Spirit and Frontier to Merge

[msmspilot]

I can’t think of any that don’t.

FedEx, Delta, and United don’t. Along with Frontier.

 

[BobDDuck]

I can’t think of any that don’t.

Up until a few years ago, the only places that did were USAir and their WOs. Expressjet did from time to time, but not consistently.

Very few places do now. Hawaiian just started to pay for a hotel (and meal vouchers) a year or so ago.

All that said, I'm going to be honest with you...

You've been out of the game for only a few months and are already having thoughts of getting back in. When you were still flying, in multiple posts you had resigned yourself to being a regional lifer. Now, you've got an opportunity a) get back into flying and b) have it be at a major, and you are walking away from it because you are going to have to pony up $100 bucks for a hotel room?

 

[JustinS]

I can’t think of any that don’t.

FedEx, United, Delta, Frontier...

 

[Hiboglossi]

Wasn’t Mesa using foreign help? At least it sounded like South African accents or such in many of the Air Shuttle callsigns I’d hear…

I believe Mesa has hired quite a few Australian pilots. So has CommutAir.

SkyWest Delta and United don’t which I guess is all that I know.

Seems like a lot of regionals provide a hotel room for the interview- Endeavor, Republic, Horizon and Envoy all did when I interviewed there a few years ago. Majors will always have plenty of applicants even without providing hotel rooms for interviews.

 

[roundout]

If Congress just allowed cabotage, we’d have all the domestic airline service we could ever want…..

 

[Skåning]

It's the airlines that have to provide a hotel to attract interviewees that do it, not out of the goodness of their hearts. (Eskimo does fwiw)

 

[mwflyer]

SkyWest Delta and United don’t which I guess is all that I know.

AirWisconsin doesn’t either.

 

[🦈💜]

Up until a few years ago, the only places that did were USAir and their WOs. Expressjet did from time to time, but not consistently.

Very few places do now. Hawaiian just started to pay for a hotel (and meal vouchers) a year or so ago.

All that said, I'm going to be honest with you...

You've been out of the game for only a few months and are already having thoughts of getting back in. When you were still flying, in multiple posts you had resigned yourself to being a regional lifer. Now, you've got an opportunity a) get back into flying and b) have it be at a major, and you are walking away from it because you are going to have to pony up $100 bucks for a hotel room?

Well first, it’s an ULCC. The major I interviewed at last year was a wholly different experience and definitely didn’t require me to pay for my own hotel room. They also didn’t want physical logbooks, tabbed for every checkride and life event. They also didn’t require landing / currency which I can’t meet. It was a very straightforward process with a very straightforward rejection, and had I paid for a hotel room I would have been pretty upset. Perhaps that experience “spoiled” me, but if a company won’t pony up a few bucks to put an out of town interviewee up in a contracted hotel, it feels disrespectful.

Second, I’ve tried to get excited about F9, but the bases are awful for me. I was looking forward to hearing what the company has to say for themselves and deciding if it was worth it for me, and if I’d be interested in working there despite that—which is half the purpose of an interview—but this and the currency requirements answered the question for me.

To be clear, I left because I couldn’t handle the schedules at SkyWest anymore, and I never wanted to sit reserve at that company again. I loved what I did, I loved being an airline pilot, and I loved being left seat in the 175. But I had to choose between that and literally anything else in my life.

I definitely don’t consider myself “retired,” just tired. But I certainly do miss airline flying.

 

[DE727UPS]

I quit UPS cause the schedules sucked. Don't feel bad.

 

[EIR]

I quit UPS cause the schedules sucked. Don't feel bad.

So, what you're saying is, I'm going to thoroughly enjoy the next 27 years?

 

[Kingairer]

Well first, it’s an ULCC. The major I interviewed at last year was a wholly different experience and definitely didn’t require me to pay for my own hotel room. They also didn’t want physical logbooks, tabbed for every checkride and life event. They also didn’t require landing / currency which I can’t meet. It was a very straightforward process with a very straightforward rejection, and had I paid for a hotel room I would have been pretty upset. Perhaps that experience “spoiled” me, but if a company won’t pony up a few bucks to put an out of town interviewee up in a contracted hotel, it feels disrespectful.

Second, I’ve tried to get excited about F9, but the bases are awful for me. I was looking forward to hearing what the company has to say for themselves and deciding if it was worth it for me, and if I’d be interested in working there despite that—which is half the purpose of an interview—but this and the currency requirements answered the question for me.

To be clear, I left because I couldn’t handle the schedules at SkyWest anymore, and I never wanted to sit reserve at that company again. I loved what I did, I loved being an airline pilot, and I loved being left seat in the 175. But I had to choose between that and literally anything else in my life.

I definitely don’t consider myself “retired,” just tired. But I certainly do miss airline flying.

How long were you there?

 

[🦈💜]

How long were you there?

About seven years.

 

[DE727UPS]

So, what you're saying is, I'm going to thoroughly enjoy the next 27 years?

Well, it's a matter of perspective, I guess. I was there when the schedules were great. When your seniority could buy you a good deal. If you never saw that and didn't know any different then you might not see what it's like now as that bad. When I left, gateway hots were the only good deal left. I should preface my comments by saying I was a commuter my entire career and did mostly domestic. Living in base helps a lot. I never did that. I think the best it ever was for me was when I commuted to A reserve in ONT. Two weeks on and two weeks off. Only worked four or five days during the two weeks on. Had a condo in Palm Springs and later San Clemente and didn't mind spending half my month there. If it was still like that I would probably have worked till 65 instead of 60.

 

[poser765]

About seven years.

Jesus, really? Why does time to go so much faster as I get older?

 

[Cherokee_Cruiser]

I was invited to interview at F9. However, I am going to decline—they do not provide a hotel during the interview process, which is a huge red flag to me.

They also have rather onerous currency requirements (3 takeoffs and landings in the preceding 90 days) that I can’t meet as I was on medical leave immediately prior to leaving OO.

I'm your fan because your journey you've shared is awesome and I feel happy for you and wish you the best. And I certainly feel bad for your previous medical leave and the lack of flying hours.


That said, are you really complaining about having to do 3 bounces in 90 days for a six figure job that flies Buses or Boeings? I mean heaven forbid future passengers get a pilot with currency? My silly question is, does it have to be jet time? Can you do 3 bounces in a light complex twin and have it count?

Just a humble opinion, I don't think I'd eliminate an employer because of no hotel for interview or a landing currency requirement.

 

[msmspilot]

Jesus, really? Why does time to go so much faster as I get older?

Apparently brain research says that the more novel experiences we have, the slower we perceive time as passing. So basically, time seems to go faster as we get older because most of us tend to get into a rut of doing the same things, not doing new things, and one day fades into the next. I'm not a brain researcher, so that's just based on some stuff I read.

 

[Box hauler]

Well first, it’s an ULCC. The major I interviewed at last year was a wholly different experience and definitely didn’t require me to pay for my own hotel room. They also didn’t want physical logbooks, tabbed for every checkride and life event. They also didn’t require landing / currency which I can’t meet. It was a very straightforward process with a very straightforward rejection, and had I paid for a hotel room I would have been pretty upset. Perhaps that experience “spoiled” me, but if a company won’t pony up a few bucks to put an out of town interviewee up in a contracted hotel, it feels disrespectful.

Second, I’ve tried to get excited about F9, but the bases are awful for me. I was looking forward to hearing what the company has to say for themselves and deciding if it was worth it for me, and if I’d be interested in working there despite that—which is half the purpose of an interview—but this and the currency requirements answered the question for me.

To be clear, I left because I couldn’t handle the schedules at SkyWest anymore, and I never wanted to sit reserve at that company again. I loved what I did, I loved being an airline pilot, and I loved being left seat in the 175. But I had to choose between that and literally anything else in my life.

I definitely don’t consider myself “retired,” just tired. But I certainly do miss airline flying.

I’m sure this isn’t how you actually feel but this comes across as you’re only interested in a job if they make it convenient for you. I get not wanting to work somewhere do to base options or QOL but the other things just sound silly. If spending $80 on a hotel or getting current on landings was too much to ask for a specific employee it shows a serious lack of commitment or interest IMO. Not casting stones it’s just how I would view it as an employer

 

[T/O w/FSII]

I was invited to interview at F9. However, I am going to decline—they do not provide a hotel during the interview process, which is a huge red flag to me.

They also have rather onerous currency requirements (3 takeoffs and landings in the preceding 90 days) that I can’t meet as I was on medical leave immediately prior to leaving OO.

This is pretty crazy to me. People are spending money on interview prep, job fairs, resumes, suites, the perfect color tie and shoe combo, a fresh hair cut, showing up a day early to prepare. Updating the apps weekly. Stressing, reading forums, hoping that one more hour of PIC gets them the chance to interview.

And then we have you, who gets a chance other people would actually battle for, turning down a interview because the lack of hotel is a red flag.

Wild stuff.

 

[bLizZuE]

Paying for your hotel during an interview I think is reasonable.
Paying for your hotel during training is unreasonable.

 

[🦈💜]

I'm your fan because your journey you've shared is awesome and I feel happy for you and wish you the best. And I certainly feel bad for your previous medical leave and the lack of flying hours.

To be clear, I was only out for three months, and I'm (WAY) better than ever now!

That said, are you really complaining about having to do 3 bounces in 90 days for a six figure job that flies Buses or Boeings?

This is pretty crazy to me. People are spending money on interview prep, job fairs, resumes, suites, the perfect color tie and shoe combo, a fresh hair cut, showing up a day early to prepare. Updating the apps weekly. Stressing, reading forums, hoping that one more hour of PIC gets them the chance to interview.

And then we have you, who gets a chance other people would actually battle for, turning down a interview because the lack of hotel is a red flag.

Wild stuff.

I think I understand my feelings better now. I'm just not that interested in Frontier. It's a job I'd do—and do well, and be loyal to—if they hired me, but it's definitely not a "dream job." Somewhat like SkyWest.

If, say, United offered me the same conditions, I'd be much more inclined to put up with those onerous requirements. But Alaska was much more reasonable, and that was my dream job, so it hardly seems worth it to put all that extra effort, time, and money in "just" for Frontier. (I mean no disrespect to Frontier or the pilot group, but it IS an ULCC)

I still think it's wholly unreasonable for anyone not to offer a hotel for interviewees, because that requires them to incur significant expense. That will need to change if the "pilot shortage" ever really takes off.

I will also say that any hiring process that you can prepare for with interview prep is a broken hiring process, but I've said that before.

And no hotel for training? definitely not ok.