piper338

Talked to someone today that said they are interviewing every Wednesday, and that the is a new hire class in Feb and one in March.

I know when I interviewed they interviewed 10 and hired 1

yancharlie

And out of the 3, may be only one will make it through the full training. PDT needs to realize they are actually lucky with peoples applying here and hire as many bodies they can, give it another year and they will really struggle trying to get peoples here.

hom307

Exactly! because they will lose 12 to usairways soon, at least one person is taking the early retirement, and at least 5 other people are leaving for other places. i just found out yesterday that BT and JB are actually using the Q400 sales pitch to these applicants! what a joke! To all new applicants, DONT BELIEVE IT!

FixTheMess

They've been pitching that as well as flow through for over 7 years. The hundreds of pilots working here who bought the pitch should have filed a class action lawsuit with or without the help of ALPA years ago. Hundreds of pilots gave up other opportunities and possible career advancement because of blatant lies/exaggerations merely used as a recruiting tool by management. And then there are the other issues, such as unpaid wages, and retaliation against whistleblowers.

I'm not sure whats more pathetic, our management engaging in these tactics, or our pilot group for not saying collectively, "enough is enough". Make no mistake, I am just as guilty as anyone else for not making a stand. We need several leaders who can motivate our entire pilot group to action. Maybe we have too many young pilots afraid to make waves, for fear of losing their jobs, and too many super senior guys comfortable with where they are as well as being used to decades of abuse.

Sometimes I chuckle when an ALPA rep talks about taking everyone to the edge of the cliff for better work rules if need be. I think it would be surprising how many of us would be willing to walk right off the cliff and close the doors at this point. Really, what would the bottom half of the seniority list lose? Even lineholders have 6-8 leg days, 12 days off, and no hope of upgrade. They'd be better off going to an airline with a future, even if they have to start at the bottom again. Somewhat of a rant, but I hope the new hires do understand the deeply seeded problems we have here. (I was not so fortunate to have a forum to read opinions from both sides when I was hired) Good luck to everyone!

naley70b

Well Said FixTheMess,

We need to show them we mean business about holding them accountable for their lies and cheating us out of what we perceived to be rightfully ours.

OneEye

"Hundreds of pilots gave up other opportunities and possible career advancement because of blatant lies/exaggerations merely used as a recruiting tool by management."

Really? Hundreds are that stupid? A few maybe, but not hundreds. Rule number one in this business is believe nothing you hear and question everything you see.

RedOverWhite

Well said, I may have to borrow that at some point, if you don't mind.


On an unrelated note, anybody know where I can find a crashpad in the 'Bury? Ugh....

FixTheMess

Stupid, no. Young and naive yes. Not to mention, if you can't believe anything in this industry, why would anyone aspire to get into this business to begin with, or bother moving on to "better airlines" throughout their career? Also if your little philosophical conundrum is true, everyone will have to concede that it may just as well be a lie. More likely is your response is just a cop out/defense of managements disgusting tactics. Why another pilot would defend that is beyond me. People can be held accountable if we start holding them accountable. Time to stop taking everything on the chin and asking for another with smiles on or faces.

OneEye

FixTheMess

First, it's not my "philosophical conundrum." It was told to me when I came into this business over 28-years ago so it has been around for awhile - and as it turns out, has been very accurate.

Second, lying is not a crime unless you are under oath, and it's not cause for civil action. The company does not hold a monopoly on lying. We are lied to regularly by both the company and the union. I guess we could just ask BT, JB, and our union officials not to lie anymore.

Third, it's not a cop out/defense nor did I say that I liked it! It's just the way it is. If you can change it then great. What's the first step? Unify the pilot group? Good luck with that. Hold management accountable? How? Educate the younger pilots still in school? Perhaps - if you could get the very school sucking tens of thousands of dollars from their pockets to let you speak with them.

Fourth, I was taught in my youth there will be things you can change, and you should try to do so, but there will also be things you must learn to adapt to. Not believing everything you hear is a good thing. If you are smart, it keeps you from falling into a hole.

Lastly, I think all of us come into the business because we enjoy it. Keeping the enjoyment depends on how you handle the reality of the industry if you decide to stay.

naley70b

I think the important thing, for all of us at this "airline" is to focus on creating a unified front instead of the infighting and bickering that our management so enjoys us doing. It starts from the bottom up, I believe. Whether you've been here 28 years or 6 months we all have something to gain from backing each other up, not cowering in front of deceitful tactics and having some self respect for ourselves.