Yet another thread about interview techniques.

Derg said:
Another interview tip which is really easy to tell if you're BS'ing or not is when someone flies for, say, Skywest, you can ask "Can you compare and contrast flying Delta Connection to United Express?"
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I don't know, I'm not Tier 1 so I'm not allowed to fly on the DL side. 8(
 
ComplexHiAv8r said:
I don't know, I'm not Tier 1 so I'm not allowed to fly on the DL side. 8(
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So your answer would be "I'm in a base (aircraft?) that only flies (whatever) airline so I haven't afforded that opportunity yet".

Let go of the "tiers". They're the jackalope of the recruiting wold.
 
So apparently Delta has some newhire attrition that it was worthy enough for them to write about it in some update news pdf file? It's amazing how quickly this industry changes and now we have people who are actually picky on legacy carriers. But par for the course, if someone really wants to work at the big 3, and 2 of them call and hired at both, I can see starting at one and then later quitting as 1st year and going to the other legacy.

Delta's a great airline with excellent career opportunity, but the downside I think is they seem to be JVing the hell out of their international ops and just don't have that many twin-aisle wideobides when compared to American and United. Hopefully their new pilot contract/PWA can address the JV issues / scope for international stuff.
 
Cherokee_Cruiser said:
So apparently Delta has some newhire attrition that it was worthy enough for them to write about it in some update news pdf file? It's amazing how quickly this industry changes and now we have people who are actually picky on legacy carriers. But par for the course, if someone really wants to work at the big 3, and 2 of them call and hired at both, I can see starting at one and then later quitting as 1st year and going to the other legacy.

Delta's a great airline with excellent career opportunity, but the downside I think is they seem to be JVing the hell out of their international ops and just don't have that many twin-aisle wideobides when compared to American and United. Hopefully their new pilot contract/PWA can address the JV issues / scope for international stuff.
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At least they recognize it. SWA will treat you like pawn scum at job fairs if you don't meet their mins, yet a measurable percentage of every new hire class has empty seats because people who accepted offers there, get better offers right before class.
 
Here's the kicker, the upper levels of the industry are like Grand Central Station and a number of platforms.

SouthernJets is losing guys to FDX, FDX is losing guys to SouthernJets, SWA is poaching UAL and UAL is poaching SWA.

I could show some stats but it may be proprietary, I really have no idea.

Ground school start dates start going to months into the future, which they do with the flows and SSP's then SWA calls and says, "We'll put you in class next week", he's gone and well, that attributes to attrition.

Class dates are like airplane orders. It's nothing more than a vague, drunken promise until it actually arrives.
 
I'm not saying you should grandstand in your welcome PA.... just saying that making it, and perhaps doing it in front of the cabin in a friendly, welcoming way is supposed to be what they want for the brand... Also, on the note of PA's, when you say "ATC", "Ramp", "APU", that means literally nothing to anybody except the pilots in the back most likely... another reason to keep it simple or at least avoid jargon.
 
ATC - Three wheeler, 1970's style out in Pismo.
Ramp - That thing Evil Knievel jumps off of
APU - That guy down at the QuikTrip that I bought the purple slushy and microwave burrito from.
 
Derg said:
Here's the kicker, the upper levels of the industry are like Grand Central Station and a number of platforms.

SouthernJets is losing guys to FDX, FDX is losing guys to SouthernJets, SWA is poaching UAL and UAL is poaching SWA.

I could show some stats but it may be proprietary, I really have no idea.

Ground school start dates start going to months into the future, which they do with the flows and SSP's then SWA calls and says, "We'll put you in class next week", he's gone and well, that attributes to attrition.

Class dates are like airplane orders. It's nothing more than a vague, drunken promise until it actually arrives.
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Very true. But there's still a difference between being in a pool and then taking the first class date, versus starting at a legacy airline, being in training or even on reserve / on the line, and then leaving for the other legacy that gives a class date.

How do you resign from Delta to go to another legacy. That's got to be an awkward CP office moment.
 
Cherokee_Cruiser said:
Very true. But there's still a difference between being in a pool and then taking the first class date, versus starting at a legacy airline, being in training or even on reserve / on the line, and then leaving for the other legacy that gives a class date.
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You mean Frosted Flakes are technically different than taking Corn Flake and sprinkling sugar on them? Heavens to murgatroid! :)
 
I work for a large competitor of Netjets and have airlined on every single airline multiple times for years. I disagree that there is ANY kind of "passenger interaction" (especially the pilots) coming from 121 pilots towards their pax. Also there is no difference in how the legacies, the LCC's or the ULCC's treat their pax. The best IMHO is Virgin America. They get it. JetBlue maybe second. As for the legacies just smiling and saying "have a nice day and thanks for flying _____ " is not even close to customer service. Have a look at what Xojet or NJA does for their pax. The airlines have no idea about customer service! The ones on here that believe that have never flown charter or frac.
 
Screaming_Emu said:
But they've gotta give you the tools to get the job done. That's where the difference lies.
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Things might have been different in the past, but I would argue very similar today.

Also, did you do your job differently depending on the brand you were flying? Doubtful. That's the point.
 
learflyer said:
I work for a large competitor of Netjets and have airlined on every single airline multiple times for years. I disagree that there is ANY kind of "passenger interaction" (especially the pilots) coming from 121 pilots towards their pax. Also there is no difference in how the legacies, the LCC's or the ULCC's treat their pax. The best IMHO is Virgin America. They get it. JetBlue maybe second. As for the legacies just smiling and saying "have a nice day and thanks for flying _____ " is not even close to customer service. Have a look at what Xojet or NJA does for their pax. The airlines have no idea about customer service! The ones on here that believe that have never flown charter or frac.
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I'm a former corporate pilot now flying 121, and I disagree. Obviously the customer experience is different, it would be absolutely impossible for me to have the same interaction between both types of flying. But I can tell you that there is an expectation with Delta customers that is different than other airline operations I've been a part of.

During irregular operations for example, we are highly encouraged to keep our pax informed. This means making informed announcements at the gate, in the cabin, etc. On the Delta side, this is tracked and I have seen the metrics.

I'm not going to lie, it was a little intimidating the first time I walked up to the gate and asked the agent how to make a PA. But it gets easier every time, and the passengers ABSOLUTELY appreciate it! I cannot tell you how many times I have been thanked for keeping them informed, despite the message usually being bad news.

Since I started doing this with the Delta operations at my regional, I've started doing it with the United side as well. Again, it's a big hit and the gate agents are VERY happy when I've offered to make the announcement about maintenance or weather issues.

It really sucks being the bearer of bad news, but it sucks a lot worse being partly responsible for keeping people in the dark.
 
Cherokee_Cruiser said:
Very true. But there's still a difference between being in a pool and then taking the first class date, versus starting at a legacy airline, being in training or even on reserve / on the line, and then leaving for the other legacy that gives a class date.

How do you resign from Delta to go to another legacy. That's got to be an awkward CP office moment.
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There's even this thread:

learhawkerbe400 said:
So I've been at AA for 3 years this summer. 30 years old and single with no kids. Got an interview invite at fedex and I'm trying to decide if I want to go. I know I don't have a choice to make until I get an offer but it's going to be a lot of studying for the interview so I don't want to waste my time. So here goes

Reasons to stay at AA
-I have over 500 junior to me on the airways side, I think close to 1500 if you add in the American side
-will retire #5

Reasons to leave
-I'm 3 numbers junior to @L-16B
-NAI and flag of convenience airlines. I know they're not a huge deal now but could become a major issue, or maybe not
-along the same lines of NAI I highly doubt we can protect cabotage for the next 35 years. Globalization is a very strong force and all people care about are prices
-ME3 threat
-horrible customer service. It's embarrassing and makes me cringe watching how our employees treat our customers
-horrible contract and work rules. I mean horrible. 11 hour 3 days. Absolutely pathetic.
-no way to make extra money. We are capped at 85, 90 or 95 hours each month. Only way to go over is get a premium trip which. I've flown 3 in 3 years.

Fedex pros:
-good contract and pay rates with opportunity to credit more than your line value
-established business model
-commuter friendly (I have no plans of moving and no airline has a base where I live)
-junior 757 captain was hired July 15
-never went through bankruptcy and work rules show it. 6 hour credit per vacation day, 150% for flying on days off
-tons of widebodies. More opportunity to sit in the highest paying seats compared to the legacies
-don't have to deal with flight attendants or pax

Fedex cons:
-night flying. No getting around that. But we have plenty of red eyes at AA. Not to mention all the Europe/SA/ Asia trips fly through the night. If you want to fly widebodies you're going to be flying at night no matter where you work
-no 117
-may be first to reduce required crew members on longhaul flights. But I'd guess the pax airlines would be right behind
-3D printers if they ever catch on, shipping via rail/cargo ships, belly freight on ME3

My main concern wth staying at AA is Parker seems content to have the max number of RJs while reducing mainline as much as possible. Couple that with flag of convenience airlines, chipping away at cabotage, the ME3 and ULCC airlines dumping capacity everywhere I don't see a rosy future for US legacies. I wouldn't be surprised if AA, UA and DAL slowly shrink by furloughing from the top in the near future. We just can't compete in the global marketplace and I think that's a fact. Everyone loves to hate US airlines no matter if it's justified or not.

Fedex seems to have a pretty solid future and I would probably make more money there over my career (I'm a credit ). I just don't want to be that guy who left FedEx for United in 2000, or SWA for USAir in 99. This industry is ridiculous. I should have gone to med school.
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So, it's happening everywhere.
 
And for the love of sweet Jesus, buy and use a mirror.

I've seen multiple, flagrant violations, by men and women.

Pro tip: Shirts tucked in.

Pro tip 2: This ain't a club and those flashing lights ain't a dance floor.

Pro tip 3: Sandles don't cut it.

Pro tip 4: Guys, you need to make physical contact with the razor for it to work. It's not a Jedi mind trick where you wave it around your face while saying "you don't need to shave today".

But the Fashion Police are so busy these days...they always put you on hold.

Ok. I'm done.

Richman
 
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