Looks like a night at Brysons

I’ll give you a clue...Jim Jones.
;)

Well they’re short FOs in Europe so not sure who took your job. They sent an email out asking for FOs in Europe.

Your class I have no idea as I was not here for that. One of them didn’t make it anyway for CA anyway, not sure if they gave him another shot. None of the guys that got upgraded in class got CA pay right away. Until they got their fed ride it didn’t become effective and I know this because I did some of their OEs. Your CA pay doesn’t come in effect till your fed ride/line check.

The only street CAs in 2019 have been the rehire pilots who were furloughed which will be 2 as of today. So they have rights anyway.

They’re still looking for people for Europe so no one has been replaced. They’re just not going to pay the extra cash unless you stay the 30 days with 8 off. I got to go next month to do OEs. Even with the contract people hired that does not fulfill the crew requirement for Europe. June there will be 5 NGs there.

Not sure what 50 plus failure guys you mean, if they didn’t tell us about it we sure find out later and they get let go for lying. We have had that happen multiple times. That’s why we do face to face now. Guys who have washed out of upgrade were returned to the right seat and eventually will be given another chance when they’re released from the watch program. No one is perfect.

My word of advice is to take it down a notch. I like you and I know you’re a sharp guy and you have good experience from 121/135, but you need to take a step back and take a breath. Getting all ****ed off and bent out of shape is just going to make it miserable for you. I’ve been here a long time and we have all been screwed one way or another by the system, the more you rant and rave will get you pegged for a pilot that if he’s acting negatively this was as an FO how will he be as a captain? You have to be political and diplomatic here, if you sh@t over everything here you’re only making it harder on yourself. Because then my recommendations for you will just get overlooked and not be taken seriously. A level of humility goes a long way. Trust me there’s days I want to Choke people out but there’s way and then there’s ways.

It’s like quick sand the more you fidget the more you sink. I’m trying to help you, but you’re making it hard for anyone to help you.

Real expectations
 

Can any fos explain what a new hire would expect? Is it all Miami 4 on 4 off? What would a home basing schedule look like? Trying to decide if it is worth leaving a regional due to lack of upgrades. Is this a commuter friendly airline if home basing goes senior?

With our home basing, they buy your ticket positive space to and from work. Definitely commutable.

You could have just written “drink the Koolaid” as that would have been shorter.

I’ll take some rum in mine then.

For the most part they’ve tried to keep MIA 40on 40off, obviously a few variations here and there month to month. We do not have a commuter policy, so if you do get based in an outstation you have to get yourself to work. It has happened where they have bought guys tickets to work if they were desperate, however if it happens too often you’re probably going to get a call.

Home basing and MIA seems to be the hand in hand seniority wise lately for new hires. IWA definitely remains senior. Home based you don’t worry about commuting, obviously you must live in the lower 48.

Whaaaatttttt??? I don’t understand your point. I argue the opposite of seniority would be better for all involved. Airlines would have to raise the compensation bar due to competition for qualified experienced Captains. Safety would be enhanced by having qualified experienced Captains. It is not a can of worms. You set a standard, use a valid evaluation tool and promote whoever reaches the standard.

Recently applied. Does it look like the company will be running new-hire classes this summer?

I was in 05/06/19 class, 2 more weeks of sim left. I do believe they have a class starting June 17th? But not positive.

I have had a very good experience so far, I will tell you to study from the first day don’t expect it to be handed to you. Your a professional pilot and should know by the time you get here how to Prioritize the studying and meet deadlines.

Good luck hope to see you soon

You are pushed off by AA employees going on or returning from vacation mostly. Very few pilots commute to bases in South Florida, most that are based there, live there. That brings me to my next point, that Swift seems like a good deal for those who live in South Florida, which is probably why they are getting more applicants from the MIA area so they can staff it better and new hires are getting their choice of home base or MIA when it used to be just MIA not long ago, at least from what I've read in this thread. And if they're giving MIA pilots 2 or 3 more days off than everyone else (make sense since they can't really use people on their travel days for a whole lot), it seems like they want to attract more people from the MIA area that are tired of commuting to a regional, want to drive to the airport, go flying, and go home every night. So other than than commuting to MIA and the fact it's not Delta, tell me what's so much worse about Swift than any regional, not all of us have a competitive resume for mainline yet (and even then you still might not get a call), and maybe live in the MIA area, and actually want to be able to spend our days off with friends and family instead of spending it commuting to or out of NYC after a snowstorm, which is worse than any MIA commute ever could be.

Next class we’re building is for first week of August.

Your information is grossly inaccurate. Any commute to MIA is a well known PIA for MIA based AA pilots and there are a huge number of them.

All the AA pilots I've talked to that are based there live in the area, same for B6 out of FLL. Generally those of us who want to have a base in FL want to live in FL and stay out of the cold and snow in the winter as much as possible.

The only reason I compare Swift to a regional is because when you are at a regional that's a dead end, don't want to commute anymore, still being at the bottom of the totem pole behind all the mainline employees, are ok with MIA, and want to stay out of the cold in the winter, a place like Swift looks like a decent place to go and at least get a better QOL if you're based in MIA or IWA by sleeping in your own bed most nights. So nothing against Swift pilots, as I am interested in possibly becoming one. But I guess if someone wants to be offended by anything that is said to them, they'll be offended by anything that is told to them.
So lets say you put that burned out radar in the book, will they fix it or sign it off as ops check ok over and over, and not even test it, what if multiple people put it in the book. Does the MX Control/Management/CP threaten people who put stuff in the book like that actually needs to be written up? If so give some examples you've seen personally. Or if they get upset at all, is it if people write up something like a burnt out cabin ceiling light at bumble**** FBO just to stick it to the company. Do they promise MIA pilots day trips and 14 days off then make you go on a 6 day trip routinely and only give you 12 days off? Is seniority ignored for bidding days off so lets say you want Christmas or new years off and have the seniority for it, does a guy below you get it? Are FOs really getting passed over for upgrade to a FO junior to them, or are they doing the street captains because they need to balance the ratio a bit before upgrading Swift FOs. If they are getting big classes, seems like the FO side should come up soon.
Once again, I just want to know why this place is so bad nobody at a regional should come to it. It seems like your biggest beef isn't the planes being old or mechanical problems or the bumble**** FBO. It's commuting to MIA and the street captains. Other than that what are your answers to the other questions I've asked.

If the plane is broke write it up. Then it will never be fixed if no one writes it up. MIA is a maintenance station. If anyone tries to carry maintenance items you’re only screwing your self and your brethren. But that happens everywhere, even at regionals. Seems like at the regionals the engines could be falling off but it’s go home day! Nobody is going to fault you for writing things up, I’ve grounded enough acft and still work here, even if it cost canceling a government flight. Unsafe is unsafe, if there’s no MEL or reset then it’s a no go. And if you’re the FO and your CA is doing something that could screw you up, then just remove yourself from that situation. If you let it go then you’re as much at fault as the CA.

All our hard days off are 12. MIA has generally more days off and day trips. They usually have 12-15 off with 4on 4off for the most part. Obviously there could be times they pull you out of MIA to do other trips, generally they don’t like pulling based pilots to do home base flying unless it’s a necessity. Despite what has happened to randomroute, you can pick up trips outside of base. They will fly you to where you need to be. He just got f’ed by some scheduler that doesn’t work here anymore. He had been a problem for many for a while, problem is they’re always short in scheduling, so getting rid of a trained person is tough.

Your schedule is bid on seniority. Just like any airline. The only crappy part is we’re getting so big when you bid vacation we need more slots for different weeks. Like out almost 100 captains there’s only 1 weeks of vacation in Xmas week for everyone to bid. So definitely needs revisiting.

MIA and IWA Pilots generally have the best QOL being home every night. We do have people that live in MIA and are home based, but that’s just their preference. MIA is a unique kind of flying with the Cuban charters, cargo plane and Venezuela flights(going to sdq instead of ccs for now).

Again this place is what you make of it, the systems they have in place are for lack of a better word a mess.... payroll despite the new scheduling system still works off an excel sheet. This is what makes some frustration dealing with problems you have because infrastructure is just not all the way there. Is it better than years ago? Hell yes! I still check on my pay every 2 weeks because I can’t see it anywhere on the computer, so I’m on it to make sure it’s correct. But that’s me I like my check to be right.

It’s not perfect, but provides me a decent quality of life. I like not having to commute, even if I have to prompt scheduling for my tickets, generally I send them what I want and as long as it’s within reason they’ll book it.

That sounds very reasonable. I was only asking him because I wanted specific examples of why Swift was such a bad place to work. It seems like it's a growing company and is having the issues associated with that but from what you say they are trying to do the right thing by getting rid of problem people and become more organized. I know MIA is mostly the Cuba stuff, do you think the recent legal changes that make it harder for people to travel and do business there are going to negatively affect Swifts business flying down there from MIA, or are there enough loopholes and people that can still travel that it won't cause any major issues? Also, what kind of stuff do you have to watch out for pay? Do they mess up the gaurentee a lot or is it mostly if you're owed premium time and stuff like that?

It doesn’t affect our flying to cuba, the pax we carry are Cuban nationals visiting family, you need to be able to buy a ticket on those flights. I can’t buy a ticket to Cuba on those flights.

Pay wise if I break guarantee I just always ensure they pay it out, overtime etc. We don’t have an automated system like some airlines do to track your hours for payroll. You have to still submit a form every month with the hours and activity. Sometimes scheduling might forget to tag something as 200% and you need to ensure it gets fixed. If they missed a payment like per diem or big chunk of OT they have always mailed me a check or direct deposit the difference. Depends on the amount. So payroll is a small department still even though they’ve added people. It’s my money so I’ll watch my money.

Fixed it for ya.
And yes you have to track and submit all your block hours, and all your per diem.

Even flying an Alaskan Sled driver hasn't needed to submit a form for the last decade.

Nature of the beast sadly. Hopefully gets rectified, doubt if they keep growing they’d be able to keep up with all the paper work.

Sometimes paperwork and forms can make you some money. Just saying...

#CookBlockHourNotFlightHours
#BlockTimeLivesMatterToo

is this a joke?

Serious as a heart attack. Our scheduling software does not track per diem.

Our leadership has told us swift us applied for 10 more acft to the fleet with the DOT. Looks like 2 will be cargo birds for DHL out on the west coast.

Also looks like they’re going to explore adding wide bodies to the fleet. Talk of a330s in cargo and pax config. Not confirmed on type yet.

Probably starting DOD flying on last quarter which will be huge for the company.

ETOPs certification in the works.

As far as pay, was told to address it to our COO when he comes in 2 weeks or so to have a pilot meeting.

Let’s hope this would be awesome for us

3 years ago Swift was to get a DHL contract with 1-2-3-4 freighters.
One freighter showed and there’s still no DHL contract.
2 years ago 76’s were to come, 76’s for everybody!
And now Airbus :D
I can see the MX logbooks already:

#cannotduplicate

They weren’t able to get the 2nd acft out of Europe in time for the contract so DHL walked out. That was outside of swift control, but it happened.

Seems like a lot of focus onto cargo now.

CEO said the operational stuff is COOs position, not his. So things that happens in flt ops are pushed down from there. Anytime there’s pay information it comes from COO. It’s how it’s always been.

They didn’t confirm a330s it was an acft type they were exploring for cargo and pax ops. 777 is better for cargo in the end, wider fuselage than an a330. Doesn’t have to be commonality it would involve a whole new type anyway. Whether it’s a 76 or a330 a new type is a whole different mess.

Cargo doesn’t have to be 117, the 737 cargo plane is under 121. If they go for a long haul type anyway they’ll be on their own schedules anyway, So that shouldn’t be an issue. Just not enough schedulers to deal with it, that’s the key.

Well we’re already short for the addition of 2 NGs anyway. We have a good interview session planned out with a lot of interest. Obviously for the long term pay and everything else will need to follow.

So it’s not because they bought the wrong plane? A -300 instead of a -400?
Less cargo capacity then DHL specfied?
Because that was a very persistent rumor back in the dark days.....

Seems they signed it with a 300 back then because they were both 300s. Number 2 never got released in time. So there it went.

You’re either make KoolAid, or drank a lot. Btw, 330’s aren’t cargo aircraft for a plethora of reasons. One of which is the body angle. Airbus does make a 330 freighter, but it’s a dedicated airframe. Not a conversion. The CEO tells you to ask his minion for more $$$???? You must have burned a lot of bridges in your career or been sold a few in your lifetime. 117 are rules for 121 operators. They are not a type of operator. Jesus Christo Man...

Sorry man you’re the master of everything and expert of everything, how do you find the time to post on here with your awesomeness?

-Again this is a 121 supplemental airline where 117 rules apply under pax operations.

-our cargo plane runs under 121 rest rules like all cargo operators, it is the only exception to the rule.

-they didn’t say anything about converting or buying new on a330s or even say the type is a go.

-as I said earlier the 330 is not an optimal choice for cargo. There is a lot of mods that go with it due to design. Emirates is a prime example with their a330 cargo.

-any type of operational improvements whether it’s compensation, QOL or operational changes come from the office of the COO. I said that earlier, CEO said to talk to him about it as that is his department, that is what he told us. He will be in PRG probably in a week and change having a meeting with the pilots.

like anything in this industry nothing is guaranteed until it’s in writing or literally at your doorstep. Even then it can all be gone tomorrow!

I wish they served kool-aid, but I like mine with a bit rum or some of that soju from Korea. I rather get deadhead pay first before some kool aid, just seems more financially sound that way. thank you for enlightening us with your 117 knowledge and how it applies to swift. But again for those observing we work under 117.

How about them contract pilots not legal to fly as 121 CA?

Waiting to see what the FAA says about that. Only a couple of them have US 121 time. I think their contract if it doesn’t work is a 30 day notice.

Being taught by Check Airmen with little to no experience in EASA. Recipe for disaster. Feel bad for the FOs who have been there since the beginning of the operation and have to hand hold this captains once they are released on the line...

Tangential to the actual purpose of the thread, but that's no longer true. A330 freighter conversions began in 2017, and the first handful are already in service. As many as Airbus sold to 787 customers as stopgap solutions for that program's delays, I would expect to see a great many of those unloved widebodies filling a cargo niche between the 767 and 777.

Check airmen it’s not our job to verify their eligibility per the FAA, that’s what management is for. We are sent pilots to be line trained who show up to have their ATP with 737 type, medical, fcc etc with instructions from scheduling and training to provide line training saying they’re good to go. Outside of that we just fly and fill out paperwork.

The selection process is not done by us but by management and the contract company. I have no idea how the feds view foreign airline PIC time. They requested info from the contract captains to verify their information I guess by the POI.

We have about 30 pilots in the training pipeline about half are in Europe awaiting OE or some stage of OE.

Increased attrition? We’re about the same rate. Losing guys to JetBlue, Spirit and other bigger opportunities. 171 pilots with 10 more who started on Monday.

August class being built if all candidates successful estimate about 15-20 for August to have us about 200 or close to by fall after Europe is over.


Ceo was in Europe signing deal with our partner in PRG for 3 more years. He took opportunity to talk to us. The only bases that are easy to visit are MIA since we actually have facilities. Everything else we don’t really have bases so to speak. We have always been a very remote based airline with online meetings and conference calls, nature of the beast.

What damage control? Every day is the same day fly fly fly fly. Adapt and overcome. They always find a way whether it’s the hard road or easy solution.