Club Furlough

I knew I was stepping on some toes when I made that remark about majors' preference for internals. I know a straight forward path does not necessarily mean it is easier. If you have your eyes set on a dispatch role, it cannot be easy to work the ramp or at a customer service desk. But some of the justifications, I find a little less than convincing. Known quantity for instance. Those same airlines hire pilots from regionals and other outside sources, who are actually up on the planes. I would assume they are just as if not more likely to affect safety. It just goes back to demand in my opinion. The demand for pilots exceeds supply (at least it did before COVID) so they will hire from anywhere and train. With dispatch they can afford to be selective. I have some experience with academia. And a lot of major public universities in the U.S. (maybe most) do not hire their own graduates as academics in their own classrooms. This is to avoid giving the impression of favoritism I would imagine...
 
Luigi said:
So in your experience regional dispatchers have bad habits? I just wanted to make sure I got that right...
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My experience is that dispatchers in the majors used it as justification for hiring internally.
CF34-3B1 said:
Nah, you’re probably thinking of the position referred to as “ops agents.”

They send final weight and balance numbers to the crew along with checking people in and looking at bag counts and other stuff like that. BUT, more and more it seems like lately, a lot of them don’t even know what the numbers truly mean. Ex. “hey uh I’m over the MZFW on this flight so I was wondering if you are ok with less fuel?” :ooh: ***I am not saying anything demeaning about them, just that I don’t count that as “flight planning,” and I find more and more I have to explain that it doesn’t matter if we have any gas at all it won’t solve their MZFW issue*** AND not all of them have trouble understanding what the numbers mean.

They have their job and contribute to the operation. But I think you’re stretching it with the “also have a flight planning role” argument.

There are pros and cons to both sides...internal and external. Which is why *in my opinion* it’s a good idea to have a mix of both.
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That makes sense, most aren't going to know much but someone going for dispatch in that role has access to everything and will be in contact with dispatch. The pros an cons to each side is the part I'm arguing in the first place, the only reason I am going the internal route is because my company dispatch center told me to stay. Although it seems like the conversation just makes people defensive but internal applicants are definitely considered by the airlines.
 
Do I know people who have their certificate who are in SOC/NOC/OCCs? Yes, quite a few. Would I recommend any of them for actually doing dispatch? Only one of them.

I’ve seen brilliant people crash and burn doing jobs I’ve done in the past. Skill set in one role doesn’t determine success in another. There’s very valid safety reasons for hiring dispatchers with experience. There’s very little safety reasons for hiring internal.
 
Jumpinthedog said:
My experience is that dispatchers in the majors used it as justification for hiring internally.
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So it would be fair (and truthful) to say: you have 0 experience in dispatch hiring or training? Would you also say: you have zilch, nada, and zero experience in determining a good dispatcher from a bad dispatcher?

Since it seems like the answer to my questions is “yes”. Then I suggest it is unfair of you to even repeat in passing that a regional dispatcher is somehow inferior to a mainline internal. I find your suggestion ridiculous; especially coming from someone who has never dispatched, and clearly lacks a subjective criteria for judging such matters.

If you want to be a dispatcher; be a dispatcher. If you want to be a crew scheduler; be a crew scheduler.
 
paincorp said:
I like how this thread went from “hey, a bunch of us lost our jobs when our employer didn’t follow the CARES Act” to “screw you, internals with no experience make better dispatchers, you have bad habits.”
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Was just gonna say the same thing.

Major passenger carriers might not hire again for a decade. A lot changes in a decade so by the time majors hire again, I wouldn't be surprised if hiring practices also were different. Many of the current managers might either be promoted, retired or laid off by the time passenger majors hire again.
 
Luigi said:
Then I suggest it is unfair of you to even repeat in passing that a regional dispatcher is somehow inferior to a mainline internal.
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Luckily I never said that, i did however give reasons as to why companies sometimes hire internally. There is no reason to get so defensive.
 
paincorp said:
When you claim you’re more qualified, which is what you were doing, than people who actually do the job, yes, yes there is.
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I'm claiming that and internal applicant can be just as hireable as one with external experience because the initial comment I replied to was arguing otherwise. If that wasn't the case you would never see internal hires in the majors. I listed one con that my company's dispatchers used when they told me to just stay internal instead of going to the regionals, one con is not saying that people with experience are inferior. Obviously this was the wrong thread to even bring this up and i should have just let the guy rant but when i replied I didn't realize i was in the furlough thread. I'm done arguing.
 
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The truth is hiring is all a crapshoot. A hiring manager at a major doesn’t know A crew scheduler/ramper/etc just like he doesn’t know any of the regional dispatchers. So they go by recommendations and a recommendation is only as good as the person who gives it.
 
It shows Republic agreed to CARES Act money on 5/12, yet they furloughed 1/3 of their Dispatchers around 4/28 which is within a week of many of their competitors and partners accepting money. How scummy. I've heard through the grapevine they're trying to play hardball with partner carrier minimum guarantees too and it's not going to be a pretty end result if they keep it up. They deserve it (the company, not the employees), now is not the the time to be biting the hand that literally feeds you.
 
flynryan692 said:
It shows Republic agreed to CARES Act money on 5/12, yet they furloughed 1/3 of their Dispatchers around 4/28 which is within a week of many of their competitors and partners accepting money. How scummy. I've heard through the grapevine they're trying to play hardball with partner carrier minimum guarantees too and it's not going to be a pretty end result if they keep it up. They deserve it (the company, not the employees), now is not the the time to be biting the hand that literally feeds you.
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What would the chances be of the airlines dropping RPA as a partner then if they refuse to play ball?
 
flynryan692 said:
It shows Republic agreed to CARES Act money on 5/12, yet they furloughed 1/3 of their Dispatchers around 4/28 which is within a week of many of their competitors and partners accepting money. How scummy. I've heard through the grapevine they're trying to play hardball with partner carrier minimum guarantees too and it's not going to be a pretty end result if they keep it up. They deserve it (the company, not the employees), now is not the the time to be biting the hand that literally feeds you.
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That really doesn’t surprise me at all. Republic doesn’t have the ability to think long term. Look what happened with their pilots contract. They screwed them over for so long that they panicked when they started cancelling a bunch of flights every day because they couldn’t staff them, gave them WAY more than they should have, and are now left with the option to only furlough one of their cheapest departments, which saves them next to nothing compared to pilots. Board members need to take a long hard look at Bedford and decide if he’s really the person they want running the show. Sad thing is he’ll probably just wave the Bible in front of them and they’ll be Jedi mind tricked into keeping him.
 
IADspotter said:
Disagree with me all you want but I do not see how being an employee in any capacity with a major makes you a better dispatch candidate by default...
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I'm going to disagree with you. First my perspective, all-cargo major now, former scumbag nonsked and regional experience, not a manager. If you are an internal candidate, while you may not have 121 dispatch experience throwing bags or boxes, managers talk, and if you are a good employee at your current internal gig, conscientious, willing to learn, teachable, that will go a long way to getting that coveted interview. Even if you're just throwing boxes.

An internal is a known quantity. An external candidate isn't, and its that simple.
 
dispatchguy said:
I'm going to disagree with you. First my perspective, all-cargo major now, former scumbag nonsked and regional experience, not a manager. If you are an internal candidate, while you may not have 121 dispatch experience throwing bags or boxes, managers talk, and if you are a good employee at your current internal gig, conscientious, willing to learn, teachable, that will go a long way to getting that coveted interview. Even if you're just throwing boxes.

An internal is a known quantity. An external candidate isn't, and its that simple.
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A known quantity of being a good employee or good at your current job does not equate to being a good Dispatcher.

This job is not for everyone. Getting through dispatch school is difficult for a reason.

Sent from my SM-G988U1 using Tapatalk
 
Thunderbird718 said:
Those of you who suddenly found yourselves without a dispatch job, what are your plans now?
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Considering I spent about 6k to get a job promotion for all of about 2 years... I'd love to get a job in dispatch again but honestly I'm feeling lost. The skills dont transfer to many other positions.

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Thunderbird718 said:
Those of you who suddenly found yourselves without a dispatch job, what are your plans now?
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I’m not panicking yet. Things are trending up, so I’m gonna give it a month or two before I make any final decisions. I am very seriously considering whether my regional is where I potentially want to be long term now that the outlook isn’t as bright. May try to jump if another regional open ups, but even then I haven’t decided.
 
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