Frontier Questions
06-12-2006, 05:38 AM
#11
Line Holder
Joined APC: Jun 2005
Position: Military Instructor
Posts: 39
A friend and myself recently went and met with one of the chief pilots at Frontier. Not many of us AF types know someone at the company so we thought we would go check out the operation ourselves. Everything we saw and were told sems to point towards a bright future 
The only negative for us was...you need to have someone who works at the company use one of there "silver bullets" to get you an interview 
The only negative for us was...you need to have someone who works at the company use one of there "silver bullets" to get you an interview
06-16-2006, 03:31 PM
#13
New Hire
Joined APC: Jun 2006
Position: A318/319 FO
Posts: 1
happy to answer
Just finishing up groundschool here at F9 after 8+ years at Mesa.....this is a first class organization that treats their employees great. There are 12 of us in class. I would guess the average total time is in the 7000-9000 range, with the low time guy having about 4500 of corporate and check time. Feel free to pm me if you want any specific questions answered. As far as i know, Silver Bullet is really the only way to get a interview still....but that may change if the pool of silver bullet candidates drys up. Cheers!
06-17-2006, 02:52 PM
#14
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jun 2006
Position: EMB170 FO
Posts: 168
Originally Posted by climb2slow
Just finishing up groundschool here at F9 after 8+ years at Mesa.....this is a first class organization that treats their employees great. There are 12 of us in class. I would guess the average total time is in the 7000-9000 range, with the low time guy having about 4500 of corporate and check time. Feel free to pm me if you want any specific questions answered. As far as i know, Silver Bullet is really the only way to get a interview still....but that may change if the pool of silver bullet candidates drys up. Cheers!
06-17-2006, 03:21 PM
#15
Line Holder
Joined APC: Apr 2006
Position: Grounded...HS student
Posts: 77
Jetalc, have you heard anything, on the F9 side, about a possible alliance between Westjet and Frontier? I know a few pilots here are starting to mention some initial contact? Have you heard anything?
06-18-2006, 05:16 PM
#17
Pro Button Pusher
Joined APC: Mar 2005
Position: A320 Series CA
Posts: 181
F9 and Westjet
Well, that's a new one on me. Given the history there with SWA, I wouldn't doubt that F9 would possibly take a stab at supporting/complementing Westjet. However, I haven't heard anything - not even on our own little rumor mill. Sounds like you guys are doing well, and it sounds like it would sure be a cool combo.
Regarding the silver bullet (I know - it's a ripped-off term from Alaska...we really need to come up with something different), I believe it's better if the silver bullet has actually flown with the candidate, since the recommender has to fill out a form describing their experiences with the candidate - specifically regarding what type of pilot they are as well as what type of employee they are. Once the candidate is hired, it is expected that whoever recommended the candidate will mentor them. The best person to ask is Gary (F9Recruiter) - he is actually pulling the apps and selecting who comes on in for an interview.
And C175 - in these times, there have to be some limiting factors. Even the number of silver bullets out there would probably fill up all the ground schools for the next several years. There have been several people who have been hired without a silver bullet, but an internal recommendation is still valued very highly. There are thousands of qualified applicants, possibly yourself included, but there are only a limited number of ground school slots. How would you do it differently? It's not a matter of those with internal recommendations being "better pilots" - it's simply a matter of those who already work for the company seem to have a firm grasp on the type of person who would fit in, and their recommendations contribute to a comprehensive process developed to benefit both the employee and the company (whew, sorry about the long sentence). Valuing internal recommendations is not a slam toward those without a rec, simply a bonus for those with one. But what do I know...I'm just a line pilot...
Good luck to all who have applied and are interviewing!
Regarding the silver bullet (I know - it's a ripped-off term from Alaska...we really need to come up with something different), I believe it's better if the silver bullet has actually flown with the candidate, since the recommender has to fill out a form describing their experiences with the candidate - specifically regarding what type of pilot they are as well as what type of employee they are. Once the candidate is hired, it is expected that whoever recommended the candidate will mentor them. The best person to ask is Gary (F9Recruiter) - he is actually pulling the apps and selecting who comes on in for an interview.
And C175 - in these times, there have to be some limiting factors. Even the number of silver bullets out there would probably fill up all the ground schools for the next several years. There have been several people who have been hired without a silver bullet, but an internal recommendation is still valued very highly. There are thousands of qualified applicants, possibly yourself included, but there are only a limited number of ground school slots. How would you do it differently? It's not a matter of those with internal recommendations being "better pilots" - it's simply a matter of those who already work for the company seem to have a firm grasp on the type of person who would fit in, and their recommendations contribute to a comprehensive process developed to benefit both the employee and the company (whew, sorry about the long sentence). Valuing internal recommendations is not a slam toward those without a rec, simply a bonus for those with one. But what do I know...I'm just a line pilot...
Good luck to all who have applied and are interviewing!
06-18-2006, 05:59 PM
#18
Line Holder
Joined APC: Nov 2005
Position: King Air Captain
Posts: 41
Jetalc thanks for the info. I have a couple more questions that hopefully you ( or anyone else in the know) might be able to answer. Does Frontier have a pref bid system or a conventional line bidding system? Once lines are awarded do you have the ability to trip-trade, drop, or pick up from open time or with other crewmembers?
06-18-2006, 07:33 PM
#19
Pro Button Pusher
Joined APC: Mar 2005
Position: A320 Series CA
Posts: 181
IslandBoy -
The answer is yes. No, we don't have pref bidding, but in my opinion we have something better. Once the lines are awarded, you can drop trips like crazy, and then there is daily opentime where you can then add/drop/swap like a madman as well. Picking up monthly open time (immediately after the lines are awarded, and everybody drops what they don't want, there is a period where you can sift through what everybody has dropped and pick up what you want) is based mostly on seniority, but daily opentime is first come/first served. You can drop pretty much everything you don't want, and most often there is enough left in daily opentime to pick up other stuff you do want. Only a couple of stipulations - you can drop down to 50 hours during the course of the month, but you have to finish the month with at least 70 hours to avoid a powwow with the CP. You're encouraged to always take vacations, of course, but if you feel like makin' a few extra bucks (like I did last month - new house, Daddy's got bills) you can work over any part of your vacation (i.e., daily opentime) and easily pick up some cashola. Everything over 82 hours is paid at time and a quarter, and I was able to accrue 118 hours of credit, while still hanging on to my 15 days off. Plus, I still have vacation left for another part of the year. Scheduling is definitely one of the strong areas at F9, and my experience with the schedulers is that they have always been tremendously professional and courteous.
Hope that helps.
The answer is yes. No, we don't have pref bidding, but in my opinion we have something better. Once the lines are awarded, you can drop trips like crazy, and then there is daily opentime where you can then add/drop/swap like a madman as well. Picking up monthly open time (immediately after the lines are awarded, and everybody drops what they don't want, there is a period where you can sift through what everybody has dropped and pick up what you want) is based mostly on seniority, but daily opentime is first come/first served. You can drop pretty much everything you don't want, and most often there is enough left in daily opentime to pick up other stuff you do want. Only a couple of stipulations - you can drop down to 50 hours during the course of the month, but you have to finish the month with at least 70 hours to avoid a powwow with the CP. You're encouraged to always take vacations, of course, but if you feel like makin' a few extra bucks (like I did last month - new house, Daddy's got bills) you can work over any part of your vacation (i.e., daily opentime) and easily pick up some cashola. Everything over 82 hours is paid at time and a quarter, and I was able to accrue 118 hours of credit, while still hanging on to my 15 days off. Plus, I still have vacation left for another part of the year. Scheduling is definitely one of the strong areas at F9, and my experience with the schedulers is that they have always been tremendously professional and courteous.
Hope that helps.
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