Pasco Callbacks

[flyhigh008]

Wondering if anyone has been getting call backs from Pasco in the past few months for interviews or ground schools? I know of multiple people whos hours are above and beyond their minimums and don't get any call backs. Not sure what their issue is but I find it strange that Pasco posts every few weeks for FO's and Captains and as far as I know don't actually call back their qualified candidates.

[FOD_Vacuum]

It is highly advantageous to have internal recommends, the more the merrier. Connections go a long way but Pasco does take a while to reply and get the ball rolling with HR. The interview process takes a while too because they are backed up quite a bit due to low number of staff being able to do the whole interview process as they have to fill shoes filling in as IROPS occur etc.

[Zaibatsu]

They seem like every other 704/705lite operation. Very reactionary and getting pushed into a tighter and tighter spot.

The fall of Great Lakes Airlines in the US is a harbinger of things to come in Canada.

[co-joe]

I did their interview. It took me the better part of a year to get it through repeated phone calls, emails, and one inside contact who sent a text on my behalf. Lots of persistence as they seem totally unsure of what's going on. I never talked to the same HR/ pilot person twice, but everybody was nice and helpful, and took time to talk to me or reply to emails.

The interview was in Vancouver and no travel expenses covered by Pasco. Cost me almost $800 to attend. Literally overnight the flight went up by $300 so had I booked it a day sooner it would have been cheaper.

The interview was an hour of tell us about a time when questions, and an hour of CAP GEN, LO chart, IFR grilling. What altitude here, or here, or who to call there, and there. Alternate minima, flight planning, pretty tough questions specific to west coast mountains. Then a sim session in a King Air 200 ish sim with cowl flaps and piper switches and a co-interviewee pilot doing their eval with you. I had to do a full procedure NDB hold and approach with missed, engine fail and SE ILS, my partner's were VOR based, and ILS to landing.

We both felt good about the scenario, not perfect but a good experience. We and kept in touch and both got PFO'd 2 weeks later, now the ad is still up so I guess we must have messed something up pretty badly, or they were looking to disqualify people instead of hiring all of the good candidates.

[flybyyou]

I did their interview. It took me the better part of a year to get it through repeated phone calls, emails, and one inside contact who sent a text on my behalf. Lots of persistence as they seem totally unsure of what's going on. I never talked to the same HR/ pilot person twice, but everybody was nice and helpful, and took time to talk to me or reply to emails.

The interview was in Vancouver and no travel expenses covered by Pasco. Cost me almost $800 to attend. Literally overnight the flight went up by $300 so had I booked it a day sooner it would have been cheaper.

The interview was an hour of tell us about a time when questions, and an hour of CAP GEN, LO chart, IFR grilling. What altitude here, or here, or who to call there, and there. Alternate minima, flight planning, pretty tough questions specific to west coast mountains. Then a sim session in a King Air 200 ish sim with cowl flaps and piper switches and a co-interviewee pilot doing their eval with you. I had to do a full procedure NDB hold and approach with missed, engine fail and SE ILS, my partner's were VOR based, and ILS to landing.

We both felt good about the scenario, not perfect but a good experience. We and kept in touch and both got PFO'd 2 weeks later, now the ad is still up so I guess we must have messed something up pretty badly, or they were looking to disqualify people instead of hiring all of the good candidates.

Wow. Hard to believe their hiring process is more complicated than most of the 705’s our here. 1 hour of ifr questions? Jeez.

[co-joe]

They said all they can handle for training is 4 pilots every 6 weeks for the Saab. So that's their plan for the foreseeable future. 2 captains, 2 FO's every 6 weeks. Hard to believe they'll be able to meet attrition rates never mind start up a 5 destination service in another province at that rate.

[Victory]

I did their interview. It took me the better part of a year to get it through repeated phone calls, emails, and one inside contact who sent a text on my behalf. Lots of persistence as they seem totally unsure of what's going on. I never talked to the same HR/ pilot person twice, but everybody was nice and helpful, and took time to talk to me or reply to emails.

The interview was in Vancouver and no travel expenses covered by Pasco. Cost me almost $800 to attend. Literally overnight the flight went up by $300 so had I booked it a day sooner it would have been cheaper.

The interview was an hour of tell us about a time when questions, and an hour of CAP GEN, LO chart, IFR grilling. What altitude here, or here, or who to call there, and there. Alternate minima, flight planning, pretty tough questions specific to west coast mountains. Then a sim session in a King Air 200 ish sim with cowl flaps and piper switches and a co-interviewee pilot doing their eval with you. I had to do a full procedure NDB hold and approach with missed, engine fail and SE ILS, my partner's were VOR based, and ILS to landing.

We both felt good about the scenario, not perfect but a good experience. We and kept in touch and both got PFO'd 2 weeks later, now the ad is still up so I guess we must have messed something up pretty badly, or they were looking to disqualify people instead of hiring all of the good candidates.

Damn that sounds worse than Cathay. At least Cathay pays your ticket to the interrogation though.

[leftoftrack]

Pasco has the worst hiring process ever, Yet they end up with douch bag pilots. on top of which. their 90's pay scale isn't negotiable. Ive been through their hiring but had to turn down the job offer with the garbage pay.

[FOD_Vacuum]

The interview is not an “interrogation”. If you see it as such, then maybe you weren’t fit and able to answer all their questions like a 3000+ hour pilot should be able to, and thus likely got PFOd. They had simple day-to-day IFR fair and applicable related questions to their operation. The terrain they fly is not like the rest of Canada. You are flying in coastal regions with updredicatable weather and the Rocky Mountains.

Some of you seem bitter that the interview process is what it is, but if I had an operation like pasco I would want every new hire to understand the basics of IFR and GPS operations in the interview, considering what and where we fly. Most of the process is emphasized on if you are personable and able to work in a group setting, rather than how much experience you have on your resume. Maybe y’all need to brush up on your IFR, but most importantly, CRM skill related questions?

I agree, the interview process should be more fluent and expedited based on the attrition rate they are expecting, but I’m not management and have no input to this matter. Maybe, at a later date would I be able to have an influence, as I do know in fact that there are many people with good experience that would like to work for pasco but just aren’t getting called.

I do wish anyone applying best of luck and a bit of patience as it is a good company to work for. And for the record, I was able to start off with higher pay than first year Saab DEC. my two cents that there is room for negotiation.

And leftoftrack, please refrain from saying and generalizing pasco pilots (indirectly calling me) a ”douchebag pilot”. You have not met me and would beg to differ, as I strive for an inclusiveness and friendly work environment.

[wordstwice]

k

[Pasco Flt Ops]

Good Morning,

Answers to this thread in a somewhat chronological order:

To those candidates who are currently in the recruitment process and have been met with lengthy delays in receiving communication, or those who meet the qualifications but have yet to be contacted; our sincere apologies. This is not by design but as previously mentioned, in this current state of unprecedented attrition and growth; the recruitment team is stretched but we are working hard to find ways to better our processes and source support.

The hiring process itself consists of a phone screen, in-person panel interview and a simulator evaluation. The phone screen is a standard screen that asks the candidate what they have been doing and why they would like to work for Pacific Coastal. The interview consists of behavioral questions, “tell us about a time” type question and some technical questions. The technical aspect is not obscure nor gauntlet running. The candidate is asked IFR questions that relate to a real world IFR scenario with publications to reference. The candidate will also be asked questions to the aircraft they are currently flying or to their relevant operational experience.

Treating all candidates with respect is a given and we strive for nothing less. Whether the candidate has 750hrs or 10,000hrs, they are treated with the professional courtesy they deserve and the process is the same. This allows for a consistent an unbiased assessment and the coffee is always on

To some this may seem arduous but we stand by our process as Pacific Coastal Airlines does not have the luxury of flying next generation aircraft ILS to ILS. We operate in a challenging environment where there is no substitute for experience. Given this, spending a little extra time in the interview process is the reason why.

Pacific Coastal as well as most other Flight Operations departments are extremely challenged to meet the recruitment needs in this era of the “Global Pilot Shortage”. For Pacific Coastal specifically, we have trained the equivalent of 100% of our roster (90 pilots and growing) in just 21 months and we are very proud to say that our hard working Flight Crew were tabbed with less than a dozen cancellations due to “Crew Shortage”. As one poster intimated; we cannot keep this pace forever especially when we (all carriers) are competing in the same vastly diminishing pool of qualified candidates. Barring any other extenuating factors; Flight Schools across Canada would need to see an immediate 40% increase in enrollment in students who will be remaining to work in Canada. Even then, we would not see relief from this until 2022. This is a whole other thread in itself.

To meet this demand we are running ground schools every six weeks for both aircraft types. The next class is this Monday April 9 followed by May 22, July 3, Aug 13 and Sep 24. It is yet to be determined what the onboarding schedule will be in the fall; however the expectation is that it will be much of the same.

It is disappointing to see that some disparaging comments are volleyed anonymously in a public forum. Very hesitant to engage in the muck, but do know that professional conduct and a sense of entitlement are generally revealed.

To all the consummate professionals at Pacific Coastal Airlines and Industry wide who continue to strive to make this amazing profession better: Our hats are off to you!

Pasco Flt Ops

[Victory]

Have you considered increasing the salary?

[JBI]

As someone who has gone through a few different job hunts in my life I can sympathize with the frustrations that some of the above posters are expressing. I’m sure Pasco does appreciate constructive criticism on their hiring process. They’ve been pretty honest and frank both on this board and with their pilots about where they are at with recruitment and the staffing challenges that are facing all airlines.

While I don’t think anyone finds interviews to be an overly enjoyable process, the thing to keep in mind with the interview process for all types of jobs, and especially flying jobs, technical skills and knowledge is only part of the equation. Part of the time spent is to try and determine personality fit and attitude. Nothing worse than having a five day pairing with someone with a challenging attitude. For example, will they make generalized anonymous insults of a group of pilots, you know, like calling them “douche bags”?

This is similar to the sim evaluation - it’s not like a TC flight test. Most sim evaluations during the hiring process are not looking for perfect technical flight operation (hard to do that in most sims if you’re flying it for the first time) though they are looking for a minimum level of proficiency. These situations are looking at how the pilots 1-handle adversity, 2-work as a team in a challenging environment and 3-react to situations that are a little unknown to them and their overall attitude. The flying I did when I was at Pasco was more challenging (but way more fun) than the flying I did at a regional 705 operator.

With regard to needing to cover your own airfare, I stand to be corrected, but most operators that I know of that offer airfare to the interview do so only on their own metal (or, for AC Express, AC’s). My understanding is that not even Sunwing paid for airfare from YVR (where they have a base) to YYZ for an interview when I had some friends interview with them in 2016.

Truthfully, based on the comments from some of the spurned posters, it seems that while I’m sure there’s room for improvement, the Pasco hiring and interview process works as its supposed to.

[co-joe]

...
With regard to needing to cover your own airfare, I stand to be corrected, but most operators that I know of that offer airfare to the interview do so only on their own metal (or, for AC Express, AC’s). ...

They are hiring for Westjet Link for a job in Calgary that you have to interview for in Vancouver. You don't think it's reasonable for them to work out a deal with Westjet for interviewee airfare?

It is what it is. I enjoyed meeting and talking with everyone I spoke with. I got a great vibe from each of them and felt like they were people I would enjoy working with. I also got a great impression of my co-interviewee, he was professional, had great experience, and after a few woops moments in a new sim, we really started to have fun and work well together.

[JBI]

They are hiring for Westjet Link for a job in Calgary that you have to interview for in Vancouver. You don't think it's reasonable for them to work out a deal with Westjet for interviewee airfare?

I think that's a fair and reasonable constructive criticism of the process. My comment was more that the follow up posts seemed to suggest that providing airfare was always standard when in my experience it's not.

[SPR]

All right, this company is ridiculous. I've applied for the DEC position twice, I exceed the qualifications, and I haven't heard a thing, yet they're advertising the position again. They've already had to delay the WestJet Link operation once because they couldn't get the crews, so do they have any plans on actually hiring anyone or do they not intend to ever get off the ground?

[Pat Richard]

They've already had to delay the WestJet Link operation once because they couldn't get the crews

They can't find AME's either.

They were having the same issue even prior to announcing the Link agreement. Makes you wonder who goes and negotiates for additional capacity when they can't staff their existing requirements. Classic case of aviation hierarchy being completely out of touch with reality.

Totally not surprised they missed the startup date and will be surprised if they make the next one.

[digits_]

All right, this company is ridiculous. I've applied for the DEC position twice, I exceed the qualifications, and I haven't heard a thing, yet they're advertising the position again. They've already had to delay the WestJet Link operation once because they couldn't get the crews, so do they have any plans on actually hiring anyone or do they not intend to ever get off the ground?

Careful though, people might call you entitled

I agree though, in this hiring climate, if applicants have the requirements you ask for, the least you could do as a company, is to send a reply telling them if they are being considered or not.
No they don't "have" to do that, but it would be the polite thing to do. And it's a free way to improve your image. Cheaper than spamming avcanada

[Zaibatsu]

Have you considered increasing the salary?

Hit the nail on the head.

Pasco Flt Ops: There isn’t a pilot shortage. There’s a “cheap” pilot shortage. Lifestyle is great, but you can’t pay for a mortgage and expensive taxes and high gas prices in BC on “lifestyle”.

I work for a 703 operator in BC flying into all the airports you do and lots that you don’t, and after much adjustment in the last year our capt salaries are now equivalent to your 705 capt wages, and our first officers start out at what yours top out at, with similar GDOs, vacation, benefits, and perks... unless these figures have changed since last year.

First Officer = $36,000 - $41,000
704 Captain = $58,000 - $77,000
705 Captain = $66,000 - $98,000
Training Captains = $95,000 - $110,000

[igorcanuck]

Does anyone have current (2019) information about upcoming ground schools? Are they calling people right now?