This is just me but for a non safety issue like this I think Pro Standards would be where I would take the answer after quoting company policy. For actual safety issues Chief Pilot on call would be appropriate. YMMV

 

A Navy guy in my interview group got this question and jokingly said that he would remove his hat to maintain section uniformity. He failed the panel interview even after he clarified he was only joking. Don't know if that was the reason but it was the only thing he could think of.

 

Keep in mind this is an "interview answer".... In real life I most likely wouldn't notice nor care if they didn't have their hat. Now if they filled out the crossword puzzle after borrowing a section of my newspaper that I took from somebody else's room in the hotel, well then it's on!!!

 

OK, that was spit-out-my-coffee worthy...!!


To the OP: I didn't get this exact question, but there are any number of questions that boil down to the same thing, namely, are you going to do something about it (YES!!), and where are you going to start (AT THE LOWEST LEVEL POSSIBLE). The latter invariably involves talking with the individual first. When that gets no results (as it won't, in this interview situation) is the hard part. It's easier when you're the "new guy" in the scenario--you can play the "Captin, I'm still new, please help me understand how to do it right" card, and when that gets no results, "I'd follow up with my mentor / friend / other captain I fly with / etc. for advice on how to proceed." When you're the senior guy it's a little harder, but the same general logic applies. They're not looking for you to solve Hatgate; they want to see your thought process on how to handle conflict. If your answer is, "I'd call Richard Anderson and let him know that FO Smith isn't wearing his hat!!," you're doing it wrong....

This sort of process was my biggest takeaway from interview prep--how to think your way through these, out loud, to come to as much of a resolution as the scenario will allow (generally, not much!) in a methodical, logical, best-for-everyone-including-the-company-line manner. If you haven't done prep, I strongly recommend it--I felt comfortable without being cocky on all the variety of questions they threw at me, not because I'd heard the exact question before (very few of those), but because I'd learned how to categorize questions into "types" and handle each "type" of question.

Good luck!

 

Yeah, they're serious about the hat. We got the brief in Indoc about wearing the hat. Interview-wise, I'd handle it like Buzz said, and politely point out that they need to put their hat on. Keep in mind, too, that prior to flying is NOT the time to get into a ****ing contest over wearing the hat. You don't want to create a hostile cockpit before even getting there. Talk about that in your answer. (It's like the "FO shows up with stains on his shirt, sloppy, etc" -- don't chew his ass, it's not going to solve anything for that flight. Talk to him at the end of the day.)

At the end of the day I'd offer to buy dinner/beers, and at that point bring up the hat issue. In that discussion, I'd talk about how great Delta is doing, how important the brand is, and Delta clearly believes that wearing the hat reinforces the brand. Show some historical knowledge by talking about how Delta started off as a simple spraying operation trying to eradicate the boll weevil, and that only Flag operators get to wear the hat. As such, Delta is a proud international carrier, and the hat helps signify that.

Be sure to lick your lips at the end to remove your Kool-Aid mustache.

 

Any information yet on the next class after 10 Nov? Will it be 1 Dec? Are calls going out yet? I'm getting a little anxious... lol

 

Now that's leadership.

 

Got the call for 2 December

 

 

Congrats! Great feeling, no? Right behind getting the CJO.


Did they mention how many will be in the class?