chase

B727,

Do I owe you money or something? Only people I owe money too speak that nicely about me.....thanks for the kind words. I am enjoying it immensely.

Wish I could provide you the pay scale...I've seen it but couldn't find it on my computer...there maybe some other XO folks or VJ folks on here who can provide that info.

Sorry I couldn't help

tanker

Chase
I'm wondering how XOJET is dealing with the ICAO restriction on pilots age 65 or older being Part 135 Captains. At PlaneSense any Captain age 65 or older can do 91K flights anywhere but can only do 135 in the US, Canada, or the Bahamas (since all 3 override the ICAO restriction). I've heard of some 135 companies that don't allow any pilot age 65 or older to be Captains, so what is the policy at XOJET

Saafer

It is rather low for a Global position.

FO's start at 85K a year and Captains at 135K a year.

It increases (not by huge amounts) as your time in the aircraft increases (and also as longevity at the company increases).

chase

The news is slowly getting out but those applying for Global positions on the XO ticket (1 soon and several more by the end of the year)must be 55 or younger.Not sure if that applies to all mew hires or just PIC direct hire. I think they have hired all the direct hire CAs they needed from pool of previous VJ pilots. That part is not clear to me but i know they have adjusted the age issue to address those concerns.

That was a recent decision probably deemed necessary as per ICAO age rules for pilots flying under ICAO (non US/Canadian flight rules)

Front Office

How it is working out flying JetSmarter pax?
What is the quality of Health insurance?
Are you switching to per-diem vs reimbursed meal expenses?

Thanks

Savages

Greetings everyone. I just went through the initial phone screen on Tuesday and this wasn't discussed during the phone call, but what exactly are "flexible home-basing" options?

Are new hires expected to move ("Flexible home basing—no commute"), or can they can reside wherever they want as long as they have access to a major airport (i.e. Denver) and can get to wherever they need to be to start their work?

Cheers

MaCrOs

There's no commuting. As long as you live by major airport they positive space you, i.e. buy you a ticket to get you in position.

Savages1

Sweet, thanks!

Peabody17

For those considering XOJET or XO Crew Resources (Vista Jet), here is my experience so far:

Wednesday, Sep 4 - Application Day (“A”-Day). I live in Jacksonville (FL), and Hurricane Dorian was making its closest approach. The office was closed so I took the opportunity to apply. Got an immediate automated response that my application had been received.

Thursday, Sep 26 (A + 22) – Received an email in the a.m. from the Lead Pilot Recruiter offering me the opportunity to begin the process with a phone interview. They provided four “windows” of availability over the next five days; each window was from 3-6 hours wide. I replied accepting each window in date order. They scheduled me for a phone screen at 4:00 the same afternoon. MM, a CL-300 Line Captain texted and asked if I was available about 30 minutes early (I was). The interview lasted about 45 minutes…mostly because of all the questions I asked. It was very relaxed, and he answered everything. He asked me about my background and experience. He then had to cover about a dozen “HR” type questions (Any accidents? Any incidents? When is the earliest you’re available? Etc.), and about 5-10 technical questions (see the list on aviationinterviews.com). He went into great detail about how the rest of the process, including Indoc, initial training, and Operating Experience would flow. Finally, he closed by letting me know that I should hear something one way or the other within 2 weeks.

Saturday, Sep 28 (A + 24) – I have been tracking XOJET flights around the country. This morning I saw one inbound to JAX and put aside honey-do’s long enough to meet the flight. Both crewmembers were amazingly generous with their time and knowledge. After having talked with him via IM and text several times, to my surprise I found was onboard, and the Captain was on the recruiting team! We chatted for about 40 minutes, and I was extremely impressed with both pilots and with what they shared about the company. They both said they would let the head recruiter know that we talked.

Tuesday, Oct 1 (A + 27) – Just less than 4 weeks after applying, I received a telephone invitation to interview with XOJET in California. They offered four dates over the next 4 weeks. I selected one of the earlier dates 2 weeks away.

Tuesday, Oct 8 (A + 34) – Received an email with interview confirmation and PRIA forms to complete. The email also included a benefits brochure covering several types of insurance (health, life, loss of license, etc.) and many other benefits too numerous to list.

Saturday, Oct 12 (A + 38) – Received an email with my travel arrangements for the interview. XOJET pays for the airline to/from California, the hotel (a brand new Hilton Garden Inn for my stay), and car service from the hotel to the interview and back. They also provide expense forms if you incur an expense for travel to/from the Sacramento Airport. For travel, they try to only keep you one night and return you home after the interview concludes. Since I was returning to Florida, they scheduled me for a return early the following morning to avoid overnight travel.

Wednesday, Oct 16 (A + 42) – The Interview: Exactly 6 weeks to the day after I applied, I interviewed with XOJET at their (current) headquarters in Sacramento, CA. Technically, it is at McClellan Park, the site of the former McClellan Air Force Base, closed by the federal government in 2003. NOTE: XOJET is in the process of moving operations to Fort Lauderdale, FL. They expect this process to be complete no later than April 2020.

The Candidates: There were seven of us that interviewed together on this day. Our backgrounds and experience were a snapshot of the entire aviation industry. One was a current CFI at a flight school in Florida, while another was a retired American Airlines Captain from New York. There were a couple of regional airline FOs, a Chief Pilot from an EMS operator in Texas, and a pilot who flew mostly overseas until recently hiring on with another national 135 operator. Some were former military, one was a Southwest Airlines Flight Attendant, and two were current or former FAA’ers. I was very impressed with the depth and breadth of experience, and the fact that there is no “cookie cutter” candidate. I should add that about ½ of the candidates were interviewing for XO-Crew Resources (for the Vista Jet operation), while the others were interviewing for XOJET.

The Tour: The morning starts with greetings by the HR/Recruiting staff and a tour of the facilities. It was quite obvious from the beginning that XOJET is in transition, with many of their folks tied up with the move to Florida. In fact, HR is pulling triple duty right now: Continuing to hire for normal attrition; hiring for positions in Florida; and, hiring temporary backfills in California for those who won’t be moving to FL and have already left for other opportunities in CA. As you might expect, this has put a tremendous strain on resources, so please be patient. The facilities are still very impressive. They have dedicated resources for maintenance control, international operations, passenger service requirements, etc. They also have a fully developed safety program with many large air carrier type programs, including LOSA (Line Operations Safety Assessment). XOJET went out of their way to be transparent…answering every question asked, even if they could only give their best guess based on facts known at the moment.

COG Screen: Not much to say about this. It is what it is, and there’s no preparing for it. It’s a computerized assessment of reading, math, memory, attention span and most of all following instructions. Personally, I think it’s a Pilot Ego Deflation Device meant to ensure that you know you’re actually human and not God’s gift to the world! Some candidates did the COG test before lunch, and interviews after lunch, while others were reversed. It takes a couple of hours, and I’m glad I got it out of the way early. However, everyone promised us it is not a pass/fail event…it is only used as a discriminator when absolutely necessary. I’ve never heard of anyone who said, “I did great on everything except the COG screen”.

HR Interview: This panel consisted of one HR representative and the head of pilot recruiting. It started with a generic “tell us about your background” and proceeded into typical customer service type questions. Aviationinterviews.com has great examples. I found the interview to be less “scripted” than I expected, and more relaxed and tailored to each individual. For example, I mentioned the term “team” during one of my answers, so they followed up with a question about being a part of a team. Although I’m a typical Type-A personality, I found that I was the only one putting any pressure on me. The panel was very relaxed, approachable, and made it a very enjoyable experience.

Technical Interview: This panel consisted of three line pilots, two of them flying the Vista Jet Global 5000, and one flying an XOJET Citation X. It also started with a generic “tell us about your background” and ended with mandatory questions like “any accidents, incidents, or training failures?” In between, we (the seven candidates) found that the technical questions were highly tailored to each individual’s experience and background. For example, the current CFI was asked to brief an approach as you would in a crew environment, but those who had extensive 121 experience were not (I presume the panel assumed this skill already). The candidate with extensive international experience was asked about recent changes to the North Atlantic Track procedures, while a couple of us were asked about FICON NOTAMs. Again, aviationinterviews.com gives a great overview of the types of questions that might be covered; however, be nimble and don’t worry too much if you get something wrong. It’s more about seeing your reaction than it is a pass/fail interview (unless you don’t know anything at all…dooohhhhh). Overall, I found the panel to be very easy to talk to, and would gladly have a beer with any of them.

When everything was concluded, they promised that we would hear something within the next week to 10 days. I understand XOJET actually calls all candidates (no generic TBNT emails, letters, etc.), whether they are offered a position or not. This is consistent with their overarching respect for their workforce. I was impressed with their effort to make the interview process entirely positive, and I believe this embodies their daily operations as well. For now, I’m waiting for my call…

GeeWizDriver

Unless there is a show-stopper in your background (which I doubt), the initiative you showed in meeting a flight and introducing yourself to the crew along with the meticulous nature of your process notes tells me you're in like the proverbial Flynn. It's time to start thinking about your resignation letter from your current gig....

Good luck.