World Airways returns to 747's

[MD11Drvr]

Its nice to think that but experience level is not necessarily a contributing factor to what seat you get. In my experience. Here at World.

When I was hired at WOA the seat depended on your expierence level and your sim eval. But another factor has been where did they need people that month. I saw some good pilots stuck at the panel for no other reason than timing.

 

[MD11Drvr]

Does World hire PFE's??

They have recently hired a few and I had heard they were going back to SO's so they could move to a pilot seat in a few years. But in light of the age 65 shuffle they may need to rethink that. If I were a PFE and wanted to come to WOA now would be a good time to get your name on the table. That is just my humble opinion.....

 

[landlover]

When I was hired at WOA the seat depended on your expierence level and your sim eval. But another factor has been where did they need people that month. I saw some good pilots stuck at the panel for no other reason than timing.

this is what i am worried about. either way i am gonna hang where i am for another year or so, or 1000 jet pic. which ever comes first. so i guess it really doesnt matter for teh time.

 

[MD11Drvr]

this is what i am worried about. either way i am gonna hang where i am for another year or so, or 1000 jet pic. which ever comes first. so i guess it really doesnt matter for teh time.

I hear ya on the 1000 pic but do not loose sight of the fact that seniority is everything in this business. If it were me I would throw a resume at them and if they offered ajob make the call then. If WOA is willing to hire without the 1000 PIC then come on and start getting some Int'l wide body time. Depending on where you want to end up the overseas time may carry more weight than a 1000 PIC jet. Again just my humble opinion................

 

[dutch747]

this is what i am worried about. either way i am gonna hang where i am for another year or so, or 1000 jet pic. which ever comes first. so i guess it really doesnt matter for teh time.

Regardless of whether or not World is where you want to hang your hat, sitting sideways for a year or so never hurt anybody. It's good experience and if you like World, your that much further ahead seniority wise (There is only ONE seniority list at World). On the other hand, say you want to leave World after a couple of years, having FE international experience isn't going to hurt. I would think your smart enough to stay until you upgrade, then the FE time combined with the wide body time might actually help you get the job you want. Weighing this against staying where your at and getting a thousand or so hours of TT time.

Just an opinion.

 

[landlover]

you guys talkd me into it, how does one apply? website doesn't show any opening for flight crew.

 

[redneck jihad]

you guys talkd me into it, how does one apply? website doesn't show any opening for flight crew.

Mail your stuff to:
Chief Pilot
101 World Dr.
Peachtree City, GA 30269

 

[ERJFO]

Some World questions:

How is the dead heading done? Is it always coach or will they put you upfront if you're going a long way?

Scheduling? How many days a month do you owe them, are there lines with known flying, are reserve days built in, are there reserve lines, do some lines have more days off than others? How are the schedulers? How do the trips "flow", what would a typical pairing look like. Circandian deth traps? What happens when it's your comming up on your last day, you're going to be in Delhi and you live in Seattle?

How are the crews? FA's?

How is the airplanes? Modernized (ACARS, printers, EFBs)? MX? Are people pushed into flying broken airplanes?

How is the dispatching done on the other side of the world? MX problems?

Crew comfort stuff: How are the hotels/transportation, crew meals? Do the aircraft have bunks? How about the freighters (galleys)? How often do you guys fly with heavy crews, I imagine the MD uses 3 guys alot.

Are FO's typed? How is the training?

Do you like it? What else should I know?

 

[lurker]

Some World questions:
How is the dead heading done? Is it always coach or will they put you upfront if you're going a long way?

almost always coach unfortunately. the contract reads that up to a 18 hour duty day it can be coach. anything else after that, company has to buy business or better, but only at your consent. you can say no, and they will likely lay you over somewhere. in 4 years here, I've never been bought business by the company. there are some grumblings on our b!tch board that come next contract negotiations we will try to get better commercialling benefits, but I'm not holding my breath.

Scheduling? How many days a month do you owe them, are there lines with known flying, are reserve days built in, are there reserve lines, do some lines have more days off than others? How are the schedulers? How do the trips "flow", what would a typical pairing look like. Circandian deth traps? What happens when it's your comming up on your last day, you're going to be in Delhi and you live in Seattle?

12 days off/month minimum for everybody. For FOs for January on the 11, there are 101 bidlines, and 45 home reserve/open time lines. home reserve is effectively the same as open time, but it's a higher guarantee because of a shorter callout and actually go fairly senior. Bidlines have anywhere from 12-20 days off a month, with probably an average of 14-15 days off. Open time is basically a grab bag. Last year, I did a lot of it, and I was hardly called at all, and flew less than 300 hours. this year, we are short on FOs as everybody is leaving for UPS, and open time people have been used quite a bit. The difficult part of open time is that you never know how long you will be out. They'll call you for a 3 day trip that turns into a 19 day trip, so always pack as though you won't be coming home for a while. the good thing is that we are home based, as long as it is an airport served by at least 3 airlines (maybe it's 2, I can't remember). anyway, if your commercial flight is cancelled, or late or whatever, just call the company. not your problem. I commuted for 5 years previously, and I love the homebasing. it's a huge level of stress that is gone from my life.

For the most part, most lines are 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off. Right now, the bulk of the flying is AMC from the States through Leipzig Germany to Kuwait, and a Lufthansa Cargo contract out of JFK to Europe. As an open person, most flying would either be commercialling to some city in the US with a military base, flying to Leipzig, and then either doing turns to Kuwait, or returning to the US to another military base. Layovers can be anywhere from 14 hours to 5 days (very rare, but I've had a few of them in 4 years). Mostly, I'm guessing the layovers are around 24-36 hours. The good thing about open time is that that is where a lot of the weird flying comes in, if you are in to that sort of thing. Almost all the Hawaii flying as well as Guam or Kadena or Australia, or whatever, is usually ad hoc, and is usually open.

as far as being in BFE and getting home, the company has to get you to your home airport of record by the time your days off start. It's almost never a problem, but occasionally, there will be a mechanical problem or something that pops up, and the company will compensate you for days off that are lost. I haven't had to do it for a long time, so I don't know what the current rate is, and I'm too lazy to look it up right now, but for the most part, it isn't an issue.

How are the crews? FA's?

pretty cool for the most part. the senior lines tend to go a little crustier. I have the most fun with crews on open time, as they tend to be more junior. FAs run the gambit. If you get a Luanda line as an open flyer (an EXTREMELY senior line), bring your ben gay and geritol if you want to hook up.

How is the airplanes? Modernized (ACARS, printers, EFBs)? MX? Are people pushed into flying broken airplanes?

nobody is pushed into flying anything broken. right now, there is so much AMC work that the planes are flying a ton, so there isn't enough down time to fix some of the problems, but I have never seen anyone pushed into doing something they didn't want to do. No ACARS, but we have satphones and EFBs. The EFBs are fairly new, so there are still maddening bugs being worked out. Most of the time, it works pretty well. I do like the satphones a lot as I don't have to go quite so deaf talking to Stockholm Radio and the like.

How is the dispatching done on the other side of the world? MX problems?

Crew comfort stuff: How are the hotels/transportation, crew meals? Do the aircraft have bunks? How about the freighters (galleys)? How often do you guys fly with heavy crews, I imagine the MD uses 3 guys alot.

again, kind of hit or miss. for the most part, the hotels we stay at in Europe are really nice. the hotels in the US for the most part aren't nearly as nice. all planes have galleys, and usually they are over catered. the crew meals for Lufthansa are pretty good, but the AMC food usually sucks. The stuff out of Leipzig isn't too bad though. Right now I'm guessing 80% of our flying is 3 person, 10% 2 person, and 10% 4 person. I pulled those numbers out of my @ss, but to my knowledge that's about what it is. Right now, I think the only scheduled 4 person stuff is the IAH-Luanda flying. When we used to do Osan South Korea flying, it was also 4 person.

Are FO's typed? How is the training?

yes, typed. training is a bit of a fire hose. I didn't find it too awful, but a lot of people complain. I think the general trend of the training department is getting better. a lot of the screamers are retiring, and some newer cooler people are coming around.

Do you like it? What else should I know?

my first year here, I was actually pretty unhappy. this was when we only had 6 guaranteed days off a month, and I was used a ton. it also took a little while to get used to the 2 week on/2 week off lifestyle. now though, I'm a convert. I love the fact that I don't have to pack every 2 days. when I come home, I am home.

I've gotten used to the lifestyle, and I'm pretty comfortable here now. maybe that's a bad thing, I dunno.

It certainly isn't for everybody. If you have to know where you are going to be in 3 days, then it definitely is NOT for you.

I hope this helps

 

[LowlyPropCapt]

I thought there used to be some kind of pilot hiring info line you could call to get the current skinny on hiring. Anyone know it or am I thinking of someone else?