First off everyone at Comair was friendly and put you at ease. They welcome you into the building at 8am and have you sign in to get your visitor pass, then into a large room where one of the captains will introduce himself and the other who will be involved in the process throughout the day. They give a 45 minute brief about the company, training and what they are looking for in your interview. Then onto the written....26 questions, all from the ATP question bank, no figures or legends. Then they split the group into two. One for morning interviews the other for afternoon interviews. Those who dont do the morning interview are shuffeled across the campus to take the cognitive test...which cannot be studied for...i tell you this though..SLEEEEEEEEEp the night b4 and it will help you be ready for that test, it isnt easy but it is somewhat fun. Then you go to lunch, where you will see alot of the trainees eating...go over and talk to them they are all nice.
Then the INTERVIEW....BE YOURSELF...they are looking for people they will be flying next to on 3 and 4 day trips. Know weather mins for t/o and destination. Dispatch release requirements, and also show them you can and will make decisions if needed...remember they are hiring a future captain. The Captain who does the interview will also ask some HR questions, WHY Comair, why you, where do you want to be in 5 years...etc.
All in all it was one of the better experiences i have had with an airline interview and am looking forward to a long and rewarding career at Comair.
Date Interviewed: February 2008
Summary of Qualifications:
5000TT / 3000 ME / 2500 Turbine / 1900 Turbine PIC / 300 Hours ME Turbine PIC (Former Caravan pilot). ATP / CFI / 135 background.
Were you offered the job?
Don't Know
Pilot Interview Profile:
According to the prior posts, I guess I am one of the "Older Guys" as one of the posters said, Older as in over 40. Geez..make me feel like time is going on buy.
Anyway, Submitted resume on line and I believe I completed on line application. (I've done a few now so I can't remember who was on line and who was paper.)
I received an Email about a week later asking if I would like to interview. Of course I responded with yes and they arranged a date 3 weeks off. I was told to watch for the package to arrive before the interview date. Just a side note, the package came less than a week before the interview date. Don't stand by your mailbox if you have a date 3 weeks away, cursing at the mailman is not going to help :)Yes, that was a joke, it comes by UPS anyway.
I got the package about 6 days before the interview date and started on it that same day. There are a lot of forms in it so I wouldn't wait too long to ocmplete it. Also they only send one set of PRIA Forms, so if you have had multiple aviation employers, as I have, you will need to run over to kinkos and make copies of each one. There are a total of 3 for each employer, not including the informationational copies for you, you obviously don't need to copy those as they are just instuctions and apply to each one. You will also have a form the FAA so they can see what your record looks like. You should only need one of those. That's how I did it, and they HR guy seemed pleased with it. They don't specify you need to make multiple copies of the PRIA forms for each employer, so if you didn't know or think to do that, I would assume they would give you extra copies the day of the interview. Comair seemed pretty reasonable, so I don't think that would get you kicked out, but showing them or any employer you wan't to do what you can to make their life easier always seems to be a positive thing from my experience.
In the package there were also stand by passes or tickets. I flew from Ontario, CA via Skywest to Salt Lake where I connected with Delta Mainline to Cincy. Be forwarned. The flights can be packed and you may not get on. Make sure you keep the phone number they give you on your paperwork handy in case you get bumped and can't make it. They understand this problem, but you have to let them know so they can reschedule and don't think you flaked on them. I made the mistake of leaving that phone number in my checked suitcase and when the lady at the gate told me my Cincy flight was packed and I probably wouldn't make it on I was sort of freaking out inside. There were some other flights shortly thereafter so I would have probably made it anyway, but I would have felt a lot better knowing that I could call if needed. When you check in as a interviewie, they send your luggage straight through. They are not required to ensure you are on board to send your luggage as they are with fare paying passengers. I guess they figure if the company trusts you enough to give you a free ride, then they trust your luggage. The problem though, is if I had been left in Salt Lake, My suitcase with the number would have been sitting at the cincinatti airport while I was sitting in a UT hotel wondering what they are thinking. Make sure you have the number with you !!!! I'll know better next time. Luckily it wasn't an issue for me as I got on the flight as planned.
I arrived in Cincy about 7pm, called Holiday Inn where I booked a room beforehand. I strongly suggest you call ahead. Another applicant waited until arrival and ended up at another hotel and had some challenges. Again it all worked out ok, but one more thing to make life easier while stressing out about an interview. When I checked in, I asked about a ride to Comair, the front desk lady told me that the shuttle bus will leave at 15 and 45 past the hour for comair. The airport shuttle leaves at 00 and 30 past the hour. I think it's the same guy, so he must be running back and forth all morning. I recomend you get on the bus at 7:45. For us it was snowing and very cold. Comair will tell you not to show up too early as you can't get into the building before 8:00am. Your interview time will be 8:15am, so leaving at 7:45 you get there just a couple minutes before they open the door and you don't have to spend too much time in the snow.
We all went in and met with Ralph. Nice knowledgeable man who really presents Comair in a very positive and proud manner. He gives a brief tour of the company, tells you about it, where it started..what it has been doing and where it's going.
Next we went to the conference room. The guy making the coffee was a bit tied up so we had to wait for that. I certainly could have used one right away, but being an applicant of course I'm not complaining. I was 3 hours out of wack comming from California so 8am was 5am to my body. While in the conference room, Ralph talked some more and took questions and ran a very relaxed informative session.
Then about an hour into the process, we got the dreaded written test. Like everyone says, it was straight out of the ATP. When you review for it, pay attention to what V speeds mean. I forgot what exactly V2 means. I know it's the 3rd speed on the bugs, and it's called take off safety speed, but the questions worded something like what is the speed that guarantees you so many feet off the departure end of the runway. One of the answers was V2min. The other ones were like V1 and Vlof (don't quote me on the Vlof one..I cant swear to it.) With a little thinking it was obvious it was V2 min. Otherwise mostly questions about what is Vmc what is V1...some weather questions. Note: when you are reviewing your ATP test prep for this, if you have to do anything more than draw knowledge from your brain..you are doing more than you need too. In other words, if the question on the practice test requires you get a piece of paper to interpolate something, it won't be on the comair test. bypass it if the only reason you are reviewing it is to pass comairs test.
After we were done with that, we had a break..and then we were taken to the training center (just down a snow covered walkway). There we took the Cognitive skills test. Like everyone says, a light pen and a bunch of questions like whats next in sequence, which symbol equals this number (per a reference graph). Keep a triangle in the middle of the line by using the arrow keys and then they start combining things. Keep the triangle centered while recalling what the last number was in a prior sequence. It is challenging and I question how well I did on it. All I can say about it is, I don't know that anyone else is any better and when you get done and feel like you are retarded, just remember, the guy next to you probably felt the same way. They won't tell you how you did. I heard thru rumor..and it means nothing except to make me feel better, that everyone in our group did fine on both the cog and the written tests.
We broke for lunch and got our NOW $6 meal voucher. They have a nice cafeteria and the food is good. They are proud of their cafeteria btw.
After lunch the interviews began. There were 2 teams of 2 conducting interviews. I was first and I met with John (the guy everyone describes) and a gentleman from HR. The HR guy came and got me. They take you back to a small room and you give them all your paperwork. Certs, logbooks..application forms etc. The interview wasn't that bad. HR guy confirms job history, dui's, criminal history etc. Then some questions about failed checkrides. I had one many years ago working on my commercial single engine ticket. They asked what happened and I just told him I was rushing it to save money and it didn't work out like I had hoped. He asked if I retook it and I said yes...then he said you passed? (guess I should have brought that up myself, but the prompt helped). I said yes, I passed the second time. It was a very simple retest. Then he asked, what was the dumbest thing you ever did in an airplane. I explained when I was flying the Caravan I got frustrated waiting for a late fuel truck and decided I had enough fuel to make it to my destination. It wasn't way over, but it was legal. I departed, went enroute and about 15 minutes out the low fuel warning alarm went off. I said I continued on as my destination was as near as an alternate and it was VFR so it wasn't an issue, but it made me very uncomfortable hearing that sound all the way to the ground. I explained that when I landed I was still legal but I didn't enjoy it. He asked what I learned from that and I said, I learned to always error on the side of caution and taking short cuts could be dangerous. He liked that answer. Then John asked, when does the alarm go off? I said when either tank reaches 25 Gals or less. He then asked what is the burn rate in the caravan. I said about 45 GPH. He said, then you had 25 a side for a total of 50 gals? I said yes I had right at 50 gals when the alarm went off. I think he doubted my answer a bit and said, why would the alarm go off with over an hour of fuel remaining? I said, the caravan is set up to sound the alarm anytime either tank goes below 25 gals. I think he didn't understand the simplicity of the Caravan. I should have gone into more detail about how the theory is that if you are on one tank..25 gals is a problem. When on two...your ok for a while, but the system has no way to total both tanks so the alarm rings when either side hits 25 gals. He accepted my answer I think, but I wouldn't be surprised if he calls someone who flys a caravan to confirm my answer. I think he thought that was odd. Sorry, the Caravan is an odd bird. Then he asked me what would I do if my capt wasn't using a checklist. I gave the standard answer," I would back him up with the checklist". That seemed to go without a hitch. No more situational questions. Then he asked what multi engine airplane have I been flying the most. I told him the King air 350. He then asked about the "Hydraulics". I asked if he wanted to know about the gear system and he said sure. Not sure what other hydraulic system I could have gone into. The brakes?, (The prop is oil). Anyway, I described it to him and told him it's held up by hydraulic pressure. He asked so if you get a leak will the gear come down? I had never given that any thought so I said as far as I know yes. He then asked me how does the emergency gear extension system work? I told him the procedure. He asked where does that pump into? Again, I didn't know for sure, but I said I believe it pumps into the accumulator. He seemed pleased with that answer so maybe that's what he wanted me to mention. Maybe he just wanted to know I knew they existed or something. He asked me if I had been to school on the King Air and I said, No I haven't. They won't send us to school until we upgrade to captain. He accepted that answer and then asked if I had been to any schools. I told him yes, I went for the Caravan to Pan Am. That seemed to please him. I think he wanted to know if I had ever received any formal training on complex airplanes or turbine systems. He gave me a metar and gave me a time and asked if we needed an alternate. I got a brain fart and as I looked over it, I said NO, were legal now. He said remember the one hour before and one hour after rule. I looked and saw the vis was low 3 hours before, the only time that covered the 1 hour before. I said yes we do. He said why. I said, because visibility is low. He said anything else. I said I don't think so. He said what's the last CIG. I looked and saw 1500 O/C. I said. OK, we are too low on the CIG, we definately need an alternate. He said exactly. I didn't get the feeling he was disappointed, I got the feeling he wanted to see if I responded well to constructive criticism. I had gone over this many times before, but for some reason, under the stress I didn't catch it. Maybe lack of sleep or just being under the gun. He then asked if you are flying your King air and the boss says we need to go somewhere and it's below mins....so we choose an alternate. The alternate has only one ILS and the winds are going to be a 30 kt tail wind, can we use it? I thought about it and recall something about being able to reasonably use the alternate so I said, no because we can't use it. He said, actually you can, but it's a bad idea. I said ok, maybe I'm thinkin of an op spec. He said ok. Then the HR guy asked me why Comair? Why should we hire you? What do you bring. I said the normal stuff. I'm at a point in my life I want a place I can retire from. I don't want to change jobs anymore. I'd like to come on board and maybe eventually work into something like training or other field within the company. The company I work for now doesn't afford me that opportunity. He then asked if we called you when would you be available? I said 2 weeks after so I can give my current employer fair warning. He said no problem. We support that. Then John asked me if I had any questions and I asked a little bit about the bases. I asked if JFK or CVG was more popular. He told me that I will probably be at JFK for about a year and then I can go to CVG. I don't know if that means I may have a job or if that just means in theory...if we hired you. I know legally it's all..IF.
There were a few things I could have answered better, but I am sure under pressure most of us make mistakes. I have been told over and over, it's how you answer and how you respond that they look at. If that's the case then I feel pretty good about it. I made some errors, but I was very keen on what John was teaching or telling me.
After all that was done, they had me wait near a ladys desk for my fingerprints. They fingerprint everyone. If you are hired, they process them, if not, I guess they just hit the delete button.
They told us that we will hear something within 7 -10 days. They also told us that they are hiring about 12 pilots a month. They said they are loosing about 30 a month to the majors. They didn't say it, but that sounds like a shrinking staff to me.
After the prints were done, I went back to the lobby to wait for my ride back to the hotel to get my luggage. I noticed some of the interviews took longer and some were asked many many questions. I don't know if that's a good or bad sign. The lady after me had no turbine time and they asked her a bunch of questions about speeds and Vmc and about her experience in the recips she had been flying. I don't recall what all she was asked, but after talking to her, it was obvious they asked her way more questions than they asked me. She was also considerably younger than me. I would guess in her early to mid 20s. My fellow victims, rather applicants, all agreed that more questions were asked of those with less or no turbine time. Also having been through airplane specific schools seemed to set the tone for less questions. Maybe they figure if you made it through training already they don't need to figure out if you can do this.
I will say this, Comair was much more professional and proud than I expected. They seemed like a very good company. I have heard different stories about them. Some good and some bad. They have had some difficulties, but I think this company is professional enough to keep going. They never made me feel unwelcome and they had very nice facilities. They like their history and what they have done to keep improving. The challenges with Delta going BK doesnt help as they are totally owned by them, Also the crash in Lexington didn't help, but since that was deemed pilot error rather than mechanical they seem to feel that they will survive. I'm still not sure why they didn't notice the HSI was pointing the wrong way, but I wasn't there so I can't judge. I hope they make it, I would hate to see Skywest be the only regional out there. Nothing against Skywest, but monopolies are not good for anyone.
Date Interviewed: December 2007
Summary of Qualifications:
2500 TT 2450 ME jet KC-135 Instructor Pilot 4 years since I have flown actively 22.8 hours in Prop aircraft in preparation for ATP ATP written ATP
Were you offered the job?
Yes
Pilot Interview Profile:
Stayed at the Days Inn. Convenient, but fleabag motel. Inside the room is adequate, just barely. First mistake. During training they put you up at the Hilton.
Arrived early. 13 in our group. Only two older guys plus me. (old = 40+) Met the Chief pilot. Very nice guy. Exactly what all the other stories say.
26 question ATP-style test. Questions like what it V2? Multiple choice. Sit close to the guy with the most experience and compare if you have doubts.....
Waited several hours to interview. HR and Tech in the same slot. Asked exactly the same questions that were on the other gouges. MSA. Distance (25) Obstacle clearance (1000')
Approach into LGA, brief the Jepp approach plate. Just read the damn thing. Nothing cosmic.
They said that due tot he fact that Delta had pulled a lot of their flights that they were probably going to hire fewer, but attrition to the majors was still a big player and they still needed about 12 per month. no contract. Leave when you need to.
Great facility.
Unlike AE, they really put you at ease during the whole process. AE was like being in the basket in The War of the Worlds, waiting to get sucked up and pureed into a bloody pulp. Just waited all day to get told to leave, but we all made it....one girl f'd up the sim and got $hitcanned at the end of the day.
The computer test was a joke. Just remember there is a part that they tell you to remember for later....symbols corresponding to numbers. They trick you by asking you what they were a couple of screens later....you think you can RAM dump the info, but they ask again toward the end of the test, so remember the 1-6 symbols.
All in all I thought my tech went well...no signs during the interview that I was wrong. (At Eagle, the pilot was clearly frustrated when I didn't know something....like low altitude Jepp plates....never seen them in the military) Afterward, I looked up a few of the things and found out I was wrong. oooops
Got the job offer yesterday with a 25 March class date. Now I'm in a pickle. I'm 3 for 3 on the process. Offers from Colgan as a line Captain (check airman possible), AE as a FO, and Comair as an FO. Don't want the AE job. Upgrade too long, Comair is alright, but the pay and upgrade don't pay the bills. Colgan pays the bills, but it's turboprop instead of jet. Allegient and SWA said PIC was the way to go, regardless of the aircraft because I have the jet experience already, but don't know what UPS/FedEx want.
Any input would be greatly appreciated.
iflybigjets@hotmail.com if you have any good advice.
Date Interviewed: October 2007
Summary of Qualifications:
CFI CFII MEI 1150ttl 60Multi
Were you offered the job?
No
Pilot Interview Profile:
The other gouges are very accurate. Also, very important, study the study guide provided on this site.
Items studied to prepare:
ATP Written Guide
ATP Oral Exam Guide
Commercial Oral Exam Guide
FAR/AIM
Used Internet to gain information
Weather Services Book
Jepp Plates
What I did was printed off prev gouges from aviationinterviews.com and took a highlighter and highlighted the questions. Many are redundant so I would skip those and highlight the ones I had not seen. Studied the study guide. While studying these items I came across a lot of other good information. I would recommend not just studying this gouge. I would soak up all information I could while studying. Not like a little extra will hurt.
Arrived and stayed at Holiday Inn. From the start I feel I was treated with respect, from the staff at the Holiday Inn to everyone at Comair Corporate Offices. I was the only one interviewing that day so it made for a relaxed atmosphere.
Met with Captain Ralph McWhorter about 0815. He took me to a conference room where I was treated to coffee/water/juice etc.. He talked a bit about Comair and showed a video of their history. He is a friendly guy and anyone should feel comfortable in his presence. Next Captain Todd McGreggor came and I recognized him from recruiting events at our flight school. I felt comfortable knowing I had spoken to him on a previous occasion.
Went to the COG test first. Again, same as previous posts, no way to study for it, and honestly I don't think playing Nintendo or XBOX is going to help either. It's not bad so don't stress it. I did mess up one section on it, it was a section using trial and error to figure out the patterns. By the time I figured out what was going on that section was over. There are probably 20 sections (ish).
Next came a 27 question written test. YEP, IT'S NEW. Even Ralph said this is something new and it would be used as a gauge in determining the extent of the oral portion of the interview. Many questions from the ATP written. NO FIGURES, just regs, wx, inst procedures, etc...
Then Lunch $5 as mentioned before. I got a burger fries and drink for under $5.
Finally came the sit down. Ralph asked me the HR section and Todd the Tech. Ralph entered a few Tech questions as we went along. Why Comair? What can you bring to our company? Why should we hire you? What challenges, do you see facing the regional airlines now and in the future? When do you want to become Captain? What are you plans for the future? Anything else in aviation that interests you besides flying? What makes a good FO, What makes a good Capt? What is the role of the FO? Tell me about a poor decision in the cockpit and what did you learn from it? What challenges do you see yourself having in training? What would you do if you had trouble? CRM CRM CRM. Tell me a time you used CRM. Are you a good pilot?
Tech: Showed Dispatch release. Asked about Airmets and Sigmets. Is an airmet current or forecast? Read METAR; TAF. Based on this TAF do we need Alt? Brief ILS 4 LGA. Get down to DH and wx below MIN, so you go missed, how would you enter the hold? What speed? Upon going missed you put throttles forward and hear a loud "bang", engine failure. Tell me the procedure for this. Now you are in the hold, single engine, and weather reports 100 miles of LIFR below min's. What would you do? Drunk captain at the bar w/in 8hr of flight? Captain wants to fly through Level 5 TS, what would you do? Any questions for us?
They both stated I had done very well and they would need to gather the information from the COG test. Once that was complete I would know the results. Unfortunately the individual who processes this information (COG) was out of the office that day. I hope to hear from them soon!!
Also, Capt. Ralph stated in the morning .. when asked "why comair" to not just say great bene's, base I want, me me me. Tell us what you can bring to us.
There are other choices out there and they know it, so they want to tell you about Comair and why you should work from them, but they also want to know what you can bring to help them grow.
Date Interviewed: June 2007
Summary of Qualifications:
4100TT, 1500 multi PIC, 978 turbine PIC, no ATP, part 135
Were you offered the job?
No
Pilot Interview Profile:
Hello pilots!
This interview was one of the most relaxed and enjoyable ones i've completed. The morning starts out very basic with history of the company and a video. You'll go over the training schedule and get briefed on the benefits that comair has to offer. Then the class was divided into two groups. We had 11 people interviewing so 5 of us myself included took the cog test first while the remaining 6 got their fingerprints and tech/hr interview. The cog test, as other gouges say, is really not that bad. If you want to "prepare" for the test go out and get a nintendo DS and the brain age game. The lessons on the brain age are similar to what the cog test is like. 17 sections seeing if you can multi task yourself. After the test, we were released for lunch to meet back at the classroom for the seccond half. My interview again was very relaxed and very social. The HR person asked about my background and asked "why comair?", "what did you do to prepare for the interview?", "have you applied to any other regionals?", "what would you do if you were flying up to a line of thunderstorms and the captain found a 2 mile gap and decided to fly through it?". be HONEST with your answers in the HR portion. Thats what they're looking for. Now for the tech portion (my answers are in parentheses):
Here is a dispatch report. you are flying from STL to JFK. At the bottom is your current weather at JFK. Please decode the METAR. (I read the metar to her).
Here is the current TAF for JFK. You are landing at 1030. Do you need an alternate? (yes i do. the forcast ceiling at 1000 is 600 overcast. plus/minus 1 hr i need 2000 foot ceiling and 3 miles of vis to not require an alternate.)
Here is the STAR that you will be using when you arrive at JFK. ATC tells you to hold at a fix at 16,000. what is your maximum a/s and how long are your legs? (265 indicated and legs as deemed by ATC).
You are given the clearance to expect ILS 31L. You have the atis. brief the approach. (I briefed the appraoch).
Your at 3000 feet and ATC clears you for the ILS 31L. You intercept the loc and gs simultaniously. can you begin your descent?
(yes)
Just before 1900 feet (FAF) the glide slope becomes inop what do you do? (continue the approach as a LOC only).
your on the ILS and at 1500 feet you get a nav flag. what do you do? (level off at 1500 feet, continue to the MAP and the execute the missed approach).
Here is JFK airspace. your at 4000 feet what is your max airspeed? (the floor was 3000, 250 kts).
If your at the same point but your altitude is 2,500, what is your max a/s? (200 kts)
Comair jets have winglets. what are they for? (reduce drag)
Then they asked if i had any questions. I asked all my questions while they were working on my paperwork so i didn't have any at the time. They told me That they have to get my cog test results and combine it with the interview and that i should here from them in 24 hours. I feel very positive and i will update my gouge when i hear something. I hope this helps all of you. Just go in was a positive attitude, relax yourself, be yourself, and just talk to them. enjoy and maybe i'll see you on line sometime!
