Notices
Charter Part 121 pax charter airlines

Swift Air - The truth

Old 07-14-2019, 08:22 AM
  #531  
New Hire
 
Joined APC: Jun 2014
Posts: 3
Default

Originally Posted by Peter Panam View Post
It's true that the pilots are bribed to break 117 regs. Where do I sign up??misled when they are recruited in order to get them on board and then the reality is laid on them when they get on line. Bait and switch. Would this be related to your first statment again where do I sign up??
its true that Management look at pilot staffing hugely and I mean HUGELY optimistically because they are looking at an unrealistic bottom line. Does this make them profitable? Job security! again related to your first statmment!!! 3 out of 3 your not doinng to good and probably are not!!
This artificially creates a shortage and the necessity to bribe, cajole and threaten crew members into illegal activities. Repeat!! Repeat!!
Its also true that management have instructed their sales department to never turn down a charter, regardless of how impractical it might be or how it might affect crew members, their schedules or even the satisfaction of the clients who might be expecting a VIP configured airplane only to be presented with a Hi density airplane that has been used to deport illegal aliens to Central America. Is this why they are profitable? I never new the airline was there to cater to crew members needs for luxury and scheduled comfort for home life!! is this a 121 supplimental airline or scheduled??
It's true that it's not unusual for Swift to carry Illegals with Leprosy for example or Plague. I will leave it to your imagination what sort of disinfecting process the airplanes go through afterwards...read Chlorox wipes. Does the US GOV CDC know about this or are you the only compitent person who know better in the country??
It is true that the payroll department rely on the hugely overworked and corrupt Crew Scheduler for the required information to pay the pilots correctly, so the chances of being paid the right mount for the work you've done are woefully small.
It is also true that the pilots are paid on the basis of a completely fictitious 40 hour work week. Flight time is never shown or accounted for which makes payroll queries very difficult to substantiate. Not to mention the fluidity of the bribe system... Cash is king.
It is true that if you submit a query to the crew scheduler you will not get a reply. Ever. Unless you involve the director of operations, in which case you may get a reply, but no action. So frustrating.
It is true that the same goes for payroll. No reply is the way Swift does business.
It is true that nepotism, favoritism and passive aggression are the ways that Swift play.
I called the chief pilot once with a problem. I never called him again.
I cant any more respond to your stupidity!!!
slinkydinkpilot is offline  
Old 07-14-2019, 04:07 PM
  #532  
Gets Weekends Off
 
mexipilot84's Avatar
 
Joined APC: Jul 2008
Position: Gear Handle supervisor
Posts: 1,035
Default

Originally Posted by randomroute View Post
“Wereitweresosimple”



I wish it were all that simple. In MIA We can’t start at the gate despite necessity, we dont even have a procedure to do it, much less the ground support. And we are all over the world to know what is and isnt possible, the creative nature of Swift pilot’s should never be underestimated.



What you and everyone else has to realize, is that this place is not industry standard. We dont have the agreements, safety, awareness that any other pax airline has. We operate on the experience of the particular PIC and the restrictions of the service providers around us. We dont start at the gate in MIA unless we are ready to push. We dont single engine taxi because we dont know how (no procedure). We dont get to leave the plane with the APU running for the next crew because theres no one there to watch it. We dont have what you and others have. Dont even ask about the weight and balance.


We don’t single engine taxi because we don’t care about fuel savings, the customers pay for the fuel. Welcome to ACMI. Single engine taxi you’re maneuver limited and in small airports that’s a hazard. It’s in the book it’s discouraged. There is single engine taxi procedures, it’s for an air start. FCOM 1 chapter 4. If I can taxi on both then it’s no big deal, mean by the time I’m at the runway I’ve had my 2 engine warm up and ready to roll. Our procedures were created when we were just a VIP carrier going to FBOs when you can launch right away.


Why would you leave the APU running un attended? Just a hazard if the APU dies and then the battery will go right behind it too. You do better justice if you shut it down and leave your colleague a working battery so he can start the APU. Safer route, the other route costs money and aggravation.

You have it all figured out, you can apply for the DO position if you want, you can unmake us as a 36th st mafia airline as you call us. I guess you haven’t checked out world Atlantic.
mexipilot84 is offline  
Old 07-15-2019, 06:18 AM
  #533  
Line Holder
 
Joined APC: Jun 2019
Posts: 38
Default

Originally Posted by mexipilot84 View Post
We don’t single engine taxi because we don’t care about fuel savings, the customers pay for the fuel. Welcome to ACMI. Single engine taxi you’re maneuver limited and in small airports that’s a hazard. It’s in the book it’s discouraged. There is single engine taxi procedures, it’s for an air start. FCOM 1 chapter 4. If I can taxi on both then it’s no big deal, mean by the time I’m at the runway I’ve had my 2 engine warm up and ready to roll. Our procedures were created when we were just a VIP carrier going to FBOs when you can launch right away.
Fuel may be paid for but why would you not want to save it? The more fuel left over the less the company has to spend on additional fuel for ferrying an empty airplane. Means more money in the bank account. You have obviously never experienced a bankruptcy where at the end the airline encourages pilots to save fuel, and bargain for better ground handling rates at FBO’s.

You have it all figured out, you can apply for the DO position if you want, you can unmake us as a 36th st mafia airline as you call us. I guess you haven’t checked out world Atlantic.
Change can be unsettling but it is necessary to survive. Complacency is a killer Mexi. North American, World, Ryan, Primaris, ATA, we used to be kings until Delta with their damned processes and SOP started showing up in places like Kuwait, and Amman, and Langley. They scooped the business from underneath us. Having a contract with a travel company that pays for fuel means nothing. How many times does a travel company go under owing ACMI’s a few million? How many court cases have been petitioned? How many of these 3rd world travel companies just disappear without paying an ACMI what it was owed leaving Americans without jobs?

It’s an honorable thing you do - sticking up for your employer-just don’t drink the juice. You aren’t doing anything that hasn’t been done before.

What a thread - a gift that keeps on giving!

Lack of expeirence along with previously or working with a company that spoon feeds you everything you need, does not make you a 121 Sup pilot or know what he or she has to do to get the job done.
Interesting statement as previous experience is usually a hiring requirement(also in this case, an ATP). Not to mention in this thread a check airman has previously stated that a group of pilots he refers to as ‘go-jet guys’ are the sharpest of the bunch, so just an FYI.

Most 121 Sup Ops still requires true aviators.
All the “true aviators” are dead or retired. We are flying passengers not 1900’s air mail.

Regionals make it way to easy for the restricted ATP pilots and they should because of lack of knwledge and expierence.
Regionals don’t make anything easy. They will hire anyone that meets minimums because the training programs are intense. If you can make it through the ground portion and IOE you are worthy of being a 121 pilot.

If you want a challenge on how very well seasoned older airline pilots got the job done and still do as aviators than 121 Sup OPS is your thing. If you do stick with it and learn, it will just make you a much better pilot and give you a better understanding of a scheduled ops deals with that a 121 sch pilot has no idea of.
You need to provide an example of things a 121 sup PIC can do that a regular 121 pilot cannot-otherwise you are just blowing smoke.

If not stay at the regionals be your self intitled pilot who has no idea of what the real world of flying used to be or still is to a degree. Regional pilots just show up they dont manage its done for them.
Flying used to be dangerous, remember? Cowboys die. You seem to imply that SOP doesn’t work or is a barrier to safe efficient operations. Regional pilots show up and get the job done to a standard that has been set (usually by major airline). To express the idea that the PIC of a regional jet has no thought or care when it comes to going flying is absurd.

You come across as a grumpy old pilot who still believes steam gauges trump electronics and that paper got a bad deal with the advent of tablets. You the chief pilot or DO of this operation jeffe?
TikkleMe is offline  
Old 07-15-2019, 08:55 AM
  #534  
Gets Weekends Off
 
mexipilot84's Avatar
 
Joined APC: Jul 2008
Position: Gear Handle supervisor
Posts: 1,035
Default

On a rare occasion we buy our own fuel for repos, most of the time you’re landing with a lot of extra fuel. The customers are already saving a lot of money, they buy their fuel from us at a heavily discounted price since we have contracted rates. Some places we buy so much fuel it’s almost half the price per gallon.

The cost savings for us is on a different level than the conventional airline.

I referred to the gojet guys because they were the biggest influx of regional pilots we had about 2 years ago. They come well trained with good experience from a regimented regional. They have succeeded well here and unfortunately a lot have moved on to greener pastures. On the other side it’s nice to see they have been able to move to something better. We have a mix of experiences here.
mexipilot84 is offline  
Old 07-20-2019, 09:58 AM
  #535  
New Hire
 
Joined APC: Jun 2017
Posts: 9
Default Check yourself before you wreck yourself.

Been reading this thread with interest as I have seen this scenario a few times before in my career. To those who would burn Swift Air down because they are sick of the BS, I'd like to make a friendly suggestion:

You can't put "I shut the ****ing place down by blowing the whistle" on your resume. It doesn't read well. Believe me. No reasonable employer would touch you after that. No matter how great the "pilot shortage".

I f*cked my own career after three of my friends/ co-workers died in a fiery C414 crash due to shoddy maintenance. I went to the FAA to spill the beans on that operator and never worked in that town again due to the vindictive D.O. and C.P. of that joint.

If you are an F.O. at Swift Air on the 737, now is the time to distinguish yourself with things that you CAN put on your resume. Make a difference somehow and take pride in that.

Believe me, unless you are planning on Swift being your last flying job in the USA, you might like to choose another tack. Aviation is a small community, and you have no idea who knows who and who is talking to whom.

I ignored that last bit at my own peril.

You might also consider that the company has hundreds of other employees who are just trying to put bread on the table for themselves and their families and it might seem a little -- ahem -- selfish -- to deprive them of their livelihoods because you are not satisfied with management?
IFlyDaPlane is offline  
Old 07-21-2019, 09:51 AM
  #536  
Gets Weekends Off
 
Joined APC: Dec 2017
Position: It has wings and I sit left.Sometimes.
Posts: 181
Default

Originally Posted by IFlyDaPlane View Post
Been reading this thread with interest as I have seen this scenario a few times before in my career. To those who would burn Swift Air down because they are sick of the BS, I'd like to make a friendly suggestion:

You can't put "I shut the ****ing place down by blowing the whistle" on your resume. It doesn't read well. Believe me. No reasonable employer would touch you after that. No matter how great the "pilot shortage".

I f*cked my own career after three of my friends/ co-workers died in a fiery C414 crash due to shoddy maintenance. I went to the FAA to spill the beans on that operator and never worked in that town again due to the vindictive D.O. and C.P. of that joint.

If you are an F.O. at Swift Air on the 737, now is the time to distinguish yourself with things that you CAN put on your resume. Make a difference somehow and take pride in that.

Believe me, unless you are planning on Swift being your last flying job in the USA, you might like to choose another tack. Aviation is a small community, and you have no idea who knows who and who is talking to whom.

I ignored that last bit at my own peril.

You might also consider that the company has hundreds of other employees who are just trying to put bread on the table for themselves and their families and it might seem a little -- ahem -- selfish -- to deprive them of their livelihoods because you are not satisfied with management?
The feds are all over them all on their own. You don't want your end employment date to be the date they shut down. Hiring depts WILL see that.
FmrPropCapt is offline  
Old 07-21-2019, 11:08 AM
  #537  
Gets Weekends Off
 
captjns's Avatar
 
Joined APC: Feb 2006
Position: B-737NG preferably in first class with a glass of champagne and caviar
Posts: 5,886
Default

Originally Posted by FmrPropCapt View Post
The feds are all over them all on their own. You don't want your end employment date to be the date they shut down. Hiring depts WILL see that.
Negative... Now as far as for the 119 people... that may be an entirely different story.
captjns is offline  
Old 07-21-2019, 09:23 PM
  #538  
Gets Weekends Off
 
Joined APC: Dec 2017
Position: It has wings and I sit left.Sometimes.
Posts: 181
Default

Originally Posted by captjns View Post
Negative... Now as far as for the 119 people... that may be an entirely different story.
Yeah... they are. Might be behind scenes but they are. 117 violations specifically. Pilot pushing. Dumb for someone with a C in their title, not chief pilot, freak and scream and call the pilots every profanity in the book, while the other pilot is recording it, in a truly dangerous situation. But only the pilots and fas woulda dies so nmb...
FmrPropCapt is offline  
Old 07-21-2019, 09:58 PM
  #539  
Gets Weekends Off
 
Joined APC: Jun 2017
Position: B767
Posts: 372
Default

Originally Posted by captjns View Post
Negative... Now as far as for the 119 people... that may be an entirely different story.
What are the 119 people?
Hellafo is offline  
Old 07-22-2019, 08:04 AM
  #540  
Gets Weekends Off
 
Joined APC: Dec 2008
Position: B737 CA
Posts: 302
Default

Originally Posted by FmrPropCapt View Post
Yeah... they are. Might be behind scenes but they are. 117 violations specifically. Pilot pushing. Dumb for someone with a C in their title, not chief pilot, freak and scream and call the pilots every profanity in the book, while the other pilot is recording it, in a truly dangerous situation. But only the pilots and fas woulda dies so nmb...

Hope whomever recorded it, had the wherewithal to send said recording to someone with clout
Triggs is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
avi8tor220
Air Wisconsin
6751
05-07-2019 11:11 AM
lwaddle
Hiring News
24
04-15-2018 02:22 PM
jeff122670
Hangar Talk
9
05-01-2013 07:14 PM
Duksrule
Hangar Talk
4
11-09-2011 06:56 AM
FastDEW
Major
201
09-03-2011 06:42 AM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread
Your Privacy Choices