Swa to hire 9

With less than a month to go before the proposed class date, has anyone heard of any further developments in the hiring process?
 
Steve L. said:
With less than a month to go before the proposed class date, has anyone heard of any further developments in the hiring process?
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Finishing testing internals today. Maybe testing externals after they know how many they will hire internally?
 
I see the pay has been discussed several times but.....
What kind of shift differential pay for afternoons and overnights?
Any OT opportunities that first year working the assistant desk?
 
BobDispatch said:
Has anyone external gotten a call? I have not heard from them.
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Not a peep from them.

I was thinking that they are so overwhelmed with my qualifications, the delay is from reworking the budget to get me $200k, LOL. Of course, I tend to live in dreamland...
 
Still working through internals from what I understand. No idea as to why they haven't started testing externals yet.
 
Looks like WN is looking for a crew scheduler, could be a good foot in the door since they have been going all internal lately. Not sure how long you have to stay in the department for tho, SWA??
 
Many of us have made the jump from the regionals to the majors. Even though I made it it, it still annoys me when they go all internal. I feel for all of you. You deserved your shot too, and you paid your dues with the awful lifestyle at the regionals.

Hope you get your shot the next time around. Latest rumor is that DL is going to post for up to 30 soon.
 
MT said:
Many of us have made the jump from the regionals to the majors. Even though I made it it, it still annoys me when they go all internal. I feel for all of you. You deserved your shot too, and you paid your dues with the awful lifestyle at the regionals.

Hope you get your shot the next time around. Latest rumor is that DL is going to post for up to 30 soon.
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In many places including Southwest, dispatch is thought of as being a bit of a reward for giving service to the company. Dispatch groups at the majors and also at the regionals have far better working conditions and pay than those that work the ramp, customer service, crew scheduling, load planning and flight attendant jobs. Those are typically where internals come from for dispatch. Occasionally you will get a pilot that lost a medical or retired.

I would say working on the ramp for several years in the conditions they face is paying due enough to move internally into a dispatch job.

A better argument would be that regional dispatchers have more experience dispatching and would thus be easier to train and make better dispatchers. My experience at a major airline has been that internals with no experience take much longer to train than regional dispatchers with experience. Regional dispatchers with experience know how to dispatch and typically need to learn the system and nuances between companies whereas those coming in with no experience have to learn dispatching and the system.
 
There is truth to what you are saying. However, it is a gigantic slap in the face to all of those dispatchers that were bold faced lied to when told you will have to grind out 5 or so years at the regionals. Especially when the ratio is heavily favoring the internal candidate with no experience.

I guess they need a way to supply the regionals with dispatchers and that's the line they use.

I'm not saying that there are not deserving internal candidates but if this is going to be the future then I would change my career advice from "if you want to dispatch then dispatch" to "get your license and go chuck bags at a major, keep your nose clean, and take every advancement opportunity they give you."

You don't see pilots with little experience getting on at a major. The thinking should hold true as a dispatcher.
 
MT said:
There is truth to what you are saying. However, it is a gigantic slap in the face to all of those dispatchers that were bold faced lied to when told you will have to grind out 5 or so years at the regionals. Especially when the ratio is heavily favoring the internal candidate with no experience.

I'm not saying that there are not deserving internal candidates but if this is going to be the future then I would change my career advice from "if you want to dispatch then dispatch" to "get your license and go chuck bags at a major, keep your nose clean, and take every advancement opportunity they give you."
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The problem with the five year saying is that it doesnt take into account the personal situation you are in or the economic situation at the airlines.

I think the best advice should be to tailor your resume and experience to wherever you want to dispatch at or for whatever type of job or characteristic tends to get hired a lot. In the era of consolidation, there are fewer airlines and fewer options.

Delta likes to hire managers both internally and externally. Fedex and Southwest both like to hire internally especially from ramp positions. United and AA both like hiring internally from load planner and dispatch support positions. AA and US Airways both give preference to dispatchers from wholly owned regionals and regionals that do contract flying for them. Being a woman or minority shoots your resume to the top of any dispatch hiring manager list. Sector Manager/Sector Supervisor/Hub or Equipment Coordinator jobs also seem to look good to most majors on a resume and many get hired from these jobs.
 
From what I can gather, SWA hiring externally is a relatively new thing for them, or at least was exceedingly rare in the past. I am certainly fortunate for the opportunity afforded me. That being said, it's been a twelve year journey from greenhorn at Air Midwest to where I am now.

When I was in school in the summer of 2001, the story was 2 years from regional to major. 9/11 changed that whole ballgame and in the months that followed, in the shadow of massive furloughs and shutdowns, it looked like decades from regional to major, if you were lucky. Things have improved, and continue to improve, but I doubt it will ever get back to the old days of "do your time, get into the big leagues". Those that want a shot at the majors are going to have to position themselves carefully.
 
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