Latest company communication said we will be jepp/ flight case free and solely using lidos as of 3/1

 

If I am understanding this correctly...320-360 upgrades to a group that currently sits at what, roughly 300 CA's? If expecting 150 to flow, that means the rest must be thought to be gone through attrition. Of course unless the seniority list is going to end up beyond 800. Also, like you mentioned, also means hiring the same amount of FO's. If this holds true it will be an extremely busy year in the training department.

 

The Lido's aren't too bad, just take some getting used to.

The way departures are presented is a bit of a pain, with multiple departures depicted on the same chart, plus a separate text description, but they're doable.

I miss the briefing strip on approach plates, but again, it's just a matter of getting used to 'em.

I agree that there's some information that could be omitted to reduce clutter, but you sort of filter it all out pretty quickly. There's some information that's missing (taxi spots in SEA, ramp frequencies, that sort of stuff) from the regular airport diagrams but is presented elsewhere so it's all part of the learning curve.

All that being said, I haven't flown a trip using the Lido's as a primary source. No mounts for the iPad installed yet.

The Lido apps themselves have been nicely responsive and stable and I've seen outstanding battery life, but again I haven't used the thing full bore yet.

 

Like everything else, it'll take a minute to get used to. Once you are used to it, you won't think twice about it.
I'll personally miss:
Carrying around a 35 pound black box everywhere.
Stowing that heavy case in the cockpit.
Picking up my charts after turbulence spills them around the flight deck.
Searching for that "missing 10-7 page"
Doing that revision that's 2 inches thick on my flight from LAX-MCI and not finishing.
Etc

 

No way we are going to have 800 pilots unless some other announcement is made for more airframes. My bet is with current aircraft there will be 620-650 pilots (I think we are near the 600 number now, so most hiring is for flow attrition).

 

The hiring plan on paper is 10 per week until September. Then it's mixed between 4-6 per week for remainder of the year. That would indicate that we aren't quite at hiring for just flow attrition yet(150).

 

If any new hires are on here looking for housing during training send me a PM. A friend put me in touch with a great spot I used during my time there just about 20 minutes from the training center and far cheaper then any of the local hotels.

 

Lido is Lufthansa. I understand Lufthansa uses Jepps while in the US. Lots of missing information on the lidos. They are a cost cutting measure. Not completely sure but I believe Fedex and Pinnacle both dumped lidos.

 

Not a lot of missing info. Just harder to find lots of info. The speed restrictions are not bold print and the textual departure procedures are on a separate page. It's just a lot more page flipping. Definitely a cost cutting measure and Pinnacle absolutely went back to Jepps at least 2 years ago. Not sure about fedex.

 

Yep. Make sure you check the chart NOTAMs too. I've seen a few instances where the crossing restriction depicted shows at or below, and the chart NOTAM says it should be at or above. And don't rely on the FMS to have the correct stuff in there either. Always verify.