Interviewing and training
 

I have some questions please, haven't been here for some time.
1. is training hard in Southwest, do they just hand you the materials and you're on your own?
2. is there actual teaching, not spoon feeding by at least guiding you to understand the aircraft and operations?
3. is the B-737 as bad as some picture it, comparing it to other aircraft, like everything manual amd flows are everywhere so to speak?
4. how big is the aural material and do you have to know the aircraft inside and out and know all the lights and switches?
5. is there a high washout in SW training and IOE?
6. is comuting to the east coast bad, any time for QOL.
7. any feeds on the technical interview questions would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance Y'all.

1. No the training isnt "hard" although I would say it is condensed. If you listen to what they tell you to do and follow the plan, you will be ready at every stage check. It seems like it isnt going to work while you are doing it, but surprisingly it all works out. I think they have a 98% pass rate or something like that.
2. Yes and no, depends on the topic being discussed.
3. In terms of the planes, I have a e175, A320 and 737 type rating. I think the 737 is actually fairly easy to learn and fly. The flows are easy as well once you practice them. I think the main thing people see when they JS on it is the start procedure and think OMG this plane is a relic, but that is the most switch flipping you will do and that's just mainly due to the Bleed/Pack system and its quirks.
4. No you dont need to count rivets if that is what you are asking. They do the oral differently here, at least they used to as word is they are changing it to a written test now. Assuming they are doing it the old way still you basically get up in front of the examiner and walk them through the upper panel. It seems daunting at first but again, follow the program and pacing they tell you and it will be a cake walk. I was really surprised how over prepared we all were for it.
5. No, again I think the number they throw around is 98% pass rate.
6. Yes, true of any airline. Thankfully right now we are basically able to get all but ATL, MCO out of training or within your first true month of IOE.
7. Can't help you here as I went through before they changed everything.

Best of luck and despite all the naysayers, this is good place to work with the biggest drawback being the single type. Overall though amazing crews and the schedule QOL is something I didnt understand until I got out onto the line. It would be hard to give that up.

do you have any other type ratings? If yes, it’s the same only learning older technology. Nothing hard…just different.

First post here I’ve seen expressing concern about the training…changing times I suppose.

My class had one guy fail his first try at the oral and one guy who didn't get the memo about trimming and turning the autopilot back on after the single engine go who had to redo the single engine stuff on his checkride. They both got a day or two additional instruction and a re-check which they passed without any apparent drama.

The one guy we thought would have trouble "quit" after IOE and went back to fly gray airplanes overseas. But that was mostly a personality mismatch as far as I know, not a skill or training problem really.

The impression I got was that for most pilots, an 80% effort burn plus even a TINY bit of effort at the hotel bar chatting with fellow trainees (for gouge and sanity checks) is more than enough to get anyone through. Yes, knowing your flows early and going through the applicable computer based training before each area is touched on in the classroom can help, but I think most people could show up totally cold and still make it through. Part of that is the pacing and quality of instruction, but part of it is also the fact that SWA has been very willing to just add on more training to give people another shot at whatever it was they didn't get right the first time, as long as the attitude and effort is reasonable.

For your specific questions:
1. No it's not hard for a professional pilot. I assume it would be hard for people with no experience, but the training center actually teaches.
2. It's a combination of self-study, actual teaching, and spoon feeding of things that won't make any sense until you actually go to the line and do the job. If you don't understand something, they'll attempt to teach/reteach.
3. It's called the guppy and everything you've heard about the 737 is true. What people sometimes don't realize until they fly it is that even when "yes it's true...", it doesn't really matter. It's not a hard plane to fly even though it's a switch forest nightmare and the MAX is a steampunk dream. Bottom line, it's busy and more fatiguing to fly than newer designs but mostly it doesn't really matter. You hop in, do the checklists and procedures, throw a bunch of switches, spend 5 minutes doing actual stick and rudder flying (if that much), then go home, just like any other plane. It is more tiring due to the relatively cramped and noisy cockpit, and I have a couple dents on the top of my skull from trying to punch switches back into the panel with my skull while getting into or out of my seat. I flew some really old planes in the USAF, the A320 series, and now the 737. Yes, it's an old plane. But it simply doesn't really matter. If you're in such bad shape that the difference in fatigue level between the A320 and 737 is going to make a real difference in your life, I suppose you might have some tough career decisions ahead that have nothing to do with the 737 vs. everything else.
4. The oral isn't hard, but yes you need to know not only what every switch does, but how that switch matters with respect to operational limits. As an example, you need to know that not only do the centerline fuel pumps pump fuel from the center tank to the respective side fuel manifolds, you need to know that you must have those pumps ON whenever there is more than 1000lbs of fuel in the tank and you're on the ground. You won't be required to disassemble or reassemble the fuel pumps, or draw a diagram. It might help to be able to do that stuff (draw a diagram of a system) but if that's not how your brain works then it's not necessary.
5. Not really. As I explained before the training center will retrain and recheck after a failure as long as there is any effort being put forward. As for IOE, we're hearing rumors of inexperienced new hires needing longer IOE or retraining, but I don't think we're firing people for skill/knowledge/experience issues yet. IOE fails that I personally know about were personality driven. If you crash the dang plane, yea you might fail IOE. I don't think we've really found the limits to training and check airman patience though, where it comes to firing new hires for just not being able to do the job.
6. Commuting anywhere sucks. We don't have redeyes so if you're commuting for reserves, you simply might be forced to fly in the day prior and leave the day after, depending on routing. Loads have been kind of a problem but most people are able to get where they're going as long as they have a second option if they can't get a seat on their first choice of commute flight. But our contract does not have protections for commuters that other airlines seem to have. For example, when commuting to reserve you're expected to be in place ready to get a call and ready to go to work the instant your reserve period starts, even on the first day. For an AM reserve commuting from west to east, that could mean having to be ready to get up around midnight local wherever you actually live to start your trip. And on the back end even AM reserves may get swapped to PM flying by the end of their reserve blocks so you could end your reserve assignment after our last flights leave that base so you could easily get stuck another night. My preference for commuting to reserve was to bid PM reserves so at least I could try to commute in the day my reserve block started, and just accept that I'd usually end up sleeping in the crew lounge from midnight to 5am before catching the first departure the next morning. Everyone has their own way to solve that problem, and not only does our contract suck for commuting reserves, the company has zero interest in changing anything and is fighting any changes that would make commuting easier.
7. I don't think I got a single technical question during the interview. That may have changed recently due to bringing in applicants with dramatically less experience than was the norm just a few years ago. The guy interviewing me looked like he was 100 yrs old so before the interview started I made a lame joke about his low seniority number and asked him what plane he learned to fly in. At some point the interview turned into an hour talking about classic aircraft and we never really got around to any technical questions. I think they wanted to see if we liked flying and from that determine a few things like if we were lying on our resume or if we had enough actual interest and background in flying that they could teach us whatever we didn't already know or have experience doing. As a military guy they already knew I wouldn't know hardly anything about 121 ops so mostly they wanted to see if I liked flying enough to be worth training. Just find a way to tell them your story in a way that makes it clear that you like flying and want to be here and you'll probably be fine.

The old stressful decision making scenario has apparently changed. The thing they were looking for before was if they gave you a problem with no good answer and then put you in a time crunch to come up with a solution, would you try to wing it by yourself or would you use a collaborative process to get input from all available resources and then make a decision. I don't know what they're doing for that nowadays, so use a good interview prep service to help give you an idea about what to expect in the interview. SWA doesn't like people who show up over-prepped and repeating what they got from the prep service, but if you use the prep to figure out how to tell your story without triggering any big negative responses from the interview team, I think it can help.

Thank you so much for the valuable information, I appreciate you

Thank you for the information, much appreciate it.

Can anybody tell me what amenities are in the Hilton Anatole rooms? Assume a mini fridge? What about a microwave?

I dont think we are there anymore to be honest but when we were, it was a mini fridge, that was it. Everything else was in training rooms. I bought a cheap microwave and was able to get by pretty good.

We are there. Mini fridge only.

If you bring a car, either it gets stolen or at least the catalytic converter does..... Oh wait. That's every s hole hotel we stay at in Dallas.

what if you bring a Miata?

I brought my new truck down there and didnt have a single problem. I think the issues they were having have been resolved for the most part. In fact during the entirety of my stay, with a new class every 10 days or so, we didnt hear of a single problem.

I think Miatas are safe because they're perfect girly cars... so about the same effect as if you brought a VW Beetle. ;)

What if you bring a pre Catalytic Converter car. Early 1970s or before?

It's probably easier to just carry off the whole Miata then it is to get under there and hack off the catalytic converter - but no self-respecting thief would ever do that.

Probably just take the entire vehicle since it wouldn’t have any anti-theft device on it. 😁

Just drive a manual that way no one can steal it

Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

Is initial training AQP at SWA?

No. Probably about a year or a little less until initial is AQP. Source: shared a shuttle with one of the captains developing it.

Thank you.

Also, does anyone know if initial training can be broken in two if there is a military obligation, or does it need to be completed in one fell swoop?

Thanks.

I wouldn’t do that. I’d defer class til your schedule is clear or tell Uncle Sam to wait til you’re done.

They may not like it (I don’t know), but I’m not sure there’s anything they can do about it under USERRA. If you delay a class in order to fulfill whatever Reserve/Guard duty you have, you’re costing yourself seniority. Might be worth talking to an attorney about.