Baradium

You don't know what the second day entails, do you?

I'll give you a hint, the SSP interview wasn't meant to be "easier." It's incredibly rare for someone who passes the first day to get booted on day two.

Mesabah

It was easier, it didn't contain the initial screening, nor could those things count against you, e.g. not having a degree. How many OTS get to fail out of college, and still get a CJO? However, these things count against you in the DGI.

web500sjc

You should tell that to our chief pilot and former MEC chair that it wasn’t supposed to be easier. He sold it to the pilots as a 20 minute handshake meet and greet.

Baradium

You discussion is all about getting the interview in the first place, not the interview itself. The point of it was to be easier to get the interview. The DGI still does that, but doesn't include some exemptions to be able to interview that the SSP had.

Avroman

He's also selling newhires that hats are required when while he was MEC chairman we negotiated to make hats optional... He was questioned about that SSP sales job during the BK roadshows and blew off the questions/concerns that it wasn't in writing the way he was selling it.... Karma, TW, Karma.

Baradium

I don't recall hearing him say that, but I can believe he would have. I once talked to him in DTW ops when he was making the rounds and he told one group of pilots one thing, and then within 5 minutes was telling another group something the complete opposite (as in contradictory) because that's what they would want to hear. When he was MEC chair I didn't trust a single word he said.

Someone who's been around long enough may recall he had told original 9E (Pinnacle) pilots during road shows the union would "fix" 9E pilots longevity dates not matching their hire dates at a later time, but to go ahead and vote in what was then the TA (this would be before bankruptcy) to get it done and trust them. Asked about that one and he responded that he'd never waste negotiating capital that would only benefit one premerger segment of the pilot group. He's a politician and he acts like one, that's all there is to it.

I'm perusing through old e-mails right now to see what I can find was said in those, but I can really believe that he'd have said something like that at least in a road show if not in writing. It's been over 5 years now.

Baradium

Here's a snippet from a union Q&A about the SSP, before interviews started:
-----------------------------------------------------
Q1
1.
What should I expect in the interview?
A1
1.
Pinnacle pilots who participate in the SSP in seniority order will be exempted from the pilot candidate initial screening process that applies to other Delta pilot candidates. The content and schedule of the SSP may change
, but the interview process is anticipated to contain the testing and panel interview elements of Delta’s current “Day 1” pilot selection process, a review of a Pinnacle pilot’s employment and training records and potentially certain elements of Delta’s current “Day 2” interview process.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

It doesn't really say much, but the testing and panel parts of the interview are the biggest parts. Again, I don't know if I've heard of someone not making it through day 2.

Honestly, it's really surreal reading these e-mails, as these updates are interspaced with talk of displacements, attrition, and rate of aircraft removal from service (with a few 900s arriving) and base closures.

It looks like shortly before the SSP interviews started, there is an entire memo devoted to discussing the program including topics to study and a massive list of books to read. That should have at least been a red flag for anyone going to interview that it was going to be a real interview.

theUpsideDown

Don't let facts get in the way of a good story.

Mesabah

That memo came out slightly after the process started, as pilots weren't filling out applications properly. The real issue was at the roadshows the union kept insisting it wasn't the full interview, and it was a streamline selection process. It should not have been called that, since without any details, pilots had no idea what to expect. The only model was the SSP at PSA, which was a handshake type deal. It wasn't till after the process started that the memos, and instructions started coming out.



That said, Delta is giving another chance to these first pilots who didn't have the foresight that later pilots did.

Avroman

They (probably correctly) figure most won't bother to try again anyway.