Airline Pilot Interview
The Infamous Airline Interview
I walked into the interview with a great deal of confidence and enthusiasm. Flying airplanes was my one true passion in this life. This was my big chance to merge my occupation with my love. I would become an airline pilot.
"So you want to be an airline pilot?" the interviewer inquired.
"Yes, sir, more than anything else I have ever wanted," I replied,
realizing I sounded like an anxious adolescent.
"Well, great, welcome aboard," the airline executive said.
"You mean I'm hired?!" I cheered.
"You bet, we're glad to have you. Actually, we've had trouble finding
good pilots to hire," the exec explained. If I was surprised, it was
overshadowed by my joy of reaching my dream.
"Let's just go over a few points before you sign on the dotted line," the company man chortled. "We're going to send you to the world's most renowned medical center. They'll spend two days probing your body orifices, draining and analyzing your blood, and administering psychological exams. They'll literally take you apart and put you back together. If they find any hint of current or future problems, you're fired and can find your own ride home."
"Gee, I think my health is OK," I nervously choked out.
The manager went on, "Good, next we'll evaluate your flying skills in an aircraft you've never been in before. "If we don't like the way you perform, you're fired,"
I was confident with my flying, but this guy was making me nervous.
He continued, "Next, if you're still here, we'll run you through our training program. If during any time in the next 10 years you decide to leave the company, you'll have to reimburse us $20,000, or we'll sue you. Also if you fail to measure up during training, you're fired."
The man who had just given me my dream job listed still more hurdles. "Each time, before we allow you near one of our multi-million dollar aircraft we'll X-ray your flight bag and luggage, because we don't trust you. Also we'll ask you to pass through a magnetometer each time. If you fail to do so, you'll be arrested and jailed."
"When you've completed your flight, we'll have you provide a urine sample, because we don't trust you to not take drugs. Very soon, we plan to take a blood sample to look for more drugs. "Also if you ever fly with another crew member who may have used drugs or alcohol, you must report to us immediately. If you fail to notice that anyone has used these substances, you'll be fired, have your license to fly revoked, and be fined $10,000."
"Every six months, we want you to go back to the medical center for another exam. If they ever find a hint of a problem, your license to fly will be revoked and we'll fire you. Anytime you see a medical person, you must tell us about it so we can see if you need to be grounded and terminated. Also, we need to examine your driving record, and you must tell us if you have even any minor infractions so we can remove you from the cockpit as soon as possible."
"At any time, without notice, a special branch of the government will send one of its inspectors to ride in your aircraft. The inspector will demand to see your papers and license; if your papers are not in order, you'll be removed, fined, terminated, and possibly jailed."
"If at any time you make an error in judgment or an honest human mistake, you will be terminated, be fined tens of thousands of dollars, and be dragged through months of court proceedings. The government will make sure you never fly again for any airline."
"You will be well out of town most holidays, weekends, and family events, half our pilots are always on the job at any point in time.
Smiling an evil smile now, the airline hirer went on. "Oh, and one last thing to cover. Occasionally, we in management fail to see a trend and screw up royally or the country's economy falls flat on its face. If as a result of one of those events the corporation begins to lose money, you
as an employee will be expected to make up the losses from your paycheck. Of course, management will not be held to the same standards.
Oh, and one last thing - if we negotiate pay and work rule concessions from you in the in exchange for a better pension plan, we probably won't fund that pension plan agreement (unlike the management pension plan and golden parachutes) and will likely have yanked it away from you."
"Now sign here," he pointed, grinning as he handed me a pen.
I faked a sudden nosebleed. Holding my head back and pinching my nostrils, I hurried from his office. When I got to the hall, I began to run. I ran all the way to my car. I figured if I hurried I could still get to the county vocational school before 5:00 and enroll in the industrial welding career program. !!
Reprinted from Airline Pilot Central
* A few points are slightly exaggerated but 95% is true!
18 Answers
Jump to latest
Who wants to be a real airline pilot now? 😳
Well, that's a pretty scary story 
....now which of you real pilots work under the same or similar conditions? 😳
One would hope this is only one specific airline 🙄
That's approximately how it works with all US airlines. A few of the details are exaggerated but over all, it's the way it is.
That was and is my dream...................................................................................................................................now I just don't know what to do. Is the case similar in Europe/Spain?
CRJCapt wrote:
*A few points are slightly exaggerated but 95% is true!
So what part is exaggerated? You could have future pilots scared, freaked out, and, worst of all, would give up because of all this! So what is the exaggerated part? It`s a shame they do that, it shure makes me scared about what would happen to me 
I didn't write it, it was copied from Airline Pilot Central. I didn't post it to scare anyone, I thought it was a interesting look at the airline interview that featured a few exaggerations to make it fun to read.
Point 1[ He continued, "Next, if you're still here, we'll run you through our training program. If during any time in the next 10 years you decide to leave the company, you'll have to reimburse us $20,000, or we'll sue you. Also if you fail to measure up during training, you're fired." ]
Pay for training used to be prevalent but not so much these days. Southwest Airlines requires applicants to pay for and pass a 737 type rating(approx, $7,000 to $10,000) before you begin training or you're fired, most airlines however don't. Some companies have a training contract that says that if you quit within a certain time, you have to repay the company a certain amount for your training. If you don't, they will sue you. If you fail training, you will be fired. They give you three chances to pass with retraining but if you still don't measure up, you're fired.
*That's not the only exaggeration, I'll add more later.
Last edited by CRJCapt on Sun Feb 18, 2007 6:05 pm, edited 1 time in total
Point 2
["Let's just go over a few points before you sign on the dotted line," the company man chortled. "We're going to send you to the world's most renowned medical center. They'll spend two days probing your body orifices, draining and analyzing your blood, and administering psychological exams. They'll literally take you apart and put you back together. If they find any hint of current or future problems, you're fired and can find your own ride home."]
Some airlines give you an exam some just take your doctors word.They would allow you to go to your doctor to cure a small problem but large problems would be cause for denial of employment, most would give you a ride home.
Oh. Those things were what I was worried about the most. You can keep on posting the exaggerations, but now I feel better about it.
Point 3
["When you've completed your flight, we'll have you provide a urine sample, because we don't trust you to not take drugs. Very soon, we plan to take a blood sample to look for more drugs. "Also if you ever fly with another crew member who may have used drugs or alcohol, you must report to us immediately. If you fail to notice that anyone has used these substances, you'll be fired, have your license to fly revoked, and be fined $10,000."]
All true except that Urinalysis is random and unannounced but not after each flight. I've never heard of plans of requiring a blood test.
Point 4
["Every six months, we want you to go back to the medical center for another exam. If they ever find a hint of a problem, your license to fly will be revoked and we'll fire you. Anytime you see a medical person, you must tell us about it so we can see if you need to be grounded and terminated. Also, we need to examine your driving record, and you must tell us if you have even any minor infractions so we can remove you from the cockpit as soon as possible."]
All true except that Captains are required to receive medical exams every six months but First Officers only every 12 months. If there is a problem, you would lose your medical but not your pilot certificate. You can't fly without the medical. You would have a certain amount of time to recover but after that time, you would be fired. They do check your driving record when you first get the job but it's not checked after you're hired. You have to report driving tickets on the medical form and the job application, too many tickets(don't know a number) and you won't get the job. A ticket involving DWI or drugs will effect your chance of getting hired. After you're hired, they still make you report tickets, DWI or convections dealing with drugs, any of which could effect the issuance of your medical which affects your job..
Point 5
["At any time, without notice, a special branch of the government will send one of its inspectors to ride in your aircraft. The inspector will demand to see your papers and license; if your papers are not in order, you'll be removed, fined, terminated, and possibly jailed."]
True but I've never heard of anyone being fired or jailed. FAA inspectors perform surprise checks on flight crews. They'll ride up front in the jump seat to observe operations. They check your manuals, flight release, certificates and aircraft maintenance log. It's possible to get fired or jailed but you would really have to do something stupid or grossly against regulations or procedures. More likely a verbal reprimand or suspension by your company, a fine is possible.
Pardon my ignorance, but... "DWI" ❓
Driving while intoxicated?
7dream8liner7
Guest
ARD-DC wrote:
Pardon my ignorance, but... "DWI" ❓
Yes. Some people use DWI, driving while intoxicated, while others use DUI, driving under the influence. Tomato, tomato, 'mater. (that doesn't work in print)
rgr.
Guess the tomato joke is meant to be pronounced three different ways, demonstrating that different words can be used for one and the same thing 🙂
CRJCapt wrote:
That must be a southern driver :p Let me guess - there's a barbeque in the back as well!
Still does not answer your question? Ask a new question!
If the question and answers provided above do not answer your specific question - why not ask a new question of your own? Our community and flight simulator experts will provided a dedicated and unique answer to your flight sim question. And, you don't even need to register to post your question!
Search our questions and answers...
Be sure to search for your question from existing posted questions before asking a new question as your question may already exist from another user. If you're sure your question is unique and hasn't been asked before, consider asking a new question.
Related Questions
Flight Sim Questions that are closely related to this...
