Aviation Industry Updates: Dec 26, 2023

Southwest Airlines Says Pilot ‘résumé washing’ Is New Hurdle In Talent War

KEY POINTS:

• Pilots from smaller carriers are applying for jobs at Southwest Airlines only to leave months later to work for bigger rivals, the latest salvo in the U.S. aviation industry’s war for talent.
• The process, which Southwest’s chief operating officer Andrew Watterson called “résumé washing,” is a way for ambitious pilots to sidestep policies he said large U.S. carriers put in place to protect staffing for their associated regional airlines. Pilots normally take jobs at those smaller airlines to build enough flying hours to apply at bigger ones through agreements between the carriers. But some aviators can see their careers stalled if the larger rivals slow or stem that hiring process.
• Pilots stuck at these airlines have been frustrated to see major carriers reportedly use six-figure bonuses to lure pilots from cargo carriers like United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx Corp. So they are increasingly looking to be hired at a low-cost carrier like Southwest, then leaving within a year to secure a job at Delta Air Lines or United Airlines.
• Regional pilots “know that if I get Southwest or another airline on my résumé, I can get to where I want to go,” Watterson, the Southwest COO, said in a Dec. 13 interview in New York. “So they use us as a premeditated way station. They come to Southwest, get hired, trained, spend six months and then they flip their résumé and apply somewhere else.”
• Spokespeople for Delta and United pushed back by saying they still hire directly from regional carriers, though United said it does pace the number of those recruits. American Airlines Group Inc. said it hires from regional carriers and has long-standing agreements to accept a certain number of pilots from those that are wholly owned.

We Just Got A Pilot With FOUR 121 Checkride Failures Hired At A Legacy

I don’t know why you haven’t gotten an interview yet… But, if you book a call, we’ve got the resources to figure it out and help you get one ASAP.

Why JSX Thinks It Is the Right Fit for Small Community Air Service

KEY POINTS:

• So-called semi-private carrier JSX is looking at the next evolution of its business strategy. Following a commitment for over 300 hybrid-electric aircraft from three different manufacturers, the Dallas-based carrier is eyeing service to small and underserved communities across the U.S.
• According to the Regional Airline Association (RAA), 14 U.S. airports have lost all scheduled commercial air service as of late 2022. JSX’s founder and CEO – Alex Wilcox – believes his company is well-equipped to reconnect some of these small communities, especially with new hybrid-electric aircraft in its fleet.
• That’s where 20 to 50-seat regional jets like the Beechcraft 1900 and the Bombardier CRJ-200 come into the picture. As is often the case for regional aircraft, short stage lengths coupled with fewer seats lead to lower Available Seat Miles (ASMs). Therefore, higher unit costs in the numerator — otherwise known as Cost per Available Seat Mile (CASM) – create a situation where the smaller aircraft become less commercially viable.
• “And so the Beech 1900 era is over. The Saab 340 era is over…This is definitely the era of the [737] MAX and the [A320] NEO,” he added. “And those are great airplanes, and they do certain things really efficiently. But, they are not airplanes that you can bring to a community like Del Rio, Texas three times, two times, or even one time a day. There’s 40,000 people that live there. They’ve got to travel like everybody else does, too…”

Airline Geeks

We Just Got A Pilot With A Gear Up Landing Hired At A Major

I don’t know why you haven’t gotten an interview yet… But, if you book a call, we’ve got the resources to figure it out and help you get one ASAP.

FedEx Reorganises Air Network

KEY POINTS:

• FedEx will reorganise its air network to better suit the demands of various shipment types as part of efforts to cut costs.
• The company this week revealed that it would divide its air network into three sections; purple orange and white.
• The purple network will deliver high-priority, high-margin volumes through FedEx-owned aircraft operating under a hub and spoke model.
• Orange will build off-cycle FedEx flights into the network to build density, decongest hubs, and connect with its global surface networks.
• Finally, white will use partner airline networks to add capacity when needed.
• The move will allow the company to prioritise shipments such as e-commerce to meet demands for faster transits while shipments such as general freight can be shipped at less busy times and outside of the hub and spoke system.
• Capacity can also be allocated to better meet the demand levels of the various segments.
  FedEx president and chief executive Raj Subramaniam said that until now the air network has operated in hub and spoke system to support speed and global connectivity.

Air Cargo News

How American Airlines Is Using Machine Learning To Reduce Taxi Times By 20%

KEY POINTS:

• Launched back in 2021 for testing, American Airlines’ Smart Gating technology was implemented during the hectic Thanksgiving travel season this year, with the system reducing taxiing times and limiting carbon dioxide emissions.
• According to the airline, Smart Gating, developed by its in-house Technology and Operations team, slashed the time spent on the taxiway at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) by up to 20%, reducing systemwide taxiing time by up to 17 hours each day. The system utilizes a mix of real-time flight information and other operational data to ensure aircraft are assigned the closest gate, limiting the need to taxi further across the terminal and reducing gating conflicts by 50%.
• Smart Gating has since been deployed across its major hubs at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), Miami International Airport (MIA), Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA), and Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD), with the system adjusted to meet each airports varying requirements.
• In a statement shared by the carrier, Vice President of Operations Planning and Performance, Anne Moroni, noted American Airlines’ continued commitments to innovating its operations and that it had become a “game changer” at its largest bases.

Simple Flying

We Just Got A Pilot With 1526 Hours Hired At A Legacy

I don’t know why you haven’t gotten an interview yet… But, if you book a call, we’ve got the resources to figure it out and help you get one ASAP.

2024 Job/Industry Fairs