WJ to use cadets for 'regional' flight crew

Discuss topics relating to Westjet.

Moderators: sky's the limit, sepia, Sulako, lilfssister, North Shore, I WAS Birddog

User avatar
Wacko
Rank 8
Rank 8
Posts: 824
Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2006 9:39 pm

WJ to use cadets for 'regional' flight crew

Post by Wacko »

... it's almost nine and no one started a rumor yet... so I take it upon myself. :bear: :impact:
---------- ADS -----------
 
loopa
Rank (9)
Rank (9)
Posts: 1500
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 11:57 am

Re: WJ to use cadets for 'regional' flight crew

Post by loopa »

Wacko wrote:... it's almost nine and no one started a rumor yet... so I take it upon myself. :bear: :impact:
I almost went WhAt??!?!?!?!?!!?!?!??!

Lol, thanks for the skipped heart beat Wacko.

Do you guys think that they would do something like that? I imagine they would need to fill their boots with experienced left seat guys first before taking on a task like that.

I'm personally really excited to see what avenues they are going to pursue when it comes to hiring for the regional side.
---------- ADS -----------
 
Realitychex
Rank 6
Rank 6
Posts: 495
Joined: Sat Dec 23, 2006 2:37 pm

Re: WJ to use cadets for 'regional' flight crew

Post by Realitychex »

loopa wrote:
Wacko wrote:... it's almost nine and no one started a rumor yet... so I take it upon myself. :bear: :impact:

To quote Steven Tyler........Dream on......

8)
---------- ADS -----------
 
AuxBatOn
Rank 11
Rank 11
Posts: 3283
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2008 6:13 pm
Location: North America, sometimes

Re: WJ to use cadets for 'regional' flight crew

Post by AuxBatOn »

loopa wrote: Do you guys think that they would do something like that? I imagine they would need to fill their boots with experienced left seat guys first before taking on a task like that.
What's the issue with putting 250 hrs guys in the right seat???
---------- ADS -----------
 
ahramin
Rank Moderator
Rank Moderator
Posts: 6309
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2004 5:21 pm
Location: Vancouver

Re: WJ to use cadets for 'regional' flight crew

Post by ahramin »

AuxBatOn wrote:
loopa wrote: Do you guys think that they would do something like that? I imagine they would need to fill their boots with experienced left seat guys first before taking on a task like that.
What's the issue with putting 250 hrs guys in the right seat???
Lol. See the Fact vs. Fiction thread. viewtopic.php?f=54&t=81109

The issue in this particular case would be that if they start this airline with 20 planes, then expand it to 40 planes, they are going to need a whole bunch more Captains. Typically those Captains would come from the right seat. In the civilian world, you can't legally be in command of a -8 with less than 1500 hours.

When Westjet first started, the minimum requirement to sit in the right seat was 5000 hours. Now it's 2500. Why the difference? Because upgrades are running closer to 10 years than 10 months.
---------- ADS -----------
 
wrc
Rank 3
Rank 3
Posts: 188
Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2004 6:50 pm
Location: YYC

Re: WJ to use cadets for 'regional' flight crew

Post by wrc »

out of interest, 5000 was a 'minimum' amount. For instance, only one guy in our class of 12 (in 2000) had less then 10,000 hours.
Now the minimum is 1500 hours, but I think the mean average is 4000 hours. I doubt we will have any trouble getting some experience for the right seat of the turbo-props.
---------- ADS -----------
 
haironfire
Rank 2
Rank 2
Posts: 57
Joined: Fri Jan 21, 2011 9:35 am

Re: WJ to use cadets for 'regional' flight crew

Post by haironfire »

Do you think a 14,000 hr Q400 ACP will be enough to get into WJ Regional? I hope they are planning on paying enough to make it interesting enough to get some good people
---------- ADS -----------
 
rudder
Rank 11
Rank 11
Posts: 3849
Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2006 12:10 pm

Re: WJ to use cadets for 'regional' flight crew

Post by rudder »

haironfire wrote:Do you think a 14,000 hr Q400 ACP will be enough to get into WJ Regional? I hope they are planning on paying enough to make it interesting enough to get some good people
Base on DaveP's previous comments, I would expect that the WJ Regional Q400 pay scales will look very much like this (but capped at max tenure of 10-12 years):

http://..com/?page_id=323

Even Porter is using Jazz rates up to year 8:

http://..com/?page_id=440

The only question is whether these numbers will be exclusive or inclusive of profit sharing and ESP. Big difference between the two on payday each month. Who can afford to make ESP contributions when 100% of the net pay is required to make ends meet?

The upside will be lots of overtime opportunities once the system is fully implemented. But that could take a significant amount of time before there is a normalised operation even adding aircraft at a rate of 2 per month. Lots of training so any pilots with line training and checking experience would be very busy. I wonder what the training premium pay will be?
---------- ADS -----------
 
User avatar
Wacko
Rank 8
Rank 8
Posts: 824
Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2006 9:39 pm

Re: WJ to use cadets for 'regional' flight crew

Post by Wacko »

haironfire wrote:Do you think a 14,000 hr Q400 ACP will be enough to get into WJ Regional? I hope they are planning on paying enough to make it interesting enough to get some good people
Who says they will be willing to hire guys from AC?
---------- ADS -----------
 
sluggo
Rank 2
Rank 2
Posts: 67
Joined: Sat Apr 23, 2005 7:19 pm

Re: WJ to use cadets for 'regional' flight crew

Post by sluggo »

Wacko wrote:
haironfire wrote:Do you think a 14,000 hr Q400 ACP will be enough to get into WJ Regional? I hope they are planning on paying enough to make it interesting enough to get some good people
Who says they will be willing to hire guys from AC?
Odd, I don't remember any Q400 ACPs ever working at AC. Hmmm .... Your post reads a little odd.
---------- ADS -----------
 
mbav8r
Rank 10
Rank 10
Posts: 2325
Joined: Sun Jul 02, 2006 8:11 am
Location: Manitoba

Re: WJ to use cadets for 'regional' flight crew

Post by mbav8r »

Odd that some pilots don't know ACP is the acronym for Approved Check Pilot
---------- ADS -----------
 
User avatar
Wacko
Rank 8
Rank 8
Posts: 824
Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2006 9:39 pm

Re: WJ to use cadets for 'regional' flight crew

Post by Wacko »

mbav8r wrote:Odd that some pilots don't know ACP is the acronym for Approved Check Pilot
My fault... I jumped the gun and saw what I wanted to see :prayer:
---------- ADS -----------
 
AuxBatOn
Rank 11
Rank 11
Posts: 3283
Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2008 6:13 pm
Location: North America, sometimes

Re: WJ to use cadets for 'regional' flight crew

Post by AuxBatOn »

ahramin wrote: The issue in this particular case would be that if they start this airline with 20 planes, then expand it to 40 planes, they are going to need a whole bunch more Captains. Typically those Captains would come from the right seat. In the civilian world, you can't legally be in command of a -8 with less than 1500 hours.
So? Hire more direct Captain when you need them and can't upgrade FOs because of ATPL.
---------- ADS -----------
 
ahramin
Rank Moderator
Rank Moderator
Posts: 6309
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2004 5:21 pm
Location: Vancouver

Re: WJ to use cadets for 'regional' flight crew

Post by ahramin »

Not an ideal situation for many reasons. How do you incorporate seniority? At Westjet seniority in seat is the only thing that counts, so when it comes to flowthrough to the mainline, are the later direct entry captains going to get to go before the co-pilots that have been with the company since day one? Doesn't make for happy co-pilots.

Where are you going to get all those direct entry captains? If you are going to pair them with 250 hour f/os, they'd better have lots of Dash-8, airline, and command experience.

If you are planning a rapid expansion, far better to keep your minimums as high as possible and hire keeping in mind captain potential. Rapid expansion is a risk factor all by itself.
---------- ADS -----------
 
DaveP
Rank 5
Rank 5
Posts: 398
Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2007 8:38 pm

Re: WJ to use cadets for 'regional' flight crew

Post by DaveP »

Hi Guys,

A couple updates for the regional:
- We are just getting the management team in place by the end of June.
- The OC is being worked on
- We will likely start pilot interviewing in Q4 - all will be basically captains (and well qualified) due to the rapid expansion.
- The website will be up and running hopefully mid summer - I won't disclose the start date but you can roughly guess with the interviewing to be done in Q4
- The type will likely be chosen and announced in the next week (or two).
- the westjet PST (pilot selection team) will be doing the interviews
- Qualifications will likely be the same as westjet, however the stronger the better due to the delivery schedule and upgrade time.
- internal references will still play a large roll in the hiring

I am meeting with the team Monday to discuss all.
That's all I know for now (that I can share)

Cheers!
---------- ADS -----------
 
loopa
Rank (9)
Rank (9)
Posts: 1500
Joined: Fri Apr 24, 2009 11:57 am

Re: WJ to use cadets for 'regional' flight crew

Post by loopa »

DaveP wrote:Hi Guys,

A couple updates for the regional:
- We are just getting the management team in place by the end of June.
- The OC is being worked on
- We will likely start pilot interviewing in Q4 - all will be basically captains (and well qualified) due to the rapid expansion.
- The website will be up and running hopefully mid summer - I won't disclose the start date but you can roughly guess with the interviewing to be done in Q4
- The type will likely be chosen and announced in the next week (or two).
- the westjet PST (pilot selection team) will be doing the interviews
- Qualifications will likely be the same as westjet, however the stronger the better due to the delivery schedule and upgrade time.
- internal references will still play a large roll in the hiring

I am meeting with the team Monday to discuss all.
That's all I know for now (that I can share)

Cheers!
Thanks for the update Dave!

I did imagine that a large number of captain's were to be hired initially. Not sure if you're able to expand on this topic much, but once the captain spots are filled, will the experience requirements remain the same as WestJet or will they be lowered and geared towards longer term F/O's as required for longer term captain upgrades? I can understand this question to be too premature considering the ball hasn't even been played yet.

I'm excited to see the career progression between WestJet Regional and WestJet as well and how that will all be planned out.

Good luck every body when your time comes for this career progression. 8)
---------- ADS -----------
 
WF9F
Rank 3
Rank 3
Posts: 165
Joined: Thu Apr 14, 2005 9:21 am

Re: WJ to use cadets for 'regional' flight crew

Post by WF9F »

I think it's good at least they are Canadian kids goin into the airplanes unlike Canjet and Sunwing.
---------- ADS -----------
 
rubberboot
Rank 2
Rank 2
Posts: 65
Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2010 6:42 pm

Re: WJ to use cadets for 'regional' flight crew

Post by rubberboot »

so you covered the pilot side of things....

what about the maintenance and support side? is this going to be carried out by the main line, or is westjet going to have them as a separate group from the 737 ops?

thanks,
r/b
---------- ADS -----------
 
DaveP
Rank 5
Rank 5
Posts: 398
Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2007 8:38 pm

Re: WJ to use cadets for 'regional' flight crew

Post by DaveP »

Hi Rubberboot,
I’m only close to the pilot hiring.
As for the maintenance, I’ve only heard some proposals, but I don’t want to mislead.

Sorry.
---------- ADS -----------
 
haironfire
Rank 2
Rank 2
Posts: 57
Joined: Fri Jan 21, 2011 9:35 am

Re: WJ to use cadets for 'regional' flight crew

Post by haironfire »

A question for DaveP: Will the Q400 management team be selected from within the Westjet ranks or will there be an opportunity for others outside with Q400 management experience to apply?
---------- ADS -----------
 
Post Reply

Return to “WestJet”