The Air Canada OTS thread

[altiplano]

Right on. Congrats and have fun.

[nottellin]

Any updates on the latest hiring rumors, I have heard from several different credible sources that things are going to slow down for the summer, but also that things always change. Any speculative or educated guesses out there want to chime in?

Will they continue to interview throughout the summer or does that slow down as well?

Thanks

[dtpilot]

Heard some in person interviews will be in june. Fall start dates.

[macallan]

Just wondering for folks who did In-Person Interviews & Medical in April. Have they all got reply yet ?
I did my in-person in third week of April, haven't heard anything yet.

[Dizzy D]

Just wondering for folks who did In-Person Interviews & Medical in April. Have they all got reply yet ?
I did my in-person in third week of April, haven't heard anything yet.

I did mine the third week of April as well. No reply yet.

[Anticyclone]

Hello Aviators,

I am just coming back into the subject.. quick question please i need to take the temperature at this time so what s the time frame we are looking at from application day to 1 st call ??

Thanks a lot.

[jpilot77]

From in person to job offer was 8 weeks for me, late Feb to April of this year. But from my initial application to hired was 18 months (express pilot). But some guys where a lot faster.

[Noo]

I've heard the last class before summer break was over 90% Express pilots. Not sure if that reflects their new hiring process.

[matc]

I don't get it, everyone seems to at least get a call from AC and I don't. I work for a major airline in Canada, have 3500h, 737 FO time, 1000 pic time and 2 of my friends gave me references. I've been updating my application for the last 12 months, no calls yet

[Heisenberg666]

...

[TheStig]

I don't get it, everyone seems to at least get a call from AC and I don't. I work for a major airline in Canada, have 3500h, 737 FO time, 1000 pic time and 2 of my friends gave me references. I've been updating my application for the last 12 months, no calls yet

Do you have a degree? Multi-command?

[altiplano]

I don't get it, everyone seems to at least get a call from AC and I don't. I work for a major airline in Canada, have 3500h, 737 FO time, 1000 pic time and 2 of my friends gave me references. I've been updating my application for the last 12 months, no calls yet

Been there too... I had been applying for years... watched my previous FOs get hired, guys with less time, fewer years in, less command time, small aircraft experience only...

I was wondering if my resume was in the wrong format or the cover letter font was a bad choice or something...

Strange enough, I reworked my uploaded resume and was given an interview about a month later.

Key words? Format worked better for the auto-detect? I don't know... there are thousands of applications... maybe sometimes it's just luck that yours floats to the top.

Keep at it and good luck.

[Inverted2]

They and only they know the hiring secret. I’ve seen people with zero post secondary education get hired, with zero multi left seat time aside from training get hired, and pilots who had accidents due to gross negligence get hired.

[Adam Oke]

I’ve seen people with zero post secondary education get hired,

That's a curious statement. Is that for recent OTS guys/gals? I've heard rumours that if you have 500 hours of 705 Captain experience the post secondary can be waved, but I find that really hard to believe. I've never heard of guys without a degree or aviation diploma getting hired. Can anyone else confirm this?

[Inverted2]

I’ve seen people with zero post secondary education get hired,

That's a curious statement. Is that for recent OTS guys/gals? I've heard rumours that if you have 500 hours of 705 Captain experience the post secondary can be waved, but I find that really hard to believe. I've never heard of guys without a degree or aviation diploma getting hired. Can anyone else confirm this?

It was about 10-12 years ago. Nowadays not as likely to happen.

[confusedalot]

hate to burst the bubble, but tons of people have been hired without post secondary education. it may be a bit tougher if you are not in a feeder right now, but as far as feeders go, the vast majority do not have anything more than high school and get on.

I would not let the lack of a diploma or a degree to be a discouraging situation. Thousands of theories out there about how they pick and choose. I have never been able to figure it out.

One poster swears that they think they pull names out of a hat. I won't go that far, but knowing that seniority was actually based on drawing straws in any given course, I would not totally discount it either.

After decades, it still remains a mystery. Suspect that the first 15 seconds of initial contact make it or break it. They like you, or they do not like you. It's a human nature characteristic that everyone intuitively knows. The rest of the process is a routine screening thing that 99.8% get through.

[altiplano]

No post secondary here. I know lots from the same boat.

[FlyYYC]

No interview for me... I have a few years in at the other major airline. No degree.

[TheStig]

hate to burst the bubble, but tons of people have been hired without post secondary education. it may be a bit tougher if you are not in a feeder right now, but as far as feeders go, the vast majority do not have anything more than high school and get on.

I would not let the lack of a diploma or a degree to be a discouraging situation.

After decades, it still remains a mystery. Suspect that the first 15 seconds of initial contact make it or break it. They like you, or they do not like you. It's a human nature characteristic that everyone intuitively knows. The rest of the process is a routine screening thing that 99.8% get through.

Yes, there are lots of pilots at AC without post secondary education, most pilots on the property today without post secondary have come from a connector airline as part of a flow through agreement. I disagree with your second sentence, over the past 20 years aviation diploma and degree programs have proliferated across Canada and most airline pilots (including those hired at feeders) seem to have one or the other.

I agree that those without post secondary education shouldn't be discouraged, but they should realize that Air Canada holds degrees and diplomas in high regard and they will likely require more experience to get an interview. It does not make you a better pilot or person, but its importance in the section process hasn't changed for decades and looking through the new hire biographies for the past decade it's clear that those with degrees/diplomas get a kick at the can with less experience than those without one.

I've had friends rejected, and certainly agree that the process can leave you bewildered, but, everyone you talk to says that the interview itself is very professional, and warm and they felt they accurately portrayed themselves.

[co-joe]

Welcome to the grease pole, please enjoy your climb.

[Old fella]

hate to burst the bubble, but tons of people have been hired without post secondary education. it may be a bit tougher if you are not in a feeder right now, but as far as feeders go, the vast majority do not have anything more than high school and get on.

I would not let the lack of a diploma or a degree to be a discouraging situation.

After decades, it still remains a mystery. Suspect that the first 15 seconds of initial contact make it or break it. They like you, or they do not like you. It's a human nature characteristic that everyone intuitively knows. The rest of the process is a routine screening thing that 99.8% get through.

Yes, there are lots of pilots at AC without post secondary education, most pilots on the property today without post secondary have come from a connector airline as part of a flow through agreement. I disagree with your second sentence, over the past 20 years aviation diploma and degree programs have proliferated across Canada and most airline pilots (including those hired at feeders) seem to have one or the other.

I agree that those without post secondary education shouldn't be discouraged, but they should realize that Air Canada holds degrees and diplomas in high regard and they will likely require more experience to get an interview. It does not make you a better pilot or person, but its importance in the section process hasn't changed for decades and looking through the new hire biographies for the past decade it's clear that those with degrees/diplomas get a kick at the can with less experience than those without one.

I've had friends rejected, and certainly agree that the process can leave you bewildered, but, everyone you talk to says that the interview itself is very professional, and warm and they felt they accurately portrayed themselves.

In my close to 70yrs of existence post secondary education and fluency in both our official languages has alway been considered an asset speaking from the former not the latter. No guarantees of success of course(nor should it be) but a decided asset nevertheless.

[yvrflyguy]

another pit course announced for June 18. I knew they couldn’t hold off on the summer courses lol

[daedalusx]

Will be interesting to see the express vs OTS breakdown.

[nottellin]

Have calls gone out?

[JLA]

Same question. Also has anybody heard back from may interviews?