Wow, what a slap in every pilot's face! Who are the people who come up this crap? I mean, how can a bankrupt airline request credit checks on the very same employees it had furloughed just a few years earlier because of poor management decisions!? Absolutely amazing! Kudos to the pilots for standing together on this!

 

If it was the most recent furloughees, it was NOT the same company. America West is running that show, using the USA brand name and paint scheme (AW has a stellar financial record for an airline...only ONE bankruptcy, and none recently). I agree about legacy airways asking for a credit check though...

 

I see what you're saying and it makes sense. However, I believe that NO airline that has filed chapter 11 in it's past (I think America West is in that category, correct?) should ever check the credit worthiness of it's employees. I’ll call it “lack of credibility clause.”

 

The HR dept is in a world of their own. As many are.

 

as someone with a bankruptcy in my past, I have asked many HR department managers about what they look for in a credit report. The majority use your consumer report to verify past addresses, criminal fraud, and any possible wage garnishment issues that the company may have to be a part of. Most background check companies do not see your credit score at all (since it is basically a constantly changing number). Also, most companies see an abbreviated report that shows your address history, public records(bankruptcy), and just the number of accounts in good/bad standing.

Some however get the full blown report and anything in your past can be looked at. I wouldnt be worried unless you have a criminal fraud conviction in your past. Our HR people have told me that they dont hold bankruptcies against potential employees especially pilots since the rate of job loss in the past has risen. Hey just think about the stack of resumes that UA/DL/CO/NW/US etc. have in their files now. I think that this "reponsibility" thing does both ways, they want responsible pilots and we want a responsible employer. If credit was a determining factor in this there would be no airline industry.

 

Roll inverted said it best and I'll re-iterate it. Taking loans and other financial help to succeed in life is not irresponsible - it's actually something that companies look at in a positive light. That shows them you want to better yourself and move up in life. NOT PAYING for those loans down the road is an entire different story.

And remember, you choose to make the 20 $ an hour flying an RJ/flight instructing. I'm not saying anything is wrong with that but realize no one forced you to earn those wages. There are other ways at building flight time and earning quite a bit more than that or focusing on other professions altogether that have higher starting salaries in the professional world.

 

SAAB:

I don't think that an applicant will have a problem faced with the many financial hurdles that many of us experienced during our CFI/Regional etc time of sacrifice. Someone who blatantly refuses to repay debt without justification is another question. In putting myself through college, G.I. Bill was $300/ month then, and 2.5 years of flight-instructing made it hard and took it's toll on my credit rating. After securing a job and 2 major airline jobs in the past ten years has alleviated that problem. I'm in the position of interviewing ANG pilot candidates now and that reinforces that whole BS assessment. The guys with stellar credit, no work history and DUI's that Daddy took care of look the best at time of interview, but give it 3-5 years and the cream rises to the top. The guys with the connections and privileges are pretty much worthless or absent by the end of their commitments.....if they last that long. I can think of one example that we all know, but that's another debate. In short, make the effort to handle your responsibilities and you, or any other applicant, shouldn't have a problem. I'm first-generation college out of Newark, so it can be done. Although you'll spend the rest of your career with a lot of spoiled, selfish, anti-labor, "Daddy's little co-pilot types". God bless them.