What determines what plane and what hub you get assigned to? Is there a way to influence the recruiter as to which plane I fly?

 

You are RARELY (almost never) hired into a base of your choice for an airline. Typically sometime during training the company will have a list of vacancies meaning simply what they are short on, at that time you will list your preferences and based on seniority (you are all the same seniority date in class so it usually goes on age or sometimes last four of SSN) you will be assigned.

Typically nothing you do will have any preference on what you get to fly or where you get to go although you can usually have a pretty good idea based on company intel or the company may straight out tell you that they ONLY need dash 8 pilots in Philly at the time you are in class so thats where you will go.

It also goes in cycles throughout the year where for a while at CAL alot of guys went straight into the 777 and then a few classes later the junior guys would go 737 and back and forth.

What you THEN do to get what you want is your first day on the job when you are able you put in a bid request into the base and equipment of your choice and just wait until your seniority can hold it and your seatlock (if applicable) is up.

Long story short...there is NOTHING you can do to influence anyones decision regarding which equipment you fly. Airlines are absolutely 100% driven by seniority and the only way into a 777 over a 737 is 1. the company has a vacancy for that airframe and 2. you having the seniority to be awarded said vacancy.

 

Thanks for the advice.

 

What USMC said.

Also, whatever vacancies exist for new-hires are essentially guaranteed to be less-desirable aircraft or bases. Since everything is based on seniority, the company has to open any vacancies up to the pilot group as a whole before they offer them to new-hires. Anything remotely desirable will get taken by senior pilots...anything they don't want goes to new-hires.

If it's just size you like, in some cases you might be able to get a larger airplane, if more senior pilots stick with smaller equipment to avoid reserve.


Also you seem to have some misconception about airline "recruiters"...

Since the average decent airline has 100-10,000 qualified applicants for every job opening, the recruiters don't actually recruit in the traditional sense of the word. They could be more aptly called "weeders", since they mostly weed people out.

They have all the cards, and applicants have none whatsoever in most cases...trying to negotiate anything would earn your application a fast trip to the shredder.

 

Careful there Rickair - the 'title' may be deceiving. Some "recruiters" not only weed, but evaluate, interview and assign equipment - as well as assign class dates. It depends on the airline.
When there is a hiring boom recruiters also do hit the road and actually recruit. They attend job fairs trying to attract, and speak to, the best possible candidate.

Never, ever underestimate what kind of authority ANYONE has who may be involved with the interview process. That said, AAL there really isn't anything you can do. Sometimes you will be asked what your preferences are, but ultimately it's up to the airline. Usually they try to match your skills/experience with which airframe you have the best chance of successfully passing training.

Lori

 

Thanks so much.

 

Just make sure you are willing to fly any equipment out of any base the airline wants you to.