United interview for spirit pilots
 

All
meeting yesterday we had our chairman of UAL MEC Brian Noyes. Said specifically, per our pilot agreement/ ALPA policy all spirit pilots will be given preferential interviews. He said the United MEC is working hard to get the word out to you all. I wish it wasn’t because of the circumstances but wanted to continue to get the word out. My best to you all. Please apply if you so choose.

Great news! Thank you for the information.

Would also add that WN has now announced that they are going to be hiring from the pool we had, 140 extra this year. Not amazing and certainly not a preferential hiring like an ALPA carrier, but good news for anyone looking, as things may be starting to swing back, albeit slowly, into a hiring phase again. Wish nothing but the best for all you NK pilots.\ regardless of where you may end up.

You mean all furloughs? Welcome news either way, thank you.

I think NK is teetering on “distressed carrier” status so probably open to all employees before the ship fully sinks.

Does anyone have experience with the 'preferential interview' aspect? Late last year (RTAG 2024) I asked a recruiter about this and she mostly brushed it off, explaining that it was more of a preferential app review and potential next steps only IF you were at their competitive hiring mins - i.e. your resume/app should be moved to the top of the pile but mostly pertained to those who would have otherwise already been getting an interview invite (albeit further down the list).

As one who is very likely getting furloughed in November, I hope the actual practice is different than described above. Would love to hear from anyone who has some experience...

I would expect any sort of preference to be more along the lines of giving you a better shot of getting called once you're in the competitive range. Vice getting called with 1000 SIC before check airmen with 5K TPIC, fighter pilots, etc.

Especially since the legacies are a little leery of the operational and cultural impact of their recent social experiments with low time applicants with high "whole person" scores but no TPIC.

Very admirable and appropriate for the United MEC to be advocating for Spirit pilots. Since I ve been on property definitely the most appropriate example of “Good Leading the way”

To your point Rick however, since they are furloughing in reverse seniority order, I would think the furloughees would be more likely to have less time than those not being furloughed.

Could you elaborate? Not trying to be snarky. Just doesn't look that bad, from the outside looking in.

HR hiring focus instead of pilot focus. Resume fodder instead of aviation experience. If you’ve flown with someone with limited experience - directly to LCC, etc - it’s most often very apparent; not often in a horrible way, but apparent. That’s not to say hiring a 10k hour, anti-social CA is preferred, but there is a balance. I believe hiring departments have seen that balance over the past couple years.

Does that include TanTanTheMan?

The contract simply says that the company shall make reasonable efforts to fill vacancies with those who satisfy the hiring standards, however it doesn’t define what that means. Is it the absolute minimum, or competitive minimums? Also, considering the recent announcement by Spirit regarding their survival, I’m guessing the number of applicants from Spirit has spiked. There are plenty of Spirit pilots to hire who do have competitive minimums. I have no doubt that United’s future hiring is heavily weighted towards Spirit applicants, but I also suspect that those with more experience will get picked up first.

Back in 2021 UAL hired at least 100 furloughed CPZ pilots within 6 months, if not more. Myself included. CPZ was a small airline too, so i would say there’s definitely some weight to it.

I thank you so kindly for putting in a good word for me at United. It would bring honor to my family.

The email apparently said "all Spirit pilots", so it sounds applicable to anyone who wants to beat the rush.

what the hell did I just watch?

Exactly, 21-R gives additional points on the app which contribute to the overall score, but if the rest of the app is a low score, then it won’t get pulled. Luckily recruiting knows who is furloughed and can ensure that the app gets the points. This of course is assuming that the pilot actually has their app in at United.

Back in 2021, the United MEC sent a letter to XJT pilots stating they were invoking Section 21-R. However, after several emails with Pilot Recruiting, they specifically stated that they weren't running the 21-R program. There seems to be a disconnect between what the MEC is saying and what HR is actually doing. FYI.

Question
 

Can you attach more LORs after you submit? Asking for a friend.

I think you can go back in and edit the app to add whatever you want.