no hope of getting out. I had THE BIGGEST sh!t-eating grin on my face as I approached the ticket counter. I told them that I was probably the only happy person they would find today, because I knew I wasn't going anywhere. I called scheds, and they tried in vain to get a ticket for me, and couldn't, and just sent me home. It's nice knowing that when I go to the airport to start a trip, I have a ticket, and I don't have to worry about loads, other jumpseaters etc., and even if the flight cancels for whatever reason, I just call scheds and let them worry about it.

The other thing I like about World is the ability to bid pax or cargo. They each have their pros & cons, and it's nice to be able to mix it up. There are even some months that you can bid both in the same month. When you get tired of hanging around 2 crusty pilots that want nothing more than to go to McDondalds in Europe, you can bid pax, where the FAs want to go out and explore. Then when you get tired of all the drama on that end, you can go back to cargo.

I won't even get into the World vs Delta conversation, because I honestly couldn't tell you what the best thing to do is. There's so much flux in the industry (with the exception of UPS/FedEx), that I won't even pretend to make a prediction....so I won't.

I hope this helps. Good luck to you whatever decision you make.

 

[CCDiscoB]

Those were two excellent replies about life at World by Bellerophon and Lurker. That's it in a nut shell.

Yo RedDogC130, that needed a STS.

 

[RedDogC130]

LOL. That is pointy nose talk.

 

[Johnlp3]

I got a call yesterday. I cannot make thier interview time next week. They were nice about it, but I could not get out of my trip for it. Oh well, maybe next time I will be off.

I turned one down at World because I couldn't get the time off a few years ago. They were nice about it but never called back. Even after I updated my stuff. I hope you have better luck than me!

 

[ACL65PILOT]

Question is how many of you would leave World for a major?

From what I can see, I think that if I go to World it is a place that I would more than likely stay for my career.