First month as an Instructor at Hawaiian so min flying:
Only 13 days off but my choice to join the Training Dept sooooo…
The days you have “class” how much are you working? Also how does your pay work as ground instructor?
Tucker,
I teach CRM which is somewhat dynamic as the length of the class may vary with the size of the class and the amount of discussion but it’s basically 9-5 (like a normal person). I get paid hourly my usual per hour pilot rate plus an “instructor override” which is a nice perk. That said the extra money doesn’t really make up for the time and effort involved so I wouldn’t recommend teaching if your only motivation is the pay.
Adam
Do new hires at Hawaiian typically start off an the 717 flying inter-island or can they start flying the a330 wide bodies?
Nathan,
It varies based on demand but yes, in fact the majority of recent newhires have been assigned the Airbus (also the last system bid included the 321 Neos due 7/17 with some newhires going there as well). Interisland is in many pilot’s opinion the best gig in aviation, myself included. The main reason many pilots move to the A330 is pay as there’s a significant difference. I transitioned to the Bus strictly to check the box. I wanted to fly a heavy around the planet and I’ve done that. As soon as my seniority will hold 717 Capt I plan to go back Interisland and stay there till retirement.
Adam
Adam,
When you say “as soon as your seniority will hold…” could you explain further? Does that mean you could bid for CA/FO, aircraft, domicile but lose it from someone with higher seniority? I have heard several times the phase “seniority will hold” but have not completely understood what that means or the implications of it.
Maybe I’m just over thinking it.
Thanks
Ryan
Not at all Ryan, it’s actually a great question.
In order to move or transition to any “seat” or position (whether we’re talking FO to Capt, or different aircraft) there are basically 3 requirements. A) The company must post a “Vacancy or System bid” (they come out based on need due to any number of reasons but generally pilots leaving, retiring or new aircraft, *On a side note when it comes to bases many airlines have separate Base bids to allow pilots to move or trade bases. Those come out more frequently than Vacancy bids), B) there has to be a “vacancy” (open slot) in that bid and, C) your “seniority” must be able to “hold it”. So let’s use me for example here at Hawaiian. Most important things to keep in mind is you can’t just simply move whenever you like. When I was first hired I was assigned to the 717. Now whenever you get assigned OR swap aircraft there’s usually a “seat lock” (2-3 yrs) which prevents you from moving again (training is expensive and they can’t just have pilots hopping from aircraft to aircraft). Now after 2 years my lock expired but I wanted to transition to the Airbus so I bid Airbus FO. Now there were only 6 open slots and they get awarded to those who bid those Airbus FO slots based on their seniority. If there were 6 guys senior to me (which there was) I don’t get to move. EVEN THOUGH there were Airbus FOs junior to me on the aircraft due to their initial assignments, you cannot push another pilot out, there MUST be an open slot. The next bid came out and again I bid Airbus FO, there was a slot and my seniority held it so voila! I got it. Now I’m waiting to upgrade so again it’s a question of waiting for a bid, a slot and my seniority to hold it. Now the exception to all this is if a pilot gets “displaced” they can then displace another pilot. For example (again using Hawaiian) we’re phasing out our 767s so the most junior 767 pilots are losing their positions. They then can displace ANY pilot in any seat or aircraft who’s junior to then and that pilot can in turn displace another.
Make sense?
Adam
Adam,
Yes, thanks for the explanation.
Ryan