SWA Apps - 1 April Deadline

[chase]

I'm posting this directly from the Flight Ops Hotline.

Due to the number of anticipated New Hires projected for 2003 and the volume of qualified applicants currently in process, Southwest Airlines will discontinue accepting new applications effective April 1, 2003 through at least yearend. Updates will be posted on southwest.com.

If you haven't gotten your apps in please do so immediately. For those who have the type but have been waiting to get your app in, now is the time or you'll miss the window. Even with prospective hiring for '04 to be greater than this year it is hard to project when the current pool of apps will be exhausted. Therefore don't delay because it may result in many months before it is opened back up. Good luck & congrats to those who have made the deadline.

 

[airlinepilot]

How many in 2004???

Does this mean that SWA does not plan on hiring many in 2004 also??? Does anyone have a figure they have heard??

 

[tredding@swa]

not really...

rumor according to a SWA F/O buddy of mine is that they are getting SO many apps that they needed to stop the flow as they are piling up.....

he said that the thought is that they have "more than enough" on file in addition to so many folks in the hiring pool that they will not need to start with apps again until sometime next year.....

seems to be a pretty popular place all of the sudden - so much for those who told me I was crazy 2+ years ago!?!???

 

[thebluto]

HOW MANY WITH TYPE?

Any rumint on how many of those applications are with the type rating? Last I heard was 600.

 

[canyonblue]

I read 600 typed in a Base newsletter.

 

[tanker]

Do you need to have the type rating by April 1 or do you just need to get it before the interview?

Thanks!

 

[aroundtheblock]

How does this apply if you are one of the guys who was turned down. If you have to wait 2 years, can you apply early so that you can get back in the process again?

 

[w8n4swa]

message from mike...

MLBWINGBORN left me a voice message with this information:

2200 applications at SWA on file

660 applications have 737 type ratings

290 poolies currently waiting for class

April 1st deadline on new applications


aroundtheblock, I can't answer your question about applying before the 2 year waiting period is up. I have other friends who've asked the same question and I told them it couldn't hurt to apply now....perhaps someone else can give us the facts.

Tanker, I believe if you applied before a certain date (don't know the date) without the type rating you are grandfathered in for the interview. However, I read somewhere on this forum you have a better chance of getting in sooner with the type rating. In my case, getting the type rating after applying got me interviewed sooner. They also said it carried alot of weight in the decision board to show how determined I was to work for SWA.

Chase, any thoughts here??

 

[tredding@swa]

ditto on W8N's

comment...

IF you have your app in PRIOR to last Nov's (??) requirement to have the type to APPLY.... you are grandfathered in to interview "typeless".

HOWEVER, if you really, really wanna be Southwest pilot, and this is truly what you want to beEeeee (sung to the Oscar Meyer wiener tune!) AND you made the cut on applying typeless, you would be smiled upon by the PD by getting your type and updating with them as soon as you get it!!

With the extreme competitive nature of the current market - I would strongly advise being AS prepared as possible for the interview, should you be granted one in the future. In that light - see Craig Thornton for OUTSTANDING prep help. Goto;
www.swaprep.com for more info!!

Good luck to all future SWA appys..... can't WAIT for the interviewing to start soon - that would mean that us PoolRats are finally on dry land again!!

Tred

 

[CaptainBrazilia]

Addressed to whom?

Who's the best person to address correspondence such as letters of rec, cover letters, etc. to? The whole "To Whom It May Concern" thing is a bit impersonal, I think, and I'm trying to figure out a better way to do it as I'm busting my hump to finally put my app together.

Nothing like the closing of an application window to finally get a pilot off his duff!!

Also, for anyone that's interested...

My wife's a computer wiz. She's taken the .pdf file that is Southwest's pilot application and added fields to it so that you can type your information directly onto the page prior to printing it out. It's in testing at the moment, but once we get things ironed out, I'd be happy to send the file to anyone else who (like me) can't use a typewriter to save his/her life.

<EDIT> Crap! Forgot the Afirmative Action Survey!! We'll get that one done tomorrow! As I said before, anyone who wants the files is welcomed to them.<EDIT>

Best of luck to all who are rushing their stuff in!