Quote:
Originally Posted by GalaxyIFE  Last thing and I'll shut up. Someone brought up the point about SWA requiring the 737 type...why is it that no one will call BS on this? You have to PAY for it to gain employment, right? How is this right?!? |
Because it is not BS. Southwest has the right to specify any qualifications for hiring that they wish. Just as you would if you owned and operated a business. No, Southwest does not require you to pay for a 737 type rating. They simply require that you have the rating. How you get it is up to you. There are many ways to get a 737 type without paying for it. They are: United, Delta, Continental, Air Tran, Alaska, US Air, plus any number of supplemental operators.
And yes, having the type does make training cheaper for SWA. It costs a bunch of money for SWA to train a pilot. If that pilot fails training, that is tens of thousands of dollars the company has spent with nothing to show for it. Requiring a type rating prior to hire provides much greater assurance that the people they hire will successfully complete their training, which is what SWA ultimately wants.
I suspect that the type rating requirement is a holdover from the start-up days, when they did not have a lot of money for training. Hell, back then it might have been a way to avoid training costs altogether. We're talking early 1970's here.
However, if you really feel that strongly about it, I suggest the following: Apply, get hired, show up on day 1 without the type, and call BS on it. I'm sure you will make your point.