Originally Posted by
Southern Fried
UA and Manaair want Aviate simply for recruiting (You), retention, and to minimize sick calls. It is not designed to get a new hire to UA simply because they got hired at XJT. There are many gates and hoops you have to jump through to actually get into a class at UA. The odds of Aviate getting you into a UA class are against you. Even if you end up getting a CJO, you can be denied in the final review with no explanation and no recourse. There are several (unknown number) pilots at XJT that this has happened to. If you want to fly for UA, go somewhere else and apply off the street. A better idea is to go to an AA wholly owned regional and flow to AA.
BTW, it's normal to not get called for an interview. Getting a call from a legacy is unusual for anyone at any time in history. You need to have an exceptional resume to get a call. Go somewhere that you can be exceptional and do great things in order to build up your resume. Management positions, training, union, and personal volunteerism will put your resume near the top. Go to the job fairs to get face time with recruiters. I flew with a first year FO with no turbine PIC who volunteered at job fairs, got an interview and was hired at Virgin America. Once you get an interview, they don't care how exceptional you are as a pilot.
Don't hang your hat on Aviate. Flow is the closest thing to a guarantee you'll find as a pilot.
You bring up a lot of good points. My perspective is that yes, legacy interviews are very difficult to get. I came to ExpressJet thinking it would be at least 5 years before I had that opportunity. I never counted the CPP as a reason to come to ExpressJet nor did I ever expect anything from it. However I have since been blessed with the opportunity to interview with United less than a year after coming to ExpressJet and I have been fortunate enough to be accepted into the Aviate program. I see it only as opportunity.
What I would never have done if was not successful at the interview would be to bad mouth United or ExpressJet because of it. I would have been disappointed, sure. But the last thing I would do would be to go around acting as if just because I work for ExpressJet I am somehow entitled to work for United someday. It would have been no different to me than if I had been turned down by Delta.
I also believe that the entitled attitude is the reason many are not successful in their Aviate interviews. Those who have that attitude let it show in the interview in one way or another and are denied because of it. Then because of that same attitude they spew negativity and discontent because they were denied something that they were after all entitled to. It’s as if someone stole from them.
Does that mean that United should give in and hire these people? Obviously not. Should you listen to them and adopt their attitude about the program? Or should you look at it for what it is, an opportunity? Whether you want the opportunity or not is up to you. If you feel that accumulation of hours at a regional with a certain logo on the side is all you need to do to get a job at a legacy airline making hundreds of thousands of dollars per year then you are also in luck. You can go to work for an AA WO and do just that.
Make the decision that is best for you and live with it.