Coca Cola Flight department
 

Where can I find information on the internet about Coca Cola Enterprises aviation department. I see them all the time at FTY but its hard to find info on corporate flight departments. For airlines all you have to do is go to their websites and it will list pilot job openings. Not soeasy for corporate flying jobs.

Not that this would help you at all, but......... a year or more ago, they came to Riddle (where I was working as a CFI), they were there for a forum or something but also had a small meeting on its corporate flight department. Alot of companies may do this looking for pilots and alot of the CFIs come in dressed to the nines with an update resume just in case....

what we got instead was a big, slap in the face. They weren't looking to hire at all, just "show how they did things and their growth" presentation. The flight dept is a very small, "its who you know" dept. The last new hire they had was about 5 years ago and that was because of attrition due to retirement (they really like their jobs) and he was hired only because he did an internship there and kept very close tabs with his previous boss.

I'm not saying its a lost cause to try and look them up since they are so "closed shell" and not open to the public, but their hiring rate is slower than molassas and a very "grandfathered in" kind of dept.

Hope that helps at all.

You're going to find that very few (if any) corporate flight departments have dedicated open websites. If they do, it will be an internal site just for other employees of the same company, for informational purposes, such as directions to the hangar, scheduling, or to give feedback. Many reasons for this, but mainly for security and because companies like to keep their flight departments low key and anonymous.

Job openings at flight departments tend to be few and far between and when they do occur, they may be posted on the company's main website under "employment opportunities" or a larger third party career website. At that point, be prepared to be up against hundreds of applicants vying for one or two positions. Many of those appplicants will have several thousand hours and be typed in the equipment the company operates. What I am saying is: Competitive. Then, often times, they will hire someone from across the field that they already know.

The fact that they showed up at a Riddle career forum is pretty cool, but it shouldn't have been mis-construed as a possibility of them hiring. I'm sure they were just there to show what flight departments look for in applicants in general and to give a little insight into what the differences are between flight departments and airlines, something they certainly didn't have to do. It was pilot community service. They probably have an alum or two that wanted to "give something back" or a faculty member that knows someone at the department and were able to talk them into giving a presentation. Had it been taken for what it was, it was probably very informative and helpful for someone interested in a corporate flight department career, not necessarily at Coca Cola.

I work for a large US corporation with an 8-plane Lear flight dept. and they use an internal job board. I watch the board for fun since I am no where near qualified to apply, and a posting comes up for maybe a few days a season, and disappears as fast. I emailed the flight crews about hiring practices several times, and they say friendly things about want to meet me, funny since I have 500TT. Mins are 2500TT for FO Learjet. Good luck getting on with them unless you know someone who likes you. They probably only run the internal post so they officially comply, while shoeing -in whomever it is they really want for the job. My guess is they are so choosy because it is a desirable job with lots of applicants, more like a family than a flight dept.

Hahahahah......"Today we're going to select 3 of you lucky CFI's in the audience to join our Coca-Cola team. You'll recieve a $100,000/year salary with a G4 type. Now, who brought their resume?"

:D:D:D

Coca Cola Flight Department
4000 Fulton Industrial Blvd.
Atlanta, GA 30336

Bill D. Kahle, General Manager, Corporate Aviation

Drop .41 on a stamp to send them a resume' or put on a shirt and tie and go knock on their door.

Corporate aviation jobs don't come to you, you go to them! Network and stay persistent!

Good luck!

Show up with a resume, leave with a restraining order. Good plan.

Cub,

If you get the chance, get to know them! Regardless of whether or not they are just being "friendly", you're passing up on opportunity if you aren't working hard to get together with them! Remember- often job posts that are online or seen on other hiring sites are posted by HR folks that have very little knowledge of the actual business. Sometimes they are simply cut and pastes of other companies posts (For instance I've seen a hiring post for a company that owned a Learjet that said that applicants had to have a Gulfstream type rating). Just because you only have 500 total time, doesn't mean that you can't start working the system.

Push come to shove, most companies have the ability to hire whomever they choose. When it comes to qualifications, the most important one is the ability to be a good fit for the company, the department, and the job. I'm much more likely to hire a highly motivated person that has an excellent attitude and low time, over a mediocre candidate with 10000 hrs in type. I can train somebody to do the job, but when it comes to attitude, making changes is very difficult. Contrary to popular belief, most good corporate flight departments have a good amount of pull regarding insurance minimums. (For example I was hired as a captain at my current job with no PIC time. Likewise, I know a 27 year old that now has 3 PIC type ratings and is flying a Citation X, yet he still only has less than 3000 hrs total time and less than half that in turbine equipment- FWIW, his first turbine job was as an FO on a Beechjet for a corporate gig with less than 1000 total time.)

The only way to become that "preferred inside candidate" is by making the effort to meet and greet and network with folks.

Yeah, what FlyerJosh says. Also, sometimes a company will waive the published mins for an internal candidate. In fact, my parent company has Ops Manual procedures in place for bringing in a low time pilot as a first officer, but only if the candidate is already a company employee in another capacity.

Go talk to them. Let them give you a cup of coffee and show you the airplanes. Then, keep in touch and keep them updated on your progress. May not amount to anything now, but could pay huge dividends in a few years when you are closer to the mins. They'll have already met you and will more than likely remember. You'll have built equity for being persistent.

It could even backfire if you DON'T go see them now. When you get the mins and then show up, they may say "You've worked for us all this time, and you never came to visit when we invited you, and now you show up when we have an opening? Sorry, we already have someone else in mind."

Keep in mind there are two different operations at FTY: Coca-Cola and Coca-Cola Enterprises. CC is the national company. CCE is the southeast US bottler and distributor of CC products.