The new airline thread

[ItnStln]

18 minutes ago, slc said:

93B=Aeroscout Observer OH6/OH58. Probably the best enlisted job in the Army once upon a time 

Thanks!

[BashiChuni]

Is the health of the company AA vs. DL something you’d consider as a new hire?

or would you just take the in base domicile 

[Tank]

13 minutes ago, BashiChuni said:

Is the health of the company AA vs. DL something you’d consider as a new hire?

or would you just take the in base domicile 

If you are for sure wanting to or going to live in domicile, go with that specific airline.  
If you’re going to commute, go with the stronger airline.  
 

***** commuting sucks *****

[icohftb]

Thoughts on SWA vs AA as PHX dweller? 

[Lord Ratner]

54 minutes ago, icohftb said:

Thoughts on SWA vs AA as PHX dweller? 

Southwest has a bigger presence. There's always been a question at American as to whether or not Phoenix has a long-term future for AA. Considering how weak our footprint is in the west, I don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon, but we certainly don't treat it like it has a future of growth. 

 

That being said, they decided to make Charlotte a megabase, so anything is possible. If you want to fly something other than the 737, then your decision is made for you.

[icohftb]

5 minutes ago, Lord Ratner said:

If you want to fly something other than the 737, then your decision is made for you.

That seems to be one of the major benefits of AA and it seems they have more ralid seniority at this time. However if I were to stay NB to remain in base is it reasonable to assume schedule/qol/salary would be about equivalent?

[Blue]

34 minutes ago, Lord Ratner said:

There's always been a question at American as to whether or not Phoenix has a long-term future for AA. Considering how weak our footprint is in the west, I don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon, but we certainly don't treat it like it has a future of growth.

I've heard this said a couple times about AA and Phoenix.  As an outsider looking in, I'm left scratching my head.

My impression is Phoenix is growing like mad, with lots of industry, lots of wealthy retirees, and lots of.....everything.  I'd think AA would want to protect and grow what they have there.  Instead, I continually hear about AA not being committed to Phoenix.  What am I missing?

[Hugo Stiglitz]

2 hours ago, icohftb said:

That seems to be one of the major benefits of AA and it seems they have more ralid seniority at this time. However if I were to stay NB to remain in base is it reasonable to assume schedule/qol/salary would be about equivalent?

Not an expert on AA pay scales and work rules, but I have a strong suspicion that NB FO vs SWA FO is probably similar enough in compensation. Not real sure how QOL compares but probably also averages out. I can say SWA has 16 days off guaranteed which I think(?) is more than other majors, and it has an extremely flexible schedule. I haven’t missed a Christmas/birthday/anniversary in my first 4 years.

The AA seniority progression is light years ahead of SWA though. SWA upgrade is probably no sooner than 8 years, whereas I think AA is probably at least half that. So as soon as you jump to that new pay scale you’re going to rapidly outpace SWA in salary. 

You could try to be Nostradamus and gauge job security based on financial strength/unsecured debt at each company, but maybe the pandemic shows that in a pinch lots of other forces like government intervention, strategic shedding of assets, etc. can stave off disaster.

Edited November 7, 2021 by Hugo Stiglitz

[di1630]

Anyone know how junior AA or SWA are for PHX FO’s?

[TheNewGazmo]

Anyone know how junior AA or SWA are for PHX FO’s?

For AA, it's just under 14,000 for a 320 FO, which is probably in early 2020 hire, but we stopped hiring shortly thereafter.

[Hugo Stiglitz]

47 minutes ago, di1630 said:

Anyone know how junior AA or SWA are for PHX FO’s?

Current junior SWA guy is 95% system seniority (Nov ‘18 hire).

[di1630]

Current junior SWA guy is 95% system seniority (Nov ‘18 hire).

Damn, that’s disheartening. What are the most junior SWA bases?

[Hugo Stiglitz]

2 hours ago, di1630 said:

Damn, that’s disheartening. What are the most junior SWA bases?

FWIW I’ve averaged about 5% seniority climb annually during my first 4 years here, which included probably 1% in 2021 and much higher in 2017. Back then I think we hired around 900 and they’re saying 1000-1200 for ‘22. There will be some temporary turbulence surrounding displacement/extended leave returns these next 4 months, but I think the hire date of the junior PHX plug is less important than the fact he’s only 5% up the seniority list. Holding within a year is reasonable, and I had classmates holding around half a year in ‘17. 
To answer your question the bases from most to least senior currently are ATL > DAL > PHX > DEN > MCO > LAS > BWI > HOU > MDW > OAK > LAX

[ImNotARobot]

ing power move APA. LOVE IT.

https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-pilots-reject-extra-holiday-pay/

[ImNotARobot]

ing power move APA. LOVE IT.

https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-pilots-reject-extra-holiday-pay/

Fvcking power move APA.

https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-pilots-reject-extra-holiday-pay/

I stink at URLs.

[SocialD]

2 hours ago, ImNotARobot said:

Fvcking power move APA.

https://onemileatatime.com/news/american-airlines-pilots-reject-extra-holiday-pay/

I stink at URLs.

 

Nice!  They want help...make it a permanent change in the contract.

[ImNotARobot]

FedEx update for planning:

The attached posting, System Bid 21-01, is being published to fill 724 widebody CAP vacancies, 65 narrowbody CAP vacancies, 635 widebody F/O vacancies and 209 narrowbody F/O vacancies. System Bid 21-01 opens today, Tuesday, November 16th  and will close at 1500z on Tuesday, November 30th. System Bid 21-01 is based on the current projected system lift requirements. As the Operation continues to adapt to the current business environment, there remains the possibility for further adjustments.  In the meantime, the bid reflects the following considerations:

• Anticipated pilot retirements and system form adjustments (system-wide pilot retirements are projected to continue at roughly 150-200 per year)
• Scheduled aircraft deliveries and retirements (see Fleet Plan below)
• Expanded International flying on B777

Hiring

This bid will create unfilled vacancies in most widebody aircraft that will allow new hires to be spread over multiple equipment types. Pilots holding First Officer awards requiring ITU training, most likely, will not attend class until late 2022, at the earliest, as we continue to train new hires. With a need of 1,492 pilots over the next 24 months, the opportunities to advance in seniority and/or seat position should be readily apparent. 

Domicile Plans

• HKG base will close. We plan on having all pilots and their families out of Hong Kong as soon as reasonably possible.
• OAK will absorb the HKG base flying and will be mostly APAC flying. The Pacific ETOPS route will move to OAK in late 2022.
• IND will grow by 44 Captains and 41 First Officers. Part of the growth assumes moving the following cities, Bogota, Columbia (BOG), Medellin, Columbia (MDE), Queretaro, Mexico (QRO) and Toluca, Mexico to the IND bid pack.
• The MEM B767 base will grow by 201 Captains and 75 First Officers.
• No significant system form changes are planned on the MD11. The majority of these vacancies are for retirements and unfilled vacancies from the last bid. The ANC MD11 base will add 14 Captains and 12 First Officers. The LAX MD11 base will add 8 Captains and 15 First Officers. The MEM MD11 base will add 87 Captains and 160 First Officers. The remaining 12 MD10-30’s will all be retired by the end of CY2022.
• No significant changes are planned for the Airbus. 81 Captains and 75 First officers will be added.
• ANC B777 will grow by 20 Captains and 30 First Officers and MEM B777 will add 180 Captains and 145 First Officers.
• EUR B757 will be adding 40 Captains and 35 First Officers in anticipation of pilots leaving the base when their max duration is up and for system form changes. Please see the 21-01 System Bid Q & A for additional information on these system form changes. MEM B757 will add 25 Captains and 174 First Officers.

[tatertots]

So I have my big green folder of hours from previous bases. I ask my current SARM for my line by line and they say they can only go back 18 months. This leaves me with a gap at the start of my current assignment. Yes I can see it all on AAMS and those 34something forms so I know the values of each sortie. It’s just not in the same format as the rest of my hours. Anyone had/overcome this issue?

[FT11]

You asked your HARM or SARM? Our HARM said they could only pull 18mo like you said but I just got a print out from SARM that went back to 2017 2 weeks ago…don’t ask me why they would be using 2 different systems - no clue. It is a different format but just had a buddy interview at DAL with no issues. To be honest the new format looks cleaner anyways

[nunya]

Don't overthink it.  The airlines aren't worried that a 12+ year military pilot is lying about their hours.  Get the best product you can get and make it look as professional as you can.  If the first line in your logbook is a summary of years 6-9 instead of a line by line, nobody is going to care.

[TheNewGazmo]

You asked your HARM or SARM? Our HARM said they could only pull 18mo like you said but I just got a print out from SARM that went back to 2017 2 weeks ago…don’t ask me why they would be using 2 different systems - no clue. It is a different format but just had a buddy interview at DAL with no issues. To be honest the new format looks cleaner anyways

Your HARM(s) should have been saving annual rips of your hours in your flight records folder, which is required to have an annual review (by you). Just recently they have gone away from paper folders, but I find it unlikely someone doesn't have a career history of your hours.

[tatertots]

They had records but just on form 3520s rather than the normal line by line format. Hopefully I can keep asking until I get someone who’s been there more than six weeks. 

[passingtime69]

So I have my big green folder of hours from previous bases. I ask my current SARM for my line by line and they say they can only go back 18 months. This leaves me with a gap at the start of my current assignment. Yes I can see it all on AAMS and those 34something forms so I know the values of each sortie. It’s just not in the same format as the rest of my hours. Anyone had/overcome this issue?

Print out what ya can on AAMS. Add those. Get SARM to sign an MFR about any missing line by lines.

I had nearly all of my 2014 hours missing, with an MFR and I stuck in my mission history from a deployment in there (all I had for 2014). I had one AAMS page for hours SARM didn’t have (the 18 month look back limfac), then just printed out new line by lines every year after that.

At my AA interview, I got zero questions on my logbook and that’s how I presented it, with the Flight Summary Report on top. Don’t overthink it, get what ya can for documentation, have an MFR for anything missing.


Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

[passingtime69]

Print out what ya can on AAMS. Add those. Get SARM to sign an MFR about any missing line by lines.

I had nearly all of my 2014 hours missing, with an MFR and I stuck in my mission history from a deployment in there (all I had for 2014). I had one AAMS page for hours SARM didn’t have (the 18 month look back limfac), then just printed out new line by lines every year after that.

At my AA interview, I got zero questions on my logbook and that’s how I presented it, with the Flight Summary Report on top. Don’t overthink it, get what ya can for documentation, have an MFR for anything missing.


Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

Apologies. To more directly answer your question: the AAMS format added after the other line by line format is fine. What matters is the data is there. If you have anything missing (zero proof of that sortie), get SARM to sign an MFR explaining it was lost.


Sent from my iPhone using Baseops Network mobile app

[Smokin]

Just type up something.  The airlines are not looking for a reason to remove you from consideration once you show up for an interview; they're looking for an excuse to hire you.  There was a guy that no kidding forgot his entire flight records folder at home and the airline bent over backwards to try to work with him.  Asked if his wife was home to scan and email it, SARMs could fax it, or anything to give them a copy.  I was floored.  I fully expected them to tell him to pay closer attention to details and that they might call him back in six months. 

Obviously don't rely on this, but also don't stress if you have exhausted all possible fixes and just can't get the exact numbers to cover a small gap.  Your flight records summary should have your total, so combined with the line by line of the before and after, I'm sure you'll be fine.  Your interview and skills test are where they're looking to weed anyone out, not the fact that the AF switched how they keep records a couple years ago.  The airlines all know the AF flight records system as well as the average SARM anyway, so I'm sure you won't be the first one that shows up with this issue.