Current Pilots - How is it?

[proppilot123]

Hello!

Wondering if there are any pilots that are working at Flair right now to say how it is.

Schedule?
Days off?
Productive flying?
Morale?
Future?

Thanks!

[Blueontop]

I am wondering too, especially if the rapid upgrades are actually happening after 6 months?

[the_new_guy]

You could get a wide range of answers to this. Some from pilots within and some from pilots outside looking in and making their own mind up.

To start with, depends on what position you're looking at. If you are joining as FO, schedule wise you're in the good to great stuff. You'll most likely not be in reserve at all or barely, and then you'll have rosters of 17-18 days a month to start with and work within a matter of a couple of months towards roster of 14-15 days of work. Really good stuff for junior guys.

If you join in as captain or rapid upgrade FOs, once you're in the left seat you'll have a few months of reserve. Guys in yyz that joined in fall are now looking at a full roster in March, no more reserve which is very quick. And reserve you'll have whatever company you go to anyway. At flair you'll get called a bunch depending on which reserve shift you have. Guys that don't want to get called bid for a certain type of reserve, those who want to fly bid for another type. So there's something for everyone really.

Productivity? Depends on where you stand and what you bid for. Junior guys will of course get less productive flying. Nothing new here it's the way aviation is. At flair there's a range of minimum credit days to 11 credits daily.

Just to touch on the bid system: you'll get all the help you want to try and master the bidding through bid courses where you can learn and ask questions. Those are available to all on at least 2-3 days a month during bid periods to help you make the most of your schedule.

The maximum days of work per month is 18. So to put things into simple terms if you are scheduled for reserve, you'll have 18 days of it. Again, if you want to get called you'll bid a certain type of reserve, if not you'll bid an other so you'll get lots of "free" time or lots of flying days depending on your preference.

Moral on the line is pretty good. It's nice in the flight decks and when shit hits the fan like it inevitably does every once in a while people tend to joke about it. It helps when you bring Timbits!

Future? Not sure what you are getting at. No one has a crystal ball so I'll just give you my take on it. I made a choice in joining flair that I don't regret. It's a good company to work for and good people to work with. There are issues, but every company has issues. We all have friends at Westjet, AC, Porter, Transat and the likes and there is nothing new under the sun at all these different companies. Airlines in Canada remain the same, and pilots are pilots. Make what you will of it.

In my honest opinion, flair has a solid footing in the market and will remain that way. What is coming next? The long awaited Montreal base. When? Not sure! It was supposed to be in '22, but aviation wouldn't be aviation without at least parts of a plan not working the way it was supposed to. So now we're talking about 2024. Also Halifax is supposed to be coming down the pipe after Montreal. You should of course make decisions based on current circumstances, and take into account tentative plans to a lesser degree because you just never know how long it will take.

Hope this helps.

[the_new_guy]

I am wondering too, especially if the rapid upgrades are actually happening after 6 months?

They are. But make no mistake, you're not guaranteed anything. You have to make the minimums for upgrades, then you can apply for the position. There's a series of assessments, including an upgrade interview that some thought of as a formality. You can actually fail the interview and then you'll be able to apply again for the upgrade 6 months later.

-line assessments
-command upgrade interview
-sim training (mixe of regular and loft)
-ppc
-line indoc
-line check
-line monitoring (you'll fly with a regular fo with a training captain on the jumpseat to assess your soft skills/crm and continue evaluating your decision making)
-second and final line check

These are the different items on your to do list when you apply for upgrade.

[digits_]

I am wondering too, especially if the rapid upgrades are actually happening after 6 months?

They are. But make no mistake, you're not guaranteed anything. You have to make the minimums for upgrades, then you can apply for the position. There's a series of assessments, including an upgrade interview that some thought of as a formality. You can actually fail the interview and then you'll be able to apply again for the upgrade 6 months later.

-line assessments
-command upgrade interview
-sim training (mixe of regular and loft)
-ppc
-line indoc
-line check
-line monitoring (you'll fly with a regular fo with a training captain on the jumpseat to assess your soft skills/crm and continue evaluating your decision making)
-second and final line check

These are the different items on your to do list when you apply for upgrade.

What kind of interview is it? How do people mostly fail it?
Is it technical? Or more of a personality test kind of interview?

[the_new_guy]

I am wondering too, especially if the rapid upgrades are actually happening after 6 months?

They are. But make no mistake, you're not guaranteed anything. You have to make the minimums for upgrades, then you can apply for the position. There's a series of assessments, including an upgrade interview that some thought of as a formality. You can actually fail the interview and then you'll be able to apply again for the upgrade 6 months later.

-line assessments
-command upgrade interview
-sim training (mixe of regular and loft)
-ppc
-line indoc
-line check
-line monitoring (you'll fly with a regular fo with a training captain on the jumpseat to assess your soft skills/crm and continue evaluating your decision making)
-second and final line check

These are the different items on your to do list when you apply for upgrade.

What kind of interview is it? How do people mostly fail it?
Is it technical? Or more of a personality test kind of interview?

It's mostly based on technically versed scenarios. This way they get a good understanding of how well you know your manuals, procedures, how you would work a certain problem. You have access to all your usual material during the interview, anything that's on your company iPad.

People have failed due to lack of preparation mostly. There are certain cases of failure due to behavior related issues but most candidates make it through the interview. You have time to prepare, study, it really shouldn't be an issue if you put the time into it. Knowledge of manuals, procedures, memory items of course, and then just work through the different scenarios presented to you during the interview.

[digits_]

They are. But make no mistake, you're not guaranteed anything. You have to make the minimums for upgrades, then you can apply for the position. There's a series of assessments, including an upgrade interview that some thought of as a formality. You can actually fail the interview and then you'll be able to apply again for the upgrade 6 months later.

-line assessments
-command upgrade interview
-sim training (mixe of regular and loft)
-ppc
-line indoc
-line check
-line monitoring (you'll fly with a regular fo with a training captain on the jumpseat to assess your soft skills/crm and continue evaluating your decision making)
-second and final line check

These are the different items on your to do list when you apply for upgrade.

What kind of interview is it? How do people mostly fail it?
Is it technical? Or more of a personality test kind of interview?

It's mostly based on technically versed scenarios. This way they get a good understanding of how well you know your manuals, procedures, how you would work a certain problem. You have access to all your usual material during the interview, anything that's on your company iPad.

People have failed due to lack of preparation mostly. There are certain cases of failure due to behavior related issues but most candidates make it through the interview. You have time to prepare, study, it really shouldn't be an issue if you put the time into it. Knowledge of manuals, procedures, memory items of course, and then just work through the different scenarios presented to you during the interview.

Thanks, sounds fair!

[8895]

Any big differences with schedules between bases? I imagine the rosters at bigger airports like YYZ and YVR would be smaller than their nearby smaller airports like YKF and YXX?

With Flair following the ULCC model and having so many bases to choose from it’s definitely and intriguing job to look into, as COL is very out of control in this country and I imagine many younger pilots would love living in cities other than the “big 3” of YYZ, YVR and YUL.

[Schlomo Overpeck]

Any big differences with schedules between bases? I imagine the rosters at bigger airports like YYZ and YVR would be smaller than their nearby smaller airports like YKF and YXX?

With Flair following the ULCC model and having so many bases to choose from it’s definitely and intriguing job to look into, as COL is very out of control in this country and I imagine many younger pilots would love living in cities other than the “big 3” of YYZ, YVR and YUL.

YYZ and YVR and respectively the two biggest bases and thus have more variety of schedules.

[Schlomo Overpeck]

Any big differences with schedules between bases? I imagine the rosters at bigger airports like YYZ and YVR would be smaller than their nearby smaller airports like YKF and YXX?

With Flair following the ULCC model and having so many bases to choose from it’s definitely and intriguing job to look into, as COL is very out of control in this country and I imagine many younger pilots would love living in cities other than the “big 3” of YYZ, YVR and YUL.

YYZ and YVR and respectively the two biggest bases and thus have more variety of schedules.

[Vanguard]

Hello!

Wondering if there are any pilots that are working at Flair right now to say how it is.

Schedule?
Days off?
Productive flying?
Morale?
Future?

Thanks!

It's brutal. Don't do it.