Virgin American Hiring Window Open

Yup, true.

I think VX/AS can be a great opportunity if you're on the west coast. They do have an aggressive 5-yr growth plan, and if the recent mass expansion out of SFO is any hint then there's no reason to doubt them. They are being forced to do so in order to compete with the big 3. If you are coming here, just come in with the eyes open and know the numbers. The combined pilot group is about ~ 2,600 pilots. And that's with the current combined mainline fleet of 218 planes. The combined retirements for the next 10 years (2017-2026) is about 670. What they've said is no matter which fleet plan they stick with (whether keep mixed fleet or single Boeing fleet), the mainline fleet is going to grow by 50 frames for the next 5 years. Obviously that will change the pilot group number (over 3,000 for sure) and bring in additional upgrades and movement. Still, if you're at the bottom of the list then you can plan on being a FO for a while. Then again that's always been Alaska, a historically long upgrade time. I will add that upgrades at VX are about to hit 2012 hires, and at AS they are still in the 2007 hires, but AS only has 7 pilots on the list hired in 2008, none hired in 2009-2010, and only 6 pilots for 2011. So once the 2007 hires are done, the upgrade stuff should fall rapidly to 2012 hires as well, just like it is going to be at VX.

The JCBA will come, either by union/management agreement or worse case by arbitration. If the latter, I believe the date for the final arbitration is set for in October so the JCBA will be out by then. Then SLI proceedings which should take another 6 months or less. The next 12 months here will be full of change and hopefully for the better.
 
Cherokee_Cruiser said:
Alaska's draw has always been it's predominantly unique geographical location that offered pilots the Alaska or the Pacific Northwest bases. If you want to fly for a legacy pax carrier and be based in ANC or PDX, Alaska is it. And up until Delta really increased SEA, Alaska was still the big player in SEA (over 1,000 pilots based in SEA out of ~1850 total). So these factors alone always ensured that there was a long and steady line of pilots that wanted to work for Alaska. VX was in a similar position as well, considering they really started hiring like crazy in 2007-2012 which was at a time when virtually no other major was hiring. It was all for SFO and then later a LAX base, west coast options which were heavily favored by many pilots.

Fast forward to today, and all 3 legacy carriers are hiring AND placing pilots in the west coast in a relatively quick timeframe (Delta west coast bases going to newhires, as are some AA). So now in some ways Alaska/Virgin have less a draw to them than they did before. It's still the 5th largest airline in the country, but if you have an offer from the big 3.....
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Agreed. Add the fact that first year pay needs a 46% raise to meet the average of the top 4...
 
Cloud Surfer said:
Has anyone received a call without internal recs or job fairs?
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Unfortunately not that I know of, everyone had one or the other. They seem to value meeting people face to face or having someone on the inside advocating for them.

As far as the future goes, my armchair predications are the combined company will fly 737s, have an Eskimo on the tail, and be called Alaska. There is zero reason for them to keep the airbus even though our product and service is better. It's all about the benjamins and I've heard that Boeing financed part of the acquisition.
 
I got hired without any internals/recs or job fairs, but that was over 5 years ago. I think everything we know as far as the hiring process at VX is about to go out the door as the company "Adopt and Go Alaska" on the hiring practice (like much of everything else). There are already new changes like requiring the 4-yr college degree (which I am for) and also increased the minimums to 3,000 TT.
 
Skåning said:
Unfortunately not that I know of, everyone had one or the other. They seem to value meeting people face to face or having someone on the inside advocating for them.

As far as the future goes, my armchair predications are the combined company will fly 737s, have an Eskimo on the tail, and be called Alaska. There is zero reason for them to keep the airbus even though our product and service is better. It's all about the benjamins and I've heard that Boeing financed part of the acquisition.
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I dunno, the 321 NEO has them thinking pretty hard, methinks.
 
pete2800 said:
I dunno, the 321 NEO has them thinking pretty hard, methinks.
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I don't think so. VX ordered 10, but are only taking 5. Peter Hunt (VX pres) said that they are all "cancelable". The fact is there are no numbers publicly available to compare the 737 & neo. Since this is an acquisition, not a merger, I'd be very surprised if anything "Virgin" remained.
 
Just used VX as a back up again on a commute and they pulled through. Every time I fly on them, I enjoy the flight. The lighting is different, the safety video is also different and they offer a different vibe than any other airline. It will be interesting to see how this merger works, my guess is Alaska will take it over from a marketing and presentation stand point.
 
JDean3204 said:
Just used VX as a back up again on a commute and they pulled through. Every time I fly on them, I enjoy the flight. The lighting is different, the safety video is also different and they offer a different vibe than any other airline. It will be interesting to see how this merger works, my guess is Alaska will take it over from a marketing and presentation stand point.
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Glad you enjoy the experience! The days of being a different airline are coming to a close and most I fly with are glad to have been a part of it even for a short while. It was a boutique airline and in this biz you either grow or get acquired! Still try to remain hopeful of the future though.
 
As much as I didn't want to go through another merger, a JetBlue and VA merger would have been a good match that I wouldn't have been too terribly upset about.
 
JetDoc said:
at the Northwest Aviation Conference just last month that Alaska only had about 260 people show up for their job fair at the event. In past years that number has been over 600.
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I think Alaska has missed the boat now that most of the other better-paying airlines with similar west-coast bases (some of which even have a Seattle base) have been hiring like gangbusters for two years or more.

My bet is that they've missed out on a good number of quality folks (guys waiting in that line in 2015 and 2016) who would have happily made Alaska home, but in the mean time got interviews and job offers elsewhere (at shops they're not going to leave for the pay cut and diminished career expectations at AS).
 
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Hacker15e said:
I think Alaska has missed the boat now that most of the other better-paying airlines with similar west-coast bases (some of which even have a Seattle base) have been hiring like gangbusters for two years or more.

My bet is that they've missed out on a good number of quality folks (guys waiting in that line in 2015 and 2016) who would have happily made Alaska home, but in the mean time got interviews and job offers elsewhere (at shops they're not going to leave for the pay cut and diminished career expectations at AS).
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There's been nothing special about Alaska (pay, QOL, equipment, etc) so the fact that they have guys lining up at meet and greets and regional job fairs baffles me. They really gotta pay up and offer what is now industry standard rates and contract to attract new talent. Now how will Horizon attract folks? There's no effing reason to go there with the way they currently do stuff.
 
Skåning said:
There's been nothing special about Alaska (pay, QOL, equipment, etc) so the fact that they have guys lining up at meet and greets and regional job fairs baffles me.
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Well, I was one of those guys: a Seattle native, who grew up watching that eskimo on the tail as my "hometown airline". Much of the 20 years I was in the military, I was thinking/planning on moving back to my hometown and flying for AS after I got out. Yes, I'll admit, it was more of a decision based on feelings than fact.

To be honest, if they'd called before my current employer called, I'd be at AS right now. But, they called after I'd already been asked to the dance by a much hotter and more eligible girl.

I think they'll remain a sentimental favorite for PNW natives, even if their pay lags other airlines. Unless some of the bigger carriers decide to really make a play for Seattle like Delta has tried to.
 
Hacker15e said:
I think Alaska has missed the boat now that most of the other better-paying airlines with similar west-coast bases (some of which even have a Seattle base) have been hiring like gangbusters for two years or more.

My bet is that they've missed out on a good number of quality folks (guys waiting in that line in 2015 and 2016) who would have happily made Alaska home, but in the mean time got interviews and job offers elsewhere (at shops they're not going to leave for the pay cut and diminished career expectations at AS).
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Agreed and yet more evidence that the stack of apps every "destination" airline claims to have on file is not as tall as they think it is.
 
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Hacker15e said:
Well, I was one of those guys: a Seattle native, who grew up watching that eskimo on the tail as my "hometown airline". Much of the 20 years I was in the military, I was thinking/planning on moving back to my hometown and flying for AS after I got out. Yes, I'll admit, it was more of a decision based on feelings than fact.

To be honest, if they'd called before my current employer called, I'd be at AS right now. But, they called after I'd already been asked to the dance by a much hotter and more eligible girl.

I think they'll remain a sentimental favorite for PNW natives, even if their pay lags other airlines. Unless some of the bigger carriers decide to really make a play for Seattle like Delta has tried to.
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They will have no lack of reforming AK pilots applying. A lot of guys at my shop probably won't go anywhere else.
 
Hacker15e said:
Well, I was one of those guys: a Seattle native, who grew up watching that eskimo on the tail as my "hometown airline". Much of the 20 years I was in the military, I was thinking/planning on moving back to my hometown and flying for AS after I got out. Yes, I'll admit, it was more of a decision based on feelings than fact.

To be honest, if they'd called before my current employer called, I'd be at AS right now. But, they called after I'd already been asked to the dance by a much hotter and more eligible girl.

I think they'll remain a sentimental favorite for PNW natives, even if their pay lags other airlines. Unless some of the bigger carriers decide to really make a play for Seattle like Delta has tried to.
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It may not be linear, but I felt the same way about Horizon as you did about Alaska. After my military service, all I could think about was moving back to Oregon getting my ratings and building time to get on with Horizon. Heck, I even had a printed picture of the q400 cockpit on my mirror so in the mornings when I shaved / brushed my teeth I had motivation right in front of me. Then Horizon started lagging other regionals as far as competitive compensation, when it came time to make the 121 plunge I chose SkyWest. I feel many other NW locals did the same thing as well when I see the bid list line ups for SEA/PDX on SkyWest Online.

I am sure folks who are qualified for a major are now doing the same thing, looking elsewhere with higher pay and west coast bases. All it will take is AAG to pay both airlines more and stop the toxic labor management relations, then they will have many many more in line at job fairs. They are shooting themselves in the foot by keeping the bar high and compensation low in my opinion..
 
What are some of the current time spans of hearing back from the pilot questionnaire? I have a current friend there that says it puts you in the cue for an interview? You can still get a TBNT at that point, right?
 
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