User friendly...


Well, first we'd need to identify the user. Is it Flight Management, or is it the sponsor, or is it the applicant? Who are we working to serve?


We've gone from sponsors hand-carrying applications in to sponsors hand-carrying applicants in, and it's gotten out of hand, and become less fair than it ought to be. It takes luck to get them scheduled, inconvenience for the prospective applicant to be here, and an incredible amount of time that Flight Managers could be using to update landing currency.


How about a monthly mini-job fair? Every second Tuesday a small number of ACPs host sponsors and applicants at a luncheon provided by Flight Ops. Throw in a PowerPoint presentation and a quick tour of the AOC, and maybe a brief appearance by the SCP. Wrap up the day with an informal gathering at a local watering hole.

Applicants get to take a look around.


Sponsors get to brag that they got their guy in.


And SCPs get to do their jobs.


Let HR screen the applications for the best qualified. Recommendations required, Meet-n-Greets not required.





OR... do away with M-n-Gs altogether. Randomly award "Purple Stars" to line pilots. Pilots give their stars to applicants, who then immediately go to the front of the interview list. Line pilots only get one Purple Star per lifetime. If the pilot doesn't have someone to sponsor immeidately, they save it until they do.



There are times when I think the reference system we have is a good thing, and then there are times when I wonder if a broader spectrum of pilots might not have improved our safety record. Maybe we need fresh line of blood.





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