hoodabundy

Friend told me not until December. I did start getting my FAA requests back though

Albief15

Back then, many used Higher Power for their type ratings. Good folks, good instructors. But do the math: The facility they used was leased from....(guess who) SWA. Who profited from the sale of type ratings, and the utilization of the simulator assets? It wasn't just HP, and when you can retail hundreds of extra hours of sim time every month it has to help with some of the training costs. HP attended every Air Inc trade fair, and promoted their wares. They also bought and paid for the tables and meals at the events attended by....(guess who) SWA HR. So--guess who HR recommended as "good guys" for a type rating?

IMHO, a lot of what passed for "nice" back then was nothing but pure business. SWA made money off type ratings. HR got treated like royalty compliments of HP. And everyone was happy. Well....except for the 75% who paid for a type rating they never got to use. But face it, Rebekah Krone told me herself that not everyone was "Southwest material" when I attended an Air Inc session back in Dallas in in the mid 2000s. The fact you had to pay $10,000 to even find out if you were suitable was....well...not their problem.

So--times have changed. The Airtran merger showed that SWA will bare their teeth at their own employee group to get their way. The latest failed TA didn't fail because former Airtran pilots said "no", but rather a good bit of SWA pilots have lost faith in the idea that the company's advertised values and the values they actually use day to day sometimes don't appear to be the same. In short--its becoming just another airline.

Hypocrisy is evident at every airline. SWA seems to have more than most, however. The proof of some of that loss of faith are the former SWA pilots in class at FedEx, Delta, AA, and United. The new TA might fix some of that loss of faith, but it remains to be seen how long it will take or how much it will raise the bar.

at6d

Are you with SWA?

CODs4ever

I am pretty sure that Albief15 is not with SWA, but he is correct on a lot of what he said. I have a lot of friends who work at SWA and they say a lot of the same things. Still a great place to work, but not the same place it used to be. I was one of those who paid $8000 for the type (back in 2003) and ended up being in the 12 of 16 who got the TBNT letter in the mail unfortunately. Would still love to go work there, as I would FDX and a few others. But I agree, there definitely is no longer any holy grail of the airlines - they all have their own individual issues.

MichaelBolton

Here's a odd one for you APC:

Interviewed 8 Oct, background check completed by 11 Oct, one issue with an incorrect prior drivers license number submitted for check. Corrected by 13 Oct. No coms for weeks. Phone call from Pilot Hiring on 11 Nov, apologizing for delay, stating I would have an answer by 18 Nov. Still nothing by 20 Nov, so I called People Department and was told they would look in to it and get back to me. It's now 25 Nov...and I've given up hope.

Anyone else have a similar experience?

CODs4ever

I think you probably just need to relax and be patient. They will get back to you and are probably just busy and/or behind. I am sure it's not the first time someone hasn't returned a call on time and as promised. With any luck you'll get your CJO and (hopefully) a class date assigned after Thanksgiving.

OB Pilot

I also agree that they are probably just a little behind with all the hiring and the holiday schedules for the people dept and all the background check folks too. Don't give up hope until you get either a phone call with good news or an e-mail with not so good news.

FlyingJman

MBolton, that must be maddening... but I agree, hang in there and don't lose hope. I was in the 11 Nov interview group and Rocky said that the hiring process would slow down over the holidays. If they called to apologize for the delay I'd see that as a good sign. With the glitch in your background check it makes sense that it's taken a bit longer than the norm. Did you get letters from the FAA and the Sterling saying that SWA has looked into you? If so, those should be good signs. Stay strong.

at6d

Every airline always had its issues...and of course SWA isn't what it used to be. Airlines have to change to survive. The kool-aid is strong at this time, so take it for what it's worth, but I believe they still have a strong future. For example, they have been profitable every year for like 43 years, have 10 737 sims now--and they will build a new training center with more than 20 additional simulators, they carry the most domestic passengers in the USA (that's not like the old days), they are expanding into South America, and people like working there. They are the launch customer for the 737 Max with 30 or so on order. But for me, the biggest issue is job security, domicile choice, and QOL. SWA is still at the top of the list for me in that regard. Personal choice.

Good luck to all that apply!

Wingup

I got the job offer and would like to go ahead and get an ipad. My googlefu must be weak - I searched for this Appogee and can't find anything. Anyone have more info, web address, phone number?
Thanks