Scout

Exclusively? Not the case these days, I interviewed with 17 others at a Major recently. There were plenty of guys that were not "slim types." I met a guy that interviewed the day after me and he was easy 250 lbs and he was less than 6' tall, he was hired and is now on the line as a 737 FO. I will admit that I also had this perception before the interview process but now my eyes are open! Don't sell yourself short if you think your a few pounds over the "ideal".

SkyHigh

I must admit that lately when I am meeting college students I have noticed that often I am the skinniest guy in the room. Perhaps all I need to do is to maintain my current weight and wait for the rest of the world to get fatter than I am. Then I would appear skinny.

What do you think?

SkyHigh

fludy12

How about...

Don't be a fat-***. Get up off the couch and MOVE. Eat less. Our lives as pilots are sedentary enough...sitting on our arses for hours on end...

Scout

A fat-*** and a "few pounds over the ideal" are a little different. Your point is made....if the shoe fits....

fludy12

If people are worried about being too fat for their height, then they're a LITTLE more than a "few pounds over the ideal". Who's going to worry that they weigh 155 when some chart/doc says they should weigh 150? Maybe a supermodel, but I don't think that "shoe" fits here.

The point is, if most people cut back on the beer, fast food, and simply move around a little they'd be much better off considering the sedentary nature of the job. It's not that hard to get within a "few pounds of the ideal" unless there's medical problems, which should be considered more closely given the nature of aviation that simply being a fat ***... Sad to say, but many, many people (think interviewers) see fat people as simply being lazy...right or wrong, but being overweight definitely does NOT ever help anything.

Jetjok

That's just not true, at least not here at FedEx. We've got some guys who are so large that if their window blew out, you could stuff them in the hole and the jet would be good to FL 410. However, the vast majority of our new hires are cookie-cutter types. You know, thin, good looking, large watches, red ties, etc. The only weight restriction to flight duty that I know of is on our MD-11's, where on the very long international legs, the on-board sleep facility has a weight restriction. Maybe somewhere around 275 pounds. But most of us do look better thin, and appearance does count on interviews.

fludy12

Even though that may not be a hard and fast rule for hiring, it just makes prudent sense. Being overweight/unhealthy at a young age only opens the doors to problems later on (post 40) and don't think a hiring company won't consider that when they have to invest in training and expect a performance return. Seen it too many times with my friends/co-workers. High blood pressure, early onset diabetes, and a number of other things.

Sadly, many of these same guys are the ones that hit the lounge at the end of the crew day, drink to the max limit, and scarf down whatever bar food they can find. I guess, for them, it's too hard to see that reading a book and getting as good of a sleep period as they can would do them wonders. Maybe even hit the fitness center if the "hotel du jour" has one...

And then there's the ones who still continue to smoke.

rickair7777

Yes and no.

Yes, someone will hire, especially at the regional level.

But it will impact your overall hireability at better airlines, including most majors. It is both a cultural thing and a business policy. Majors have a large military makeup, and fitness is at a premium for those guys. Also, too much weight makes you more prone to illness and injury that is likely to cause you problems with your medical as you get older. Once you get hired, they cannot make an issue of it if you bulk up later, as long as you can pass your medical.

Best recomendation is try to adjust your lifestyle and get fit. You should have years to do so before you can apply to the majors anyway. The good news is that at 6'3" you can carry more than most and still be HWP. 250# is not that much extra on you.

American Eagle does a brutal, day-long medical exam on day two of the interview (it's an AA mainline medical). You might expect trouble with that.

LAfrequentflyer

Who else does a company medical? AE is appealing to me for their stability. I don't like the long upgrade at all...

-LAFF

rickair7777

Don't know of any regionals other than AE.

These Majors do physicals (or used to anyway):
AA (they will continue to I'm sure)
DAL
UAL
US Airways (AW did not, so I assume they will use the AW policy going forward)
Cathay (The mother of all physicals...if you fail, don't worry you can still apply to NASA)
Most European, Asian, and Middle-eastern carriers have tough physicals.