Anyone has an insight regarding the WestJet Group YYC Recruiting Event?

[StrayPilot]

I had just applied for it and got the invite for the event. Any idea what to expect there or if it's worth the trip?

http://www.avcanada.ca/forums2/viewtopic.php?t=222525

Has anyone attended this before with something to share regarding the experience?

[rwy31]

Did you attend? Any feedback? Feel free to PM

[StrayPilot]

Did you attend? Any feedback? Feel free to PM

Sorry I didn't see this message. I ended up not going since I committed to something else

[JBI]

Whether it's this recruiting event or any others, be mindful that these are the first step in the interview process and you are making an impression. Recruiters at different airlines and/or pilots involved in hiring will make notes of both the good and bad candidates they spoke with at these events. While it won't get you the job, a good impression will go a long way. I also know of situations where a bad attitude at these types of events ruined candidates chances.

[CaptDukeNukem]

Did you attend? Any feedback? Feel free to PM

Sorry I didn't see this message. I ended up not going since I committed to something else

Well done! encore is a dead end.

[BillytheKid]

Whether it's this recruiting event or any others, be mindful that these are the first step in the interview process and you are making an impression. Recruiters at different airlines and/or pilots involved in hiring will make notes of both the good and bad candidates they spoke with at these events. While it won't get you the job, a good impression will go a long way. I also know of situations where a bad attitude at these types of events ruined candidates chances.

Encore sounds brutal. Does it even have flow to WJ? And if it did...isn't it like a 15 yrs upgrade on a POS steam driven 737??

[dontcallmeshirley]

Encore sounds brutal. Does it even have flow to WJ? And if it did...isn't it like a 15 yrs upgrade on a POS steam driven 737??

The WENMEC approved a minimum 20 "guaranteed flow" per year and sold it to the pilots as better than the flow or pay agreement that preceded it.

The WENMEC makes up most of the top 20 at Encore and will not be flowing this year due to the Sunwing merger and threatened layoffs. Meanwhile Encore is in a position to hire TFWs.

Brilliant.

[careerpilot?]

I attended the event and found it to be a positive experience.

Maybe the perspective of coming in from a very different community (military) and being less concerned about wages (pension) gives me a different viewpoint on working for Encore, but I plan on applying when I finish my license conversions.

[dontcallmeshirley]

I attended the event and found it to be a positive experience.

Maybe the perspective of coming in from a very different community (military) and being less concerned about wages (pension) gives me a different viewpoint on working for Encore, but I plan on applying when I finish my license conversions.

Encore fixed its wage problem in 2023. The issue with Encore is that there is no flow to mainline and poor maintenance (edit: Encore is a safe airline, but they are deferring items that should be fixed for passenger and crew comfort. The shortage of maintenance personnel is having a negative effect on comfort and on time performance). Both of those issues are caused by Onex's desire to squeeze as many pennies from the airline as they can.

Employees don't like the company the way they did ten years ago. Customers don't like the company the way they did five years ago. They've had more catastrophic engine failures than any other 705 in Canada in 2024.

[flyinhigh]

Encore fixed its wage problem in 2023. The issue with Encore is that there is no flow to mainline and poor maintenance. Both of those issues are caused by Onex's desire to squeeze as many pennies from the airline as they can.

Employees don't like the company the way they did ten years ago. Customers don't like the company the way they did five years ago. They've had more catastrophic engine failures than any other 705 in Canada in 2024.

Those are some pretty drastic accusations that I hope you;
1) have proof/evidence
2) have filed reports vis sms and vocalized the serious nature of what’s happening to the powers that be, and
3) Informed TC that Encore is putting lives at risk.

I’m not an engineer, but accusing maintenance at a 705 level doesn’t pass the smell test especially if you haven’t raised any concerns.

[cdnavater]

Encore fixed its wage problem in 2023. The issue with Encore is that there is no flow to mainline and poor maintenance. Both of those issues are caused by Onex's desire to squeeze as many pennies from the airline as they can.

Employees don't like the company the way they did ten years ago. Customers don't like the company the way they did five years ago. They've had more catastrophic engine failures than any other 705 in Canada in 2024.

Those are some pretty drastic accusations that I hope you;
1) have proof/evidence
2) have filed reports vis sms and vocalized the serious nature of what’s happening to the powers that be, and
3) Informed TC that Encore is putting lives at risk.

I’m not an engineer, but accusing maintenance at a 705 level doesn’t pass the smell test especially if you haven’t raised any concerns.

Agreed, T.C should be all over this, if true!

[dontcallmeshirley]

Encore fixed its wage problem in 2023. The issue with Encore is that there is no flow to mainline and poor maintenance. Both of those issues are caused by Onex's desire to squeeze as many pennies from the airline as they can.

Employees don't like the company the way they did ten years ago. Customers don't like the company the way they did five years ago. They've had more catastrophic engine failures than any other 705 in Canada in 2024.

Those are some pretty drastic accusations that I hope you;
1) have proof/evidence
2) have filed reports vis sms and vocalized the serious nature of what’s happening to the powers that be, and
3) Informed TC that Encore is putting lives at risk.

I’m not an engineer, but accusing maintenance at a 705 level doesn’t pass the smell test especially if you haven’t raised any concerns.

tl;dr: Encore is safe. The biggest issue facing Encore is that flow has stopped and there is no seniority carrying over for new pilots.

Let's be clear... I never claimed that lives were at risk.

The poor maintenance is caused by the maintenance team being understaffed for years. They were barely keeping up with proactive maintenance before the strike and fell behind after it. Most aircraft were flying with half a dozen non-airworthiness items MEL'd, as well as one or a few airworthiness items. Non-airworthiness items that I saw included ANVS, sidewall panels, burned out bulbs in the cabin, seat coverings. Commonly MEL'd airworthiness items included pilot seats, cockpit lighting, and passenger seat recline. They often used their delegated authority to extend required checks or part replacements (landing gear parts was one) due to 'part sourcing and availability.' This authority is delegated by TC to reduce the workload, and is occasionally audited to ensure compliance. That is a testament to the years of trust that was built between WestJet and TC through safe maintenance practices.

As far as the catastrophic engine failures, at least one of the Encore ones has already been investigated by the TSB and is currently in the report phase. It appears that they were caused by a design flaw in the engine that, with specific operating style, would cause a catastrophic failure of a compressor disc. From what I know, this issue caused a failure at another Canadian operator as well. There have been operational changes that have been applied at several carriers to prevent similar failures and it seems to have been successful as this issue has not occurred at any airline since the change was made.
https://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/enquetes-inve ... p0020.html

I do not think that passengers or crew are at risk flying WestJet or Encore, but I do think that comfort and OTP are negatively affected by these issues. Management was good with supporting crew that refused an aircraft that they deemed unfit to complete the flight safely and do not pressure crew to take aircraft that they are uncomfortable with. That said, I left Encore to pursue another airline that fit the lifestyle that I wanted. My new employer has a program to proactively replace parts before they fail in order to improve reliability and performance. Their aircraft are twice the age of Encore aircraft, yet feel like they are in better condition.

[gqra]

https://avherald.com/h?search_term=West ... search.y=0

I would expect that TC would have Encore on watch with the number of incidents, but that would require them to actually have inspectors...

[JBI]

Whether it's this recruiting event or any others, be mindful that these are the first step in the interview process and you are making an impression. Recruiters at different airlines and/or pilots involved in hiring will make notes of both the good and bad candidates they spoke with at these events. While it won't get you the job, a good impression will go a long way. I also know of situations where a bad attitude at these types of events ruined candidates chances.

Encore sounds brutal. Does it even have flow to WJ? And if it did...isn't it like a 15 yrs upgrade on a POS steam driven 737??

My comment was general for all airlines that one may be applying to, not just Encore.

Right now Encore is a great place to go to get 705 time and then get hired by AC, Flair and Porter. It's too bad, as it SHOULD be a good place to go and then go to WJ, but it's not. Recently we've seen lots of Encore pilots get hired at AC and some Jazz pilots get hired at WJ.

And for someone who in a post last year said "I'm working really hard with my academic advisor to help me hunt down scholarship opportunities" referring to an NG or Max as a "POS steam driven 737" is quite the statement! I'm not sure you're going to enjoy your first few years in the industry flying Cessnas, Navajos and King Airs that are older than your parents. You'll find that when you get to the airline level, you don't care as much about the equipment you're flying as the quality of life and pay.

Macro-economic factors notwithstanding, the current upgrade time at WJ for the 737 is ~10-13 years depending on the base. I expect that number to remain relatively consistent over the next few years. Yes, that's WAY more than it has recently been at pretty much any other airline in Canada, but given the hiring and slowing of retirements at Air Canada, I expect that for those pilots just starting on their training now, they'll find that Air Canada's upgrade times slowly increase back to historical levels which previously were in the 10 year range for NB Captains.

[cdnavater]

Whether it's this recruiting event or any others, be mindful that these are the first step in the interview process and you are making an impression. Recruiters at different airlines and/or pilots involved in hiring will make notes of both the good and bad candidates they spoke with at these events. While it won't get you the job, a good impression will go a long way. I also know of situations where a bad attitude at these types of events ruined candidates chances.

Encore sounds brutal. Does it even have flow to WJ? And if it did...isn't it like a 15 yrs upgrade on a POS steam driven 737??

My comment was general for all airlines that one may be applying to, not just Encore.

Right now Encore is a great place to go to get 705 time and then get hired by AC, Flair and Porter. It's too bad, as it SHOULD be a good place to go and then go to WJ, but it's not. Recently we've seen lots of Encore pilots get hired at AC and some Jazz pilots get hired at WJ.

And for someone who in a post last year said "I'm working really hard with my academic advisor to help me hunt down scholarship opportunities" referring to an NG or Max as a "POS steam driven 737" is quite the statement! I'm not sure you're going to enjoy your first few years in the industry flying Cessnas, Navajos and King Airs that are older than your parents. You'll find that when you get to the airline level, you don't care as much about the equipment you're flying as the quality of life and pay.

Macro-economic factors notwithstanding, the current upgrade time at WJ for the 737 is ~10-13 years depending on the base. I expect that number to remain relatively consistent over the next few years. Yes, that's WAY more than it has recently been at pretty much any other airline in Canada, but given the hiring and slowing of retirements at Air Canada, I expect that for those pilots just starting on their training now, they'll find that Air Canada's upgrade times slowly increase back to historical levels which previously were in the 10 year range for NB Captains.

Regarding AC hiring, they have a ton of orders on the books, depends on growth vs retirement of airframes, right now expect things to slow down a bit.