⌐ AV8OR WANNABE

Salty & Pilot7576 I agree with y'all too. I lucked out and never had to sit in the pool, in fact I was in class 11 days after my interview. Granted, it took me about 8 years and tons of job seminars to actually get an interview however once it happened it happened really fast.

I said I "lucked out" because I think I was truly lucky, that's all. There were guys in my class who were stuck in the pool for a very long time, one guys over two years! I think his quals were just as high as mine if not higher and I sincerely think he was probably a better candidate than me as he had both mil. AND civ. background -great guy. Basically I think that I lucked out and that he got shafted, but that's just my opinion.

I wish our pool would become a FIFO pool - it would make most sense and it would be fair to everyone.

On a different subject, I hope we don't follow SWA when it comes to "rehiring" over-60 guys (in other words those who have already retired). That would hurt our poolies even more.


Here's a quote from the text below which I stole from another thread:

"...Those retired Pilots who wish to apply will be interviewing with us in February, and if they successfully complete the selection process, they will be placed in the first available class..."


January 28, 2008

Dear Southwest Airlines Pilot Poolie,

We recently mailed you a copy of the December issue of LUVLines, and we hope you’re
enjoying it and that it’s helped you to learn more about the Southwest operation, Culture, and
Family. As you know, we have committed to keeping you informed of your status in our hiring
pool, and of any events that might effect your potential class dates. I’m sure that you are aware
of the recent passing of H.R. 4343, The Fair Treatment of Experienced Pilots Act. As a
Company, we are pleased to be able to keep some of our most experienced and capable Pilots
flying for us, and since the signing of the bill, we have had a Team working on the process
involved in the rehiring of our retired Captains who are interested in returning to Southwest.
The goal of this Team has been to do the right thing for everyone involved: our current Pilots,
our retired Pilots, and you, our future Southwest Pilot Candidates. We know that this particular
issue evokes a wide range of emotions in Pilots, but we wanted to personally share with you
what decisions we have made, and our hope is that you will see the reasons for, and value in,
our choices.
We are excited to be able to offer the opportunity for our interested, retired Pilots (who
meet all of our current requirements) to interview for a First Officer position, pursuant to the
terms of H.R. 4343. Those retired Pilots who wish to apply will be interviewing with us in
February, and if they successfully complete the selection process, they will be placed in the first
available class. We do understand that this could affect your potential class date, and we ask
for your understanding and patience in reaching your goal of becoming a part of our outstanding
group of professional aviators. As soon as we know how many Pilots will be rehired, we will
advise you as to if and how this affects your potential class date.
We know this news might be disappointing for you, but we suspect that it won’t come as
too great a surprise to those who have a good understanding of our commitment to taking care
of our Family, and we hope you’ll keep in mind that this same level of commitment and concern
will also be afforded to you when you become a member of the Southwest Family. Meanwhile,
we want you to know that throughout this process, we have given very careful consideration to
how this unprecedented set of circumstances could affect your future, and we have done our
best to do the right thing. We truly appreciate your continued interest in becoming a part of the
Southwest Family, and we thank you for your patience as we bring Pilots onboard this year to
meet the hiring needs of the Company. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you
have.

Sincerely,

The People and Flight Operations Departments

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.
People Department
Pilot Recruitment
Love Field
P.O. Box 36644
Dallas, TX 75235-1611