Airline-Specific Medical Hiring Standards
 

This will be a permanent thread to share info about exactly what various airlines do in the way of medical screening. Please create a new post for the airline you work for, or recently interviewed at.

Does your airline just take look at your 1C? Do they perform an in-house "Astronaut Physical"? Something in-between? How do they feel at about Special Issuance medicals?

If there's an exam which is more involved than the FAA 1C exam, what all is included? Blood cholesterol, Height/weight standards, BMI, etc?

Also please post recent info, things have changed in the last 15 years. If you see incorrect info in a previous post (things do change) please post an update and mention the post # with the bad info and we'll delete it.

SkyWest (US)
 

SkyWest (the US airline) does not conduct an exam, they just require an FAA 1C medical. Not sure about Expressjet (owned by SKW but seperate operation).

ExpressJet
 

XJT also doesnt require medical exam you just need faa first class medical

I have never heard of a regional airline that conducts medicals. Which ones do that?

Eagle used to. I suspect Endeavor may for their DAL new-hires.

I had a full in house medical minus blood draw as a mechanic for Eagle. That was about five years ago.

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Color vision testing would be my question. The FAA allows 15+ different tests and any one is allowed to get a first class medical.. (Although this is going to change soon..)
The ones they are going to allow in the future will most likely be:
Richmond HHR 4th Ed
Waggoner HHR, PIPIC
AOC HHR 2nd Ed
Dvoirine 2nd Ed
Ishihara 38,24,14
Optec 900 (Newer version of the Farnsworth Lantern)

Keep in mind the FAA allows a different amount of errors than the manual of the test, so tell your AME to look it up on the FAA's site if they fail you...
https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org...ch/item52/amd/

Some of these they are going to also screen with supplemental plates to detect yellow-blue deficiencies (often caused from health problems or chemical burns, not as much congenital like red green deficiencies).. So they are going to remove the tests that only have 6 or so plates because they have been known to fail people who shouldn't fail (false positive), and also are subject to memorization.

They are probably going to give you one chance on each instead of several on any in the future, and if you can't pass, they will refer you to the CAD test like they use in Europe.. (Colour Assessment and Diagnosis test).. which is more precise and the cut score was matched with a PAPI test and some other tasks. It's a computer based test with a moving colored square on a dynamic background.. It can determine just how color deficient you are, where the paper ones usually cannot.

And of course if you can't pass that, they will give you the OCVT/MFT (Real world test.. chart reading, light gun, flight test with a DPE). If you pass that you get a Letter of Evidence and are good to go in the future. (practice the light gun and sectional COLD if you are going to go this route.. just call the tower for a trial run.. only one chance)

I'm pretty sure an airline can't deny you on what the FAA says you are legally qualified to do.. but the new standards are coming and might screw a lot of people. Either way it would be interesting to see what the airlines do if this happens.. There is a legal battle in Australia right now with CASA and some color deficient airline pilots.. Colour Vision Defective Pilots Association (CVDPA) for more info.. It's even on their national news.

So if any airline does include color vision testing as part of their medical, try to ask what type of test and what standards they are following and post here..

Thx all!

Airline-Specific Medical Hiring Standards
 

No medical at Alaska. Just need a 1st class.

No medical exam for VX. Just a 1st class and the standard drug test/urinalysis.

Eagle (envoy) used to have a full medical exam done in house, but when I was hired in 2011, they had reduced it to a hearing test, eye test, and drug test. No test for color deficiency.

Does anyone know if Spirit requires one? The only thing I worry about is the color deficiency test. On my initial medical, I couldn't pass the Ishihara test for color deficiency, so I had to jump through some hoops to take the Farnsworth Lantern Test. I haven't had any troubles with it since. I just hope my next airline doesn't do the plates test, because I'm not sure they would want to go through the trouble to get me the Lantern test.