Day In The Life(Ramper)
05-20-2006, 09:33 AM
#1
On Reserve
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Jun 2005
Posts: 24
Day In The Life(Ramper)
Anyone here before they got situated with an airline, start at a lower level position such as GSA(ramp) etc? I'm sure some of you have. In any case can someone give me some insight as to what to expect @ SWA. I just got selected to goto the training in Dallas for the SEA station ramp and besides downloading a few grand of cargo and what not. Benefit wise...am I better off moving to SWA right now than any other carrier. Like pass benefit wise, 401k, etc. What's it like?
05-20-2006, 11:47 AM
#2
Guest
Posts: n/a
I worked @ isp for three years. Be redy to work 12 hr days and be outside for every flight and working 6 days a week sometimes 14 days in a row b4 getting a day off. Its a good place to work but i left to work for American Eagle f/o on the ERJ out of LGA Good luck bro
05-21-2006, 12:33 AM
#3
Line Holder
Joined APC: Apr 2006
Position: Grounded...HS student
Posts: 77
Ahh...finally something I have some useful insight on!
I work for Horizon in Victoria (YYJ), just a few miles north of your position. Its about a 35min flight from SEA. We also do Westjet's 737s and Harmony Airways 757s as well. I'm part of the Turn-Around crew, or TAC team. (Considered a TAC Agent or GSA) Some of the bigger contract companies like Global Ground or ASIG might do things differently, but we divide duties up between us. At a bigger airport, like SEA, you'll most likely work a few gates. ie) B6 thru 12. Thats how I saw Alaska do it when I went to Sea-Tac for my training.
We've got the TAC team which works outside doing the actual turns. The bagroom guys, two types, outbound and inbound. Outie's get your bags from check-in and make sure they get on the right cart and deliver them to us to on-load. The inbound guys pick up the offloaded bags from us and then sort the bags, connections (hot and cold) go to their specified gates and locals go to the carosel for the pax to pick up. We get audited a lot and have to get the bags to the carosel in either the time the 1st passenger gets from the aircraft to the bag carosel or 6min, whichever is less. As well as all of the deicers, caterers, fuelers and the lav guy!
Now I'll describe a typical day.
I get to the airport, the first thing I check is the flight board, and more specifically the ETA of my 1st flight. Its a good habit to get into, even though the flights are scheduled, I still check it because Im only a Junior in HS and only work part time while going to school and things can change by the day, sometimes they add an extra flight, or tweak a time. I work for Horizon, so therefore my focus and priority is on my QX flights. Some agents at my company work for Westjet and they make their flights a priority.
I need to coordinate which gate they are using, so I'll usually get on the phone to OCC and make sure we're all set up.
Horizon flies DHC-8s to Victoria, both the Q200 and Q400. After getting my Tim Horton's coffee (Im sure you've heard of them by now!
) I head out to the gate "area." I say gate area because it's only a dash 8, so we only use the ramp, it's not an actual "gate" with a jetway etc. Same as Seattle. I set up the GPU and "a la carte" cart. I usually wait inside the terminal (when its cold). Once I see we're on the ground, I radio arrivals and report the flight is on the ground. My team and I ususally have a pre-game of sorts. We discuss what everone is doing, usually with the Dash 8s, its only 3 or 4 of us, and we work together all the time, so everyone's job is usually expected but if it was a WJA 737 like SWA or a HMY 757 we'd have to discuss things a bit more in depth. Once the aircraft enters the apron, I'll flag him down and bring him in. I'll straighten the prop and teather it down if its windy, then help the FA bring the stairs down and set a foot stool on the last step. A gate agent then hands me a Aircraft Load Worksheet or ALW. I'm a Load Coordinator, so its my job to make sure we're not overweight and we're balanced. We unload, handoff the offloads to the bag guys, then take the inbounds to load. We use a TIC sheet system to easily indentify important info such as STBYs, Heavy bags, battery powered items etc. I load the plane as even as I can, fill out the ALW and pass it back to the gate agent to give to the captain. He checks it then enters the weight into the FMS and his JAWS PDA then hands it back to the gate agent, who helps close the doors and give the ALW back to me. I use the interphone and verify the loads by calling them back to the flight deck. Once thats done, I give the ALW back to the gate agent and she sends them off to OCC in PDX and the FAA. We them marshal them out again and head to the next aircraft.
Thats it, thats a turn.
For a 737 or 757, its a little different and since thats what you'll be working on, I'll try to explain that too.
We marshal the a/c in, chock it, plug the GPU in, plug the PCA in (if needed), put the cones around it, the lead agent (or at least one agent) does a walk around to make sure everything is closed (Lav compartments, Potable water etc. Make sure control surfaces are clear...check for blue ice, engine blades, etc.), the jetway is pulled up to the plane (sometimes we do this, but it's usually a gate agent). We pull the belt loaders up and start unloading. Sometimes we may need an airstart unit. The inbound bag guys collect the offloads and the outbound bag guys bring us the onloads. We load em, do a quick look for FOD and then take away everything. The jetway gets taken away and then we push back.
Its pretty simple and its a really fun job (first and only job for me...so far)
I recommend it as a entry level aviation job. You really get to experience the airport atmosphere and you get to talk to lots of cool people. I especially like the stories the pilots tell during long turns. It helps me understand what the job (pilot) is all about and I try to make connections with people that could help me down the road. 99.9% of the pilots are very friendly and will answer any questions that I have. Sometimes I like to get advice on how to start, so I'll ask them how the airline is treating them. Just dont ask these questions after a crew change...they probably want to just leave the airport and get some sleep!!
As far as benefits, I can fly anywhere QX flies for $27 CAD to cross the border, then its free anywhere in the US, regardless of the number of legs.
For WS, its $89 for short flights (they have list of destinations) $140 for med. flights (another list) and long flights $180 (again, another list...these include Hawaii YVR-HNL and all their good destinations LOL)
Good luck at SWA,
flystraightin
I work for Horizon in Victoria (YYJ), just a few miles north of your position. Its about a 35min flight from SEA. We also do Westjet's 737s and Harmony Airways 757s as well. I'm part of the Turn-Around crew, or TAC team. (Considered a TAC Agent or GSA) Some of the bigger contract companies like Global Ground or ASIG might do things differently, but we divide duties up between us. At a bigger airport, like SEA, you'll most likely work a few gates. ie) B6 thru 12. Thats how I saw Alaska do it when I went to Sea-Tac for my training.
We've got the TAC team which works outside doing the actual turns. The bagroom guys, two types, outbound and inbound. Outie's get your bags from check-in and make sure they get on the right cart and deliver them to us to on-load. The inbound guys pick up the offloaded bags from us and then sort the bags, connections (hot and cold) go to their specified gates and locals go to the carosel for the pax to pick up. We get audited a lot and have to get the bags to the carosel in either the time the 1st passenger gets from the aircraft to the bag carosel or 6min, whichever is less. As well as all of the deicers, caterers, fuelers and the lav guy!
Now I'll describe a typical day.
I get to the airport, the first thing I check is the flight board, and more specifically the ETA of my 1st flight. Its a good habit to get into, even though the flights are scheduled, I still check it because Im only a Junior in HS and only work part time while going to school and things can change by the day, sometimes they add an extra flight, or tweak a time. I work for Horizon, so therefore my focus and priority is on my QX flights. Some agents at my company work for Westjet and they make their flights a priority.
I need to coordinate which gate they are using, so I'll usually get on the phone to OCC and make sure we're all set up.Horizon flies DHC-8s to Victoria, both the Q200 and Q400. After getting my Tim Horton's coffee (Im sure you've heard of them by now!
) I head out to the gate "area." I say gate area because it's only a dash 8, so we only use the ramp, it's not an actual "gate" with a jetway etc. Same as Seattle. I set up the GPU and "a la carte" cart. I usually wait inside the terminal (when its cold). Once I see we're on the ground, I radio arrivals and report the flight is on the ground. My team and I ususally have a pre-game of sorts. We discuss what everone is doing, usually with the Dash 8s, its only 3 or 4 of us, and we work together all the time, so everyone's job is usually expected but if it was a WJA 737 like SWA or a HMY 757 we'd have to discuss things a bit more in depth. Once the aircraft enters the apron, I'll flag him down and bring him in. I'll straighten the prop and teather it down if its windy, then help the FA bring the stairs down and set a foot stool on the last step. A gate agent then hands me a Aircraft Load Worksheet or ALW. I'm a Load Coordinator, so its my job to make sure we're not overweight and we're balanced. We unload, handoff the offloads to the bag guys, then take the inbounds to load. We use a TIC sheet system to easily indentify important info such as STBYs, Heavy bags, battery powered items etc. I load the plane as even as I can, fill out the ALW and pass it back to the gate agent to give to the captain. He checks it then enters the weight into the FMS and his JAWS PDA then hands it back to the gate agent, who helps close the doors and give the ALW back to me. I use the interphone and verify the loads by calling them back to the flight deck. Once thats done, I give the ALW back to the gate agent and she sends them off to OCC in PDX and the FAA. We them marshal them out again and head to the next aircraft. Thats it, thats a turn.
For a 737 or 757, its a little different and since thats what you'll be working on, I'll try to explain that too.
We marshal the a/c in, chock it, plug the GPU in, plug the PCA in (if needed), put the cones around it, the lead agent (or at least one agent) does a walk around to make sure everything is closed (Lav compartments, Potable water etc. Make sure control surfaces are clear...check for blue ice, engine blades, etc.), the jetway is pulled up to the plane (sometimes we do this, but it's usually a gate agent). We pull the belt loaders up and start unloading. Sometimes we may need an airstart unit. The inbound bag guys collect the offloads and the outbound bag guys bring us the onloads. We load em, do a quick look for FOD and then take away everything. The jetway gets taken away and then we push back.
Its pretty simple and its a really fun job (first and only job for me...so far)
I recommend it as a entry level aviation job. You really get to experience the airport atmosphere and you get to talk to lots of cool people. I especially like the stories the pilots tell during long turns. It helps me understand what the job (pilot) is all about and I try to make connections with people that could help me down the road. 99.9% of the pilots are very friendly and will answer any questions that I have. Sometimes I like to get advice on how to start, so I'll ask them how the airline is treating them. Just dont ask these questions after a crew change...they probably want to just leave the airport and get some sleep!!
As far as benefits, I can fly anywhere QX flies for $27 CAD to cross the border, then its free anywhere in the US, regardless of the number of legs.
For WS, its $89 for short flights (they have list of destinations) $140 for med. flights (another list) and long flights $180 (again, another list...these include Hawaii YVR-HNL and all their good destinations LOL)
Good luck at SWA,
flystraightin
Last edited by flystraightin; 05-21-2006 at 12:39 AM.
05-21-2006, 10:08 AM
#7
Line Holder
Joined APC: Apr 2006
Position: Grounded...HS student
Posts: 77
Originally Posted by ASpilot2be
Hey Flystraightin, how did you get that job if you are a junior in HS? Dont you need a diploma?
Actually Im the youngest ever (in Victoria at least, started just after I turned 16). We've got a couple 19yrs, but bost guys are 22-25, in university or working towards their ticket.
05-21-2006, 04:01 PM
#8
On Reserve
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Jun 2005
Posts: 24
Yeah I've heard that after 6 months you can go pretty much anywhere you'd like at over there at SWA...But what about leisure travel...non-reving...Alot of interline agreements with other carriers or no? I know at QX we did....cause I know SWA really doesnt do alot of interline bag transfers etc. if that would have anything to do with it...
05-21-2006, 04:35 PM
#9
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jan 2006
Position: 737 Left
Posts: 202
Long time ago..
I started as a ramp rat for PEOPLExpress at EWR in the mid 80's. From there it was on to A&P school with some flying on the side. It was 6 days a week (usually) in all weather (PEX was very busy in those days) outside all day. Each team was assigned to a gate and you could reasonably expect 5-6 arrivals/departures a shift. To this day, it is still the best job I have ever had. Period. Have fun and keep your eyes and ears open. You can learn a bunch about airline ops in this job.
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