Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers , where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away! Julie asks: Hi Kent, I love your blog! You have mentioned before the importance of a pilot staying with one airline throughout his career because seniority is everything. Recently, you also noted that some airlines like Air France will even pay for a pilot's training, which sounds like a nice incentive to try to become their employee. It seems like there are many different factors to seriously consider before joining an airline, especially since you are hoping to be with the airline for several years. With all of these factors to think about, how did you choose which airline you wanted to work for when you were just starting out? Thanks Julie, It's nice to be able to target the airline that you want to work for and land that job, but often we don't usually have that luxury. Generally, you take the first offer you get. I was incredibly fortunate to get noticed and successfully navigate the interview process with the airline that I most wanted to work for. Often the airline of choice will vary and today, the freight operators like FedEx and UPS are at the top of most pilots list. Southwest and Alaska have always been favorites of applicants as well. For me, I wanted the opportunity to fly internationally and to fly more than one type ...
Anytime
Welcome to Gadling's feature, Plane Answers , where our resident airline pilot, Kent Wien, answers your questions about everything from takeoff to touchdown and beyond. Have a question of your own? Ask away! Julie asks: Hi Kent, I love your blog! You have mentioned before the importance of a pilot staying with one airline throughout his career because seniority is everything. Recently, you also noted that some airlines like Air France will even pay for a pilot's training, which sounds like a nice incentive to try to become their employee. It seems like there are many different factors to seriously consider before joining an airline, especially since you are hoping to be with the airline for several years. With all of these factors to think about, how did you choose which airline you wanted to work for when you were just starting out? Thanks Julie, It's nice to be able to target the airline that you want to work for and land that job, but often we don't usually have that luxury. Generally, you take the first offer you get. I was incredibly fortunate to get noticed and successfully navigate the interview process with the airline that I most wanted to work for. Often the airline of choice will vary and today, the freight operators like FedEx and UPS are at the top of most pilots list. Southwest and Alaska have always been favorites of applicants as well. For me, I wanted the opportunity to fly internationally and to fly more than one type ...