Interviewing to be CAL F/A and Need Advice

[Coffee_Tea_Or_Me]

I am in the early stages of interviewing to be a flight attendant at CAL. I am a former US F/A and know the industry and positon rather well, but I have some questions specific to CAL F/As.

1. How many hours are your reserves flying each month?
2. How long does it take to become an ISM?
3. What is the seniority of the junior lineholder in EWR? In IAH?
4. What are the domestic trips out of EWR like? Are they mostly one days and turns, or are they longer?
5. Do the F/As stay with the pilots for the duration of a trip, or are you separate?
6. Do you have layovers in the carribean, or are they turns out of EWR?

THANKS for any help you can provide. This is going to be a life altering decision to leave a 60K a year job to return to my first love -- flying.

 

[CO738]

I interviewed with CAL in June. I didn't get the job, but I can answer your questions.

You have an advantage. In my group, we had 28 people. Only one got hired, and she is an regional flight attendant (Mesa - BNA based, which is UAL Express).

There were also 2 UA based f/a's and an ex- (furloughed?) NW f/a. The woman running the intro alluded to the fact that CO prefers to hire current flight attendants, but this is by no means a given to get in.

Ok, to answer your questions:

1. You are going to be paid for, at minimum, 93 hours while you are reserve. Most reserve f/a's actually fly about 60 - 80 hrs/month.

You will be on reserve, despite experience, for a min. of 12 months, and probably 1-3 years. All new f/a's go to Newark. If, by fluke, you get IAH or CLE, move-up from reserve to line is 3-7 years.

2. ISM ... 5 - 10 yrs

3. IAH is the most senior base. I do not know the exact seniority of line holders.

4. This depends, but most trips, they have told us, are multiple day trips - usually 3 or 4 days.

5. I do not know.

6. Judging by CO's schedule, it depends on the city and the flight. However, because line bidding is done by seniority, like most airlines, we were told that we would probably not step foot in the Caribbean for a good decade.

 

[Coffee_Tea_Or_Me]

Thanks, CO738. I found their contract on-line, and it looks the reserves get paid 83 hours a month. However, they have some type of incentive that if you fly more than XXX hours in a quarter, you get paid more per hour. It sounds like if reserves actually fly 80 hours a month, they make more than the starting 19.50. I could be misreading this -- contract langauge is always dense and wordy.

If you want to view the contract, go here: http://www.iamdl142.org/fa/contracts.htm.

 

[CO738]

Thanks, CO738. I found their contract on-line, and it looks the reserves get paid 83 hours a month. However, they have some type of incentive that if you fly more than XXX hours in a quarter, you get paid more per hour. It sounds like if reserves actually fly 80 hours a month, they make more than the starting 19.50. I could be misreading this -- contract langauge is always dense and wordy.

If you want to view the contract, go here: http://www.iamdl142.org/fa/contracts.htm.

OOPS typo - 93 hours, not 83. Sorry I didn't catch that.

The pay is currently starting at $19.50 / hr plus the per deim of $1.63 . The "real money" doesn't kick in until the 6th yr or so. IIRC, the cap-out pay is in the neighborhood of $50/hr + per deim.

 

[calfly1966]

1. How many hours are your reserves flying each month?

reserves usually fly between 60-105 hours a month depending on if you want to work a lot or a little.

2. How long does it take to become an ISM?

after completion of 3 years you can apply.


3. What is the seniority of the junior lineholder in EWR? In IAH?

last line in iah, seniority was dec 13, 2000 for august
last line in ewr, seniority was apr, 13, 2006 for august

4. What are the domestic trips out of EWR like? Are they mostly one days and turns, or are they longer?

they vary between 1 and 5 days, there are few 5 days but mostly equal amounts of 4, 3, 2, and 1 day trips.

5. Do the F/As stay with the pilots for the duration of a trip, or are you separate?

again this varies most trips are built with an entire crew: flight deck and flight attendants are on the same pairing but there are exceptions.

6. Do you have layovers in the carribean, or are they turns out of EWR?

mostly turns out of ewr there are only a few caribbean layovers and they are very senior and you never see them in open time, but you will do turns on reserve.

Also effective jan 29th 2006 starting pay is $18.00 per hour $20.00 after 1 years and $ 22.00 after 2 years. per diem is $1.85 and not paid on 1 day (turns) trips. reserve guarantee is 83 hours, overtime is paid on a quarterly basis. anything between 225 hours and 330 hours will receive $ 5 extra per hour over the 225 and nothing more than 330 hours

 

[Coffee_Tea_Or_Me]

1. How many hours are your reserves flying each month?

reserves usually fly between 60-105 hours a month depending on if you want to work a lot or a little.

2. How long does it take to become an ISM?

after completion of 3 years you can apply.
3. What is the seniority of the junior lineholder in EWR? In IAH?

last line in iah, seniority was dec 13, 2000 for august
last line in ewr, seniority was apr, 13, 2006 for august

4. What are the domestic trips out of EWR like? Are they mostly one days and turns, or are they longer?

they vary between 1 and 5 days, there are few 5 days but mostly equal amounts of 4, 3, 2, and 1 day trips.

5. Do the F/As stay with the pilots for the duration of a trip, or are you separate?

again this varies most trips are built with an entire crew: flight deck and flight attendants are on the same pairing but there are exceptions.

6. Do you have layovers in the carribean, or are they turns out of EWR?

mostly turns out of ewr there are only a few caribbean layovers and they are very senior and you never see them in open time, but you will do turns on reserve.

Also effective jan 29th 2006 starting pay is $18.00 per hour $20.00 after 1 years and $ 22.00 after 2 years. per diem is $1.85 and not paid on 1 day (turns) trips. reserve guarantee is 83 hours, overtime is paid on a quarterly basis. anything between 225 hours and 330 hours will receive $ 5 extra per hour over the 225 and nothing more than 330 hours

Thanks for this information. Tomorrow is the interview. I really hope I get this. I left US Airways in 2004 and while I managed to double my salary, I miss flying so much it kills me.

 

[jimntx]

I have a friend who started as a f/a with CO in October or November, 2000--about 2 months after I started with AA in Sept. 2000. I got DFW right out of training, and he got IAH right out of training (almost unheard of at the time).

While he was not furloughed after 9/11 (as I was, JUL2003-NOV2004) he did not become a line holder at IAH until about a year or year and a half ago. Partly due to the fact that CO, like all the other airlines, was not hiring for quite awhile after 9/11. So, the fact that the most junior lineholder at IAH is a 2000 hire doesn't necessarily tell you a lot. There are 2-3 years there between then and now where no one was hired.

 

[GroundedBoricua]

Thanks for this information. Tomorrow is the interview. I really hope I get this. I left US Airways in 2004 and while I managed to double my salary, I miss flying so much it kills me.

Check your PM I left you a message with valuble information. :ninja:

 

[Fly]

This is going to be a life altering decision to leave a 60K a year job to return to my first love -- flying.

What type of job are you leaving that would make it worth taking such a huge paycut? Want to switch?

 

[CO738]

I'm thinking about applying to NetJets (domestic). Pay is $34/flight hour, less airline BS (due to the nature of being with corp. jets).


Domiciles are Teterboro, Columbus, West Palm Beach, Dallas (Love Feild) and LAX

 

[Coffee_Tea_Or_Me]

So, I did not get the job. They put me on the spot about canceling an interview in 2005! That was my last interview, too -- I had been there ALL DAY. So, that sucked, but the trip home was even worse.

I got to the airport and tried to get on a flight to DCA that was an hour before my scheduled. That flight canceled for a mechanical, then a thunderstorm happened. The plane making up the 5:25 to DCA (my flight) diverted. It finally arrived around 8pm in IAH. We boarded the plane and shut the door. Then, the captain says -- "Sorry, folks. We have gone illegal and this flight just canceled." So, the passengers were beyond livid because at this point, they had gone through 3 gate changes, etc. Everyone is in line at special services and then they announce, "All passengers from Continental Flight XXX, return to E2 immediately." Everyone goes to E2 where a supervisor tells them a decision is being made. The decision made was to have all passengers follow her out of the terminal, past security, and leave them at them at the ticket counter. People were livid -- the police were called. One guy who was particularly rowdy said, "What is this, US F***ing Airways?!" That really made me laugh.

Long story short -- I spent the night on the floor of IAH and they rescheduled on the 4:25 pm flight for Saturday -- 23 hours after my original. It was quite the day.

On another note, I want to say that I really do think CO is the best thing in the air. The NICEST crews, and they still serve food. These FAs really follow all procedures -- they do a push pull and don't run through the aisle. They also do the arrival service. This was a 2 and a half hour flight from DCA to IAH, and we got cereal for breakfast with a drink, and then a drink before landing -- in coach. There was also a movie. I had a view of FC, and I noticed the FA was always with tray in aisle and always had the logo facing the passenger. Nice touch.

The plane was immaculate and nice, but I still am a fan of the Airbus. From a pax perspective, the Airbus is WAY nicer. Larger cabins and better restrooms.

 

[jimntx]

Do you know for a fact that you didn't get the job? They usually notify by mail sometime after the interview?

 

[Coffee_Tea_Or_Me]

Do you know for a fact that you didn't get the job? They usually notify by mail sometime after the interview?

Yes, I know. The 2005 interview cancellation really caught me off guard!! I know because I ran into other people at the airport who got the job and received packets. Yes, I received the reject e-mail today. Oh well, things happen for a reason. I felt it was in the bag until my last interview with this old bag who really seemed quite peeved that I would dare cancel an interview.

 

[CO738]

Yes, I know. The 2005 interview cancellation really caught me off guard!! I know because I ran into other people at the airport who got the job and received packets. Yes, I received the reject e-mail today. Oh well, things happen for a reason. I felt it was in the bag until my last interview with this old bag who really seemed quite peeved that I would dare cancel an interview.

That's not the real reason, my friend:

They told me it's because I do not have 1 yr of f/a experience at another carrier - BS.
I am told by EVERYONE who gets rejected that they give some goofy made up reason. Kudos on going 3 rounds - I only made it two rounds.

Who is up for Netjets??

 

[Coffee_Tea_Or_Me]

That's not the real reason, my friend:

They told me it's because I do not have 1 yr of f/a experience at another carrier - BS.
I am told by EVERYONE who gets rejected that they give some goofy made up reason. Kudos on going 3 rounds - I only made it two rounds.

Who is up for Netjets??

Actually, they never told me the reason, I could just tell that the battle-axe got really brittle about the interview cancellation. Whatever. On another note, it is hard to see what they are looking for. There was a woman who got rejected who was super cute, lived in EWR, and spoke Hebrew and Portuguese. Go figure on that one. Also, there was nobody accepted that day that was either a current or former FA. There was a UAL FA there from DFW (said she was sick of commuting), and she was extremely nice and professional -- also rejected. The ones I noticed that were accepted were in their very early 20s and worked retail jobs.