Major Airline DX Hopefuls

T

teadout2007

Well-Known Member
Hey All!

I'm currently at a 135 operation with a little over 3 years of experience. Of course the dream when I first got the license was to put in time where I needed to and eventually advance into a major airline. As I'm sure many others are in the same if not similar boat, I was curious if I could find info or get help in understanding what the majors are looking for in a potential candidate and how all the hopefuls can work on their skills and knowledge to make the best possible case for themselves. I've spent some time looking around the forum and haven't really found any good, direct to the point info, so I thought I would just write up a quick post and ask.

I saw a different thread that had a lot of resume/interview type responses but I'm looking for something a little more basic or from the ground floor. What skills and knowledge should I be brushing up on to best prepare? Coming from a 135 operation I have a great many "extra" tasks that I know are split up within a major airline so those would not be a good place to put my focus. How much of a benefit to your experience do the majors even consider 135 time? Does it give you any extra "pluses" in their eyes? Are the majors looking for a certain amount of years experience? Maybe aside from basic skill and knowledge, resume/interview prep is the best use of time to fight for that first, probably regional, position that gives you your initial launch point.

I appreciate any insights given on this! Thank you for spending a minute or two reading through this and thank you to all who take a moment to share! :)
 
So I’ve been in this industry now for a little over two years. Your mileage may vary, but I’ve got experience working both sides of the fence at a 121 and 135 shop. Major airlines typically will like to see some sort of 121 experience but it’s not unheard of for people to go from somewhere like NetJets or Hillwood (I think that’s their name?) and go to UA or WN with no 121 experience. The workload on the 135 side is definitely higher, especially if you dabble in any international or ETOPs flying, but remaining up to speed on your 121 regs will help you with any of the assessments the majors make you take. In the scenario based ones, you’ve got to remember that on the 121 side you’ve got operational control and will want to answer the questions accordingly.

As the frequency for these postings have gone down, they only will get more and more competitive. So in theory, more years experience may be desirable but the knowledge and skills of the applicant should reflect that. I’ve seen people that have been in this job for 10 years that don’t have the strongest grip on some basic concepts, it’s important to always be learning and to stay knowledgeable.

As for what specific knowledge to be combing through; ADX test prep material, the FARs, and weather theory are all great resources to get your bearings.

Idk if I’d personally look to a 121 regional unless it’d be a bump in pay.. The experience is great, but like I mentioned, it’s not completely necessary to get your ticket. You just have to market yourself as one of the best options in the end.
 
Major airlines typically look for candidates with 121 experience, it's not unheard of for candidates without 121 experience to get hired onto a major but it's pretty rare

My major hired someone with only 135 experience but he was a previous atc with the military so that might have been favorable for him

When hundreds of applicants have some 121 experience or more, you have to make yourself stand out
 
The short answer is there is very little direct to the point info because a large part of getting to the majors is simply luck/timing. Also the Majors have slightly different bars.

For instance, SouthWest has a hardline requirement of one year experience. The others dont. Delta makes you take a personality test and pass a series of “mini games” before they even offer an interview. United will fly you out to Chicago for a technical assessment and interview but if you fail the assessment they immediately show you the door.

Outside of what should be apparent (Have some experience, be generally competent when it comes to regs/ weather/ performance/ planning/ etc), the answer is it depends on which airline you’re applying for and who is interviewing you that day.

Id say aside from skimming the oral exam guide, figure out how to market yourself in the interview to stand out.
 
DispatcherSam said:
Be someone we want to sit next to for 30 years. That’s the best advice I can give. If you’ve been trying for years and years to get to the majors but somehow can’t seem to break through, this might be your hint.
Click to expand...

And the number 1 rule for this across all airlines....give a good passdown, and be a good person to turnover to. No one wants to inherit problems starting a shift, and no one wants to be delayed leaving at go home time.
 
TAF_Master said:
And the number 1 rule for this across all airlines....give a good passdown, and be a good person to turnover to. No one wants to inherit problems starting a shift, and no one wants to be delayed leaving at go home time.
Click to expand...
That is so true! It can be very frustrating especially when trying to get out of Dodge for the day and you're stuck getting everything handed over...
 
DispatcherSam said:
Be someone we want to sit next to for 30 years. That’s the best advice I can give. If you’ve been trying for years and years to get to the majors but somehow can’t seem to break through, this might be your hint.
Click to expand...
Hahaha! That would be rough, but I'm sure happens to many... :oops:
 
itsFLK said:
The short answer is there is very little direct to the point info because a large part of getting to the majors is simply luck/timing. Also the Majors have slightly different bars.

For instance, SouthWest has a hardline requirement of one year experience. The others dont. Delta makes you take a personality test and pass a series of “mini games” before they even offer an interview. United will fly you out to Chicago for a technical assessment and interview but if you fail the assessment they immediately show you the door.

Outside of what should be apparent (Have some experience, be generally competent when it comes to regs/ weather/ performance/ planning/ etc), the answer is it depends on which airline you’re applying for and who is interviewing you that day.

Id say aside from skimming the oral exam guide, figure out how to market yourself in the interview to stand out.
Click to expand...
Thank you! I appreciate the advice!
 
TAF_Master said:
And the number 1 rule for this across all airlines....give a good passdown, and be a good person to turnover to. No one wants to inherit problems starting a shift, and no one wants to be delayed leaving at go home time.
Click to expand...
I remember one time someone got so tired of bad passdowns from one of the morning people. I mean 0 extra fuel when all the forecast were showing thunderstorms that they made the person stay like an hour to fix it all before accepting the passdowns.
 
bbmikej said:
I remember one time someone got so tired of bad passdowns from one of the morning people. I mean 0 extra fuel when all the forecast were showing thunderstorms that they made the person stay like an hour to fix it all before accepting the passdowns.
Click to expand...

Similar at my airline, but that person doesn't care what you say and is always right. Taking their passdown on IROP days is a damn disaster.
 
bbmikej said:
I remember one time someone got so tired of bad passdowns from one of the morning people. I mean 0 extra fuel when all the forecast were showing thunderstorms that they made the person stay like an hour to fix it all before accepting the passdowns
Click to expand...
 
DispatcherSam said:
Be someone we want to sit next to for 30 years. That’s the best advice I can give. If you’ve been trying for years and years to get to the majors but somehow can’t seem to break through, this might be your hint.
Click to expand...
Everyone is an • except for me. If you say that then maybe YOU are the •.

best advice I ever rec'd.
 
Dispatch is basically either good normal people who want to make a good living for their family, angst and bitter-ridden pilots who lost their medical, weirdos who get boners for airplanes, control freaks who feel important being in charge, high (or sometimes low) functioning autistic people, and the loud pack of very opinionated "peter pan mode" 20 to 40 year olds whose brains got frozen at 12 years old.

The unspoken non-secret of getting hired at a major is being competent but being one of the few good normal people.
 
SpecialNeckBeards said:
Dispatch is basically either good normal people who want to make a good living for their family, angst and bitter-ridden pilots who lost their medical, weirdos who get boners for airplanes, control freaks who feel important being in charge, high (or sometimes low) functioning autistic people, and the loud pack of very opinionated "peter pan mode" 20 to 40 year olds whose brains got frozen at 12 years old.

The unspoken non-secret of getting hired at a major is being competent but being one of the few good normal people.
Click to expand...

I've seen all the types you mentioned get hired at majors, actually, with the general exception of the "Peter Pan mode" types - and now that I think of it, I don't know of any co-workers who were former pilots that lost their medical (there may be a couple though.) I do know of a couple former regional pilots (including one captain) who got tired of the pilot lifestyle and wanted to be home every night.
 
manniax said:
I've seen all the types you mentioned get hired at majors, actually, with the general exception of the "Peter Pan mode" types - and now that I think of it, I don't know of any co-workers who were former pilots that lost their medical (there may be a couple though.) I do know of a couple former regional pilots (including one captain) who got tired of the pilot lifestyle and wanted to be home every night.
Click to expand...
Sure, I've seena legit....special person hired. But I'm talking in percentages.
 
SpecialNeckBeards said:
Dispatch is basically either good normal people who want to make a good living for their family, angst and bitter-ridden pilots who lost their medical, weirdos who get boners for airplanes, control freaks who feel important being in charge, high (or sometimes low) functioning autistic people, and the loud pack of very opinionated "peter pan mode" 20 to 40 year olds whose brains got frozen at 12 years old.

The unspoken non-secret of getting hired at a major is being competent but being one of the few good normal people.
Click to expand...
To be clear, anyone who considers themselves a "good normal person" is neither good nor normal. Especially when you include Autistics in the "not good normal" category.
As an Autistic person who works for a major, I can tell you there are a lot of Autistics in this industry. Most of them just don't know it. I know I'm different than others, and not super social. I stopped giving a • what people think of me long before I was diagnosed as Autistic. But I will tell you that it's my Autistic traits that make me good at my job. And thinking that Autistics wouldn't be a good hire because they aren't "normal" is just plain ignorant.
 
I Like IKE said:
To be clear, anyone who considers themselves a "good normal person" is neither good nor normal. Especially when you include Autistics in the "not good normal" category.
As an Autistic person who works for a major, I can tell you there are a lot of Autistics in this industry. Most of them just don't know it. I know I'm different than others, and not super social. I stopped giving a • what people think of me long before I was diagnosed as Autistic. But I will tell you that it's my Autistic traits that make me good at my job. And thinking that Autistics wouldn't be a good hire because they aren't "normal" is just plain ignorant.
Click to expand...
That's just it....i really don't think anyone cares how good at your job you are. There is more to life than tafs and metars and MELs. And in my experience, the people who think they are the best at their jobs are actually usually the worst because they are so tightly wound and hold up operations for silly reasons. I would agree that being autistic is normal for dispatch though and like you I also sometimes wear sunglasses indoors.
 
SpecialNeckBeards said:
That's just it....i really don't think anyone cares how good at your job you are.
Click to expand...

Im pretty sure his relief cares.

Out of all the types of people you mentioned, I dont think there is a single group that enjoy walking into a preventable dumpster fire. Just saying ;)
 
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