was there a secret sauce to getting the call or did you just have to be patient and play the waiting game?

The secret sauce is an internal recommendation, just like at most places. After that it's a crap shoot, just like at most places. If you know somebody here and you want to be here too you need to reach out ASAP. Just like anywhere else in this industry, seniority is gold.

Air Guitar I tried for years to get an interview with Kalitta Air with no joy. But as soon as I reached out to a friend, I got the call and a CJO. So, if you know anyone ask them for a referral.

Our “secret sauce” at the time was being at a regional that was on its way under and K4 needed an onslaught of bodies (ASA/XJT).

That time of desperation is quickly returning due to resignations from people moving on.

Pilot recruiters are out on the streets in MIA trying to find pilots. Why would they be doing that if they have 4000 apps on file?

Because 3950 of them aren’t are what K4 is looking for.

Back in the depths of COVID when no one knew what was going on, they turned down after an interview a buddy of mine with several thousand hours of TPIC, ALPA Safety Rep, etc.

7,500 TT and 2,500 in the left seat of a CRJ and I could never get a call. In the end with all the things happening at the AA WO's that's worked out well for me so I'm not taking it personally. ;)

Sooo. How many are we losing over this vaccine mandate?

with the “threat” of being put on unpaid leave right before Christmas, probably quite a few. They will then go get it, and magically appear back on the schedule after New Years.

Haha. Great way to enjoy time off during peak. Ersatz leaders never seem to grok the law of unintended consequences.

I'd personally be a lot more interested in how many K4 is loosing to Legacy's with all this hiring going on. At the regional many are wondering how they (the regionals) are gonna keep the lights on.

I must be losing my touch. I had not even thought of that. You are absolutely correct , though.

don’t forget the Southwest and American pilot & FA thing for those that will get the shot of getting the shot then requiring 2 days off afterwards. Do it just before holidays en mass and it’s the perfect storm. Cancellations galore

Is K4 still requiring being a U.S citizen to apply for the job? It seems strange when all other ACMI's carriers are accepting green cards

As per #8, yes.

QUALIFICATIONS:
1. FAA Multi-Engine Airline Transport Certificate or Restricted Multi-Engine Airline Pilot Certificate
2. 4000+ hours of total time minimum.
- If Military: >1000 hrs. Total Time. Turbine and PIC are flexible.
3. 1500 turbine (Jet) flight time minimum
4. 500 PIC turbine (Jet) flight time minimum
5. Current FAA Class 1 Medical Certificate
6. FCC Radio License
7. No restrictions on International Travel
8. Current US Passport
9. Ability to pass a 10-year security background check and pre-employment Drug and Alcohol test

ATI requires US citizenship as well.

I think it has to do with their DOD contracts. I think FEDEX required that you have lived in the US for the past five years (not sure if they still require it).

Probably is a DOD thing but on what level I don't know cause other ACMIs do DOD and don't require citizenship to work for them. I would say it's a CRAF thing but I believe Atlas is part of CRAF and don't require citizenship. So I really don't know

There are a lot of rules at Kalitta, written or unwritten, that on the surface seem to have no rhyme or reason. After being around long enough you come to find out that most of them are there because of an incident from the past. I'm going to bet that there was a problem at one time either caused by or exasperated by a pilot not being a US citizen. Then, the guy whose name is painted on the side of the planes in 3 foot tall letters decided that he would no longer employ non- Americans. It is most likely as simple as that. There was an advertisement campaign for Pirelli tires in the eighties. It asked why every Ferrari that left the factory in Maranello had Pirelli tires? There was a picture of Enzo Ferrari sitting in a chair and the line "Because Enzo says so" in bold print. Similar concept here.

Lol, that makes a lot of sense.

true dat….case in point:

uniforms must be worn below 10000 feet
no sleeping naked in the bunk
no posting pictures of yourself sitting on top of a missile you are carrying on facebook

Connie may not like paying more for a dispatcher than a flight follower but the difference cannot be greater than flying the Supplemental vs. Flag/Domestic fuel difference. Plus Flag/Domestic puts the onus on dispatch or the DO when things go south. Supplemental sticks it to the Captain. Maybe that is why he doesn't want Flag/Domestic

In scheduled operations the Dispatcher has full responsibility, it wouldn’t flow up to the DO. The rule for Supplemental ops say
“The pilot in command and the director of operations are jointly responsible for the initiation, continuation, diversion, and termination of a flight in compliance with this chapter and the operations specifications. The director of operations may delegate the functions for the initiation, continuation, diversion, and termination of a flight but he may not delegate the responsibility for those functions.”

So in the non-sked world, if there’s a problem you can’t work out with the Flight Follower, call the DO.

Regarding the above, I always look at that as a plus. Our crew was responsible for making the decisions and we could call (most times) and get assistance.

The issue for me was that the Flight Followers are not accountable. As a Captain, you are responsible for every line on that 50-60 page flight plan. On a good day you would get a Co-pilot who would catch an obscure NOTAM or was aware of a border issue he or she had just learned about that day.

Bottom line is it works great 99.9% of the time. I will say that I was much, much more aware of how all the things in the background worked which gave me the tools to know who and what to ask.

Working around the FAA inspectors and POI before retirement, there were 3 themes that they were very adamant about.
1) If FF ever becomes an issue, They will have to convert to Dispatchers
2) As K4 expands they will have to employ more, and competent managers. That is being done with BR, HN, CE moving up and fleet managers.
3) If any pilot or employee is ever disciplined for calling a crew off of a flight due to legitimate fatigue there will be hell to pay. That theme goes way back to the Guantanamo Bay crash.

BTW. There is an episode on Smithsonian Channel Airline disasters about the crash and fatigue. They had beat that crew like a rented mule.

Lol tell PS that. He blows his top every single time a pilot calls in fatigued

Next time it happens, and it is a legit call in your opinion, call Todd and watch what happens. I think you will like the results.

Incorrect. In 121 ops BOTH the Dispatcher AND PIC have 50/50 joint operational control and responsibility. Its not all on the dispatchers lap, both them and the crews have skin in the game.

Kalitta doesn’t have dispatchers.

I was referring to how the poster I quoted was incorrect of his interpretation of 121 dispatchers. Obviously Kalitta doesn’t have dispatchers they have flight followers. But according to another poster the FAA would have no problem forcing Kalitta to convert to having dispatchers if it became a concern.

You need to add a lot more detail to this post. There are tons of "121 ops" where PIC has no operational control.

subpart G air carriers and operators for compensation or hire
§ 121.533 Responsibility for operational control: Domestic operations.(a) Each certificate holder conducting domestic operations is responsible for operational control.

(b) The pilot in command and the aircraft dispatcher are jointly responsible for the preflight planning, delay, and dispatch release of a flight in compliance with this chapter and operations specifications.

The PIC and DO share the responsibility in supplemental ops.
Flight followers have none.

Your quoting of 121.533 is not appropriate. You need to read 121.537, which applies to Supplemental operations. When you read .537 you’ll realize that the references to “Dispatchers” generally change to “Director of operations”, with the caveat that the DO may delegate the functions of operational control to flight followers, but not the responsibility.

You made a minor mistake. It’s ok, we’ve all done it, but please stop doubling down on your use of the incorrect rule.

Why is this even a discussion? If you worked here you would know the answer is in GOM chapter 5. It’s also on the very first page of the OKE question bank.

Please don’t make the sim instructors ask stupid command and control questions at recurrent because you want to quote random FARs.

How many were dismissed yesterday
 

How many employees and pilots got their pink slips? Kind of crazy when a successful company shoots themselves in the foot at the beginning of CNet.

Will those employees who are unionized have any chance of job and seniority recovery now that the mandate was suspended?

Who knows max... there is no official word on any of this ...however.... word is 20-38 pilots.....

I know you know PS. This isn't surprising at all. PS would never give an inch to a pilot. It's too bad we didn't make that more clear with the TA vote a year ago.

It’s too bad someone didn’t try to warn everyone last year… oh wait. I did.

Now, Sun Country has 737 rates that beat our 767 rates and their 767 rates beat everything else, plus 15% DC. Everyone was so proud of this contract, a lot changes in a few months. I kept telling you guys to slow down and wait.

And the second thing I predicted, is in a year, you can’t find anyone who voted “yes”.

Just one outside opinion looking in, but amendable dates don't mean a thing when market conditions are shifting this fast and pilot supply is what it is. I can see the logic in both arguments, either voting something down and letting the company come up with another offer, or setting a floor for your next bargaining position while pattern bargaining does its thing.

All that said, no union should be letting their companies contribute a single dime to compensation of any form outside what's in a CBA, because the moment things go sideways is the moment all that goes away. We learned that the hard here at my shop. They want to pay extra, let them come and negotiate and put it in writing.