Direct MARUX

I was in the group that got the questionnaire on 4/14 and I just got the call a few days ago. They invited me to interview on either 6/29 or 7/6.

Any guesses on which class date they're working on filling now?

Petethedog

That's encouraging news! It has been radio silence for me since 4/24. I was starting to write off the possibility of an interview. Maybe there is still hope for us still waiting for an invite... good luck and thanks for sharing the news!

CDCLLC

Couple questions I am hoping current VX'ers can answer:
-How long is initial training? Any days off to go visit the family?
-Is training pay still $2,500/mo? I understand you are on your own for lodging. Are folks finding crash pads, pairing with other trainees at a local hotel, etc.? Seems like a pretty big expense for a 4-6 week period.
-Once assigned a base, how long before you can bid out? (I hear some new-hires are getting JFK).
-I haven't seen anything regarding health benefits...can anyone shed some light into what the monthly out of pocket costs are for a family?

Thanks!

waterboy

I went through several years ago, so my info may be outdated, but I'll give you my experience

Initial training is about 2 months. 2 weeks for Indoc, 2+ weeks for MFTD, and then just short of a month for sims. AFter training you get at least 5 consecutive days off before you are off to IOE. You get the first couple weekends off and you get your ID on day 1, day 2 at the latest, so you can jumpseat home. But once it comes to sim, I wouldnt recommend doing that.

Training is $2500 a month. No hotel, unless you get shipped out to Miami for sims. Then you will get per diem and a hotel. And you will also get a rental car to split with your sim partner. You get the car even if you are in SFO.

You should be able to to get SFO pretty quickly. LAX may take a few months. If you want JFK, I'm sure you can get that out of class.

Health insurance isnt the greatest. Its about $300-$700 per month for a family, depending on which plan you choose.

good luck. Hopefully a newhire can give you more updated information.

echelon

Definitely not a month for Sims, more like 2 weeks including the last 3 after the type rides. And the whole thing was about 6 weeks for our class, but that could be because we hardly got any days off

Flitestar

For whatever its worth, during interview a few weeks back they didnt bother too much to give us details on healthcare benefits, since those were going to change drastically upon joining both contracts into one new CBA, whether it happens in the next few weeks if they agree on one or by October 11th via arbitrators decision.

The rest of the details mentioned by waterboy are accurate as far as I can remember.

greaser

current (pre-Alaska benefits) info: VXBenefits.com - Your one-stop benefits shop

Pogey Bait

Also haven't new hires been going to MIA for sim training? Down there you would get per deim and hotel paid for and probably some sort of transportation.

OCCP

I ran into a couple of new hires recently and they said they were going to Miami but I'm not sure if all are going down there.

IDIOTPILOT

Recently, 6 weeks to starting IOE. There's a minimum 7 day off period from last sim to IOE. That's the only written language for days off. You'll probably see the first few weekends and some other random days off. For me nothing longer than 2 days off in a row, often times just 1. Some had as long as 5 days off in a row.

Yes, still $2,500 a month since it couldn't go up without a new CBA. That could be changing in a month or sometime at the end of the year. Crashpads are a little harder to find and pricy, but if you keep looking you can find a spot. The area's real estate has shot up way too much. Some have split hotels and some have found AirBnBs.

You only get per diem if you're outside of SFO. They give 1 rental car to split with your partner in MIA. They also give one if you need to go to the training center in SFO. There've been classes in the past that had to do new hire Indoc at this place so that's why some will say they had a rental car the whole time. Normally, it's only during FTD or sim.

You can bid out once a new system bid opens. They've been system bids effective every new month for a quite a while. This usually means about 1 month in the base you don't want if you can hold the new base on the first bid. JFK completely depends on where you lie in the system bid vacancy. Some want it and don't get it and others get forced to it.

As mentioned, healthcare is going to be making a big change and those links can tell you what it is now. They really only give options of the fancy PPO or the HSA. Wish there was a middle ground.