AirNet Express

With a current fleet of 31 Learjets and 89 high-performance piston twins, AirNet operates between 100 cities in more than 40 states and delivers approximately 18,000 shipments each working day. In addition to its aircraft, AirNet owns about 250 ground vehicles, and utilizes another 300

baron

AirNet operates 42 Beech Barons (shown), 13 Aerostars, 18 Chieftans, 16 Cessna 310s, and 31 Learjets.

independent contractors to provide daily pick-up and delivery service, nationwide.

The network of piston twins collect freight from outlying stations, then transfer their cargoes to the Learjets, which then wing their ways to Columbus, where three major package sorts occur nightly. This system makes the company particularly attractive to high-speed shippers thanks to its ability to combine late-afternoon or evening pick-ups with early-morning deliveries almost anywhere in the country. It also allows AirNet pilots to work primarily from Monday evening through Friday morning, although certain missions will require additional workdays.

AirNet’s check delivery service generates approximately 82 percent of the company’s revenues, but recently it developed another niche as a time-sensitive medicine courier. In May 1999, AirNet received Department of Transportation approval for an exemption certificate that permits it to carry certain radioactive materials aboard its aircraft, becoming one of only three carriers in the country to hold such an exemption. Mercer called the radioactive medical market, “an integral part of our Express strategy.”

A month after gaining authority to carry radioactive pharmaceuticals, AirNet signed a two-year contract with industry giant Syncor International Corp., and early in November, Eastern Isotopes, a radioactive medical imaging agent producer, announced it will construct manufacturing facilities in Romeoville, IL, in order to be near AirNet’s Chicago hub.

On Oct. 27, after the International Brotherhood of Teamsters filed an application with the National Mediation Board (NMB) in August to become the exclusive representative of AirNet’s approximately 160-strong pilot group, the company’s pilots voted against unionization. The airline has since established a pilot advisory board to represent the needs and desires of the pilot group to AirNet management.

In October, AirNet removed all flight time requirements from its application minimums.

“For years we’ve been hiring pilots with as little as 300 hours, but who had their commercial pilot certificate, with multiengine land and instrument ratings, and a first-class medical,” AirNet Director of Pilot Recruitment and Development Craig Washka says. “Usually these low-time pilots came up through our multiengine flight school (no longer available), and were recommended to go into our time-building program until they could reach [Part] 135 captain minimums. We just decided that since we’ve done that in the past, we would just go ahead and advertise it as a way to start. So there’s no flight time requirements to apply, just the certificates and ratings that are necessary to apply for any job as a professional pilot.

“We also have an aviation internship program. If pilots are attending any college with a flight school that is a member of the University Aviation Association, they can apply for an internship with us,” Washka explains. “It’s an unpaid internship, but we house them and we guarantee them a class date once the internship is complete. So, they could have as little as 250 hours or so, and go to class. It’s a great deal for students. We’ll have at least 20 paid FO positions in high-performance piston twins available in 2000. I look forward to that being a big part of the future for our company—training pilots from the ground up.”

Beginning in January, AirNet also will be administering bridge programs with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Ohio State University, and guaranteeing aviation students an interview with AirNet upon successful completion of the bridge program.

“We actively participate in setting the curriculum that students will be taught,” Washka says. “There’s actually a faculty member assigned to AirNet that works directly with us to decide specifically what courses they will offer, and we have our pilot recruiter, Bob Baillargeon, overseeing our requirements at the schools.” Students apply in their sophomore year for the bridge program, and although most courses will remain the same as the student would need to graduate with their major, some classes will be tailored to AirNet specifics like maneuvers, profiles, procedures, and Part 135 regulations.

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In most cases, after AirNet receives a pilot’s résumé, an application is sent, then a score grid that AIR, Inc. helped develop is applied to the returned application. The score grid measures competitive requirements, which right now, Washka says, is being IFR PIC qualified, meaning 1,200 total, 500 cross-country, 100 night, and 75 hours of instrument time.

“Beyond that, pilots who have instructor ratings and are using them are very important to us, whether they are teaching commercial students, or instruments, or multiengine students, they’ll get bonus points for that on the score grid,” he says.

Another place to score extra points is in the education category, where Washka says, “a four-year degree is not required by any means, but it certainly would help a low-time pilot in bringing up his score. If you wanted to be in the paid first officer program and you had a four-year degree, that counts for a huge amount of points because we try to make up for the points a pilot doesn’t have in the total time score.”

AirNet also looks at driving records, recommendations from current AirNet employees, and what kinds of work experience an applicant has in his or her past.

“By the way, a couple of speeding tickets is not a disqualifier on our score grid, you’d just lose a couple of points there,” Washka stresses. “Of course, we also look at any DUIs on the record, and again, it’s not an absolute barrier to entry at AirNet, but it would cost points.”

The results of applicants who meet the minimum score of 70 percent on the grid automatically are forwarded to AIR, Inc. in Atlanta, where a

night ops

Most of AirNet's operations occur at night, with a premium placed on on-time performance.

telephone interview is arranged. Pilots who meet the score grid minimum can expect a call within about two weeks of sending in their apelephone interview also is scored by whoever makes the call, usually AIR, Inc.’s human resources manager Allen Nix, or an AIR, Inc. pilot counselor. Applicants who do not meet the minimum score are sent a postcard in the mail explaining they fall short of competitive requirements.

“I know there’s been some confusion about that because a lot of pilots think getting that postcard means we don’t want them, but it doesn’t mean that at all,” Washka insists. “What it means is that we’ve looked over their application and there are areas they need to get stronger in before they become competitive for hiring at AirNet.”

He adds that pilots who receive a card can call his office to find out what résumé areas need strengthening in order to become competitive.

The phone interview is designed to gather general information about the person and confirm what was on the application. The telephone score grid covers 23 different areas such as commitment, judgement, leadership, CRM, and career goals. Washka warns it is important for pilots who receive this call to treat it seriously, because often they are too laid back. By the same token, he says, the phone interviewers can pick up on applicants who are enthusiastic and excited about the opportunity, and that will help their score.

Once the phone interview is done, AIR, Inc. forwards the results back to AirNet; the whole process usually happens over the course of just a couple of days. Washka and his pilot recruitment staff then review the results and call selected applicants to arrange face-to-face interviews in Columbus.

The entire process, from initial application to being offered a class date, can progress at an alarming pace. Some pilots have started training with AirNet within a month of applying.

Washka strongly suggests pilots preparing to attend an AirNet interview get some IFR practice time in a multiengine simulator before they arrive.

“We’re just looking for good, basic IFR skills during the interview—and when I say skills, I mean the ability to demonstrate commercial practical test standards, that’s really important for pilots to know that’s what we’re looking for,” he reveals.

“Another thing we can recommend, especially for a pilot who wants to come interview with us but knows his or her IFR skills are not where they need to be, is an instrument refresher offered by SimCom in Orlando, that will guarantee an interview with AirNet after they make it through a three-day course. It costs about $1,400 if they go through as a group of two, and we will help set that up if they need a partner. I think it’s about $2,500 if they go through by themselves.

“In no way, shape, or form does AirNet say you’ve got to do this, but it certainly is a great opportunity for so many pilots out there who know they need a little bit of extra training and want to make sure they’re current for the interview,” Washka says. “It’s a great prep class not only for an AirNet interview, but it’s especially helpful since it’s in Baron-specific equipment. I feel it is an excellent opportunity to help a military pilot transition to civilian flying in a high-performance piston twin, or get a career change person’s skills up to par.”

Whenever possible, AirNet tries to fly applicants in on its own system, not only because it’s cost-effective, but because it gives pilots a first-hand look at how the company works. This brings the applicants in usually between 10 p.m. and midnight. In the past, AirNet did all of its interviewing at night and pilots often faced an intensive interview process after a long flight. It recently made “a huge change,” according to Washka, and now conducts interviews the day after arrival. For competitive candidates who simply live too far off the beaten path to ride the AirNet system, the company will absorb the cost of flying them to the interview.

“We provide the transportation to and from the interview for all,” Washka stresses. “If that means we have to buy a ticket on a scheduled carrier, then that’s what we’ll do.”Upon arrival, interviewees are given an information packet containing an article about AirNet (ALPC, Nov. ’98, pgs. 20-29), the company’s latest corporate report, and all the details about the next day’s simulator check ride, including the approach plate they will use. Pilots are responsible for hotel costs while staying in Columbus, but AirNet has negotiated favorable rates with several local hotels.

Most interviews start at 11 a.m., but Washka says that may be pushed back an hour or two for exceptionally late arrivals the night before. AirNet brings in three or four pilots per day to interview and the process starts with a half-hour briefing to the group about the company by the recruitment staff. Once the overview is completed, another recruiter talks about the sim evaluation and what it will cover.

Written testing, including a psychological test, comes next. Applicants will have one hour to complete a 45-question, multiple-choice test, and Washka points out, “it is no longer a pass/fail test.

“In the old process, they had to pass the written test in order to move on to the next phase of the interview, but now we just want to see what level of aeronautical knowledge they have, and they do all phases, regardless of how the test goes,” he says. “We really don’t want them to come in here and be nervous about screwing up the test because that messes up the rest of the process.

“What we’ve learned in the last year here is that we need to look at the person as a whole, instead of at any one part. If somebody makes it to the face-to-face interview, we already know that we really want to hire the person, and we don’t want to change our mind based on any one thing.”

The psychological test follows and although it is not timed, it should take about 20 minutes to complete. After a short break, applicants will take a check ride in a Frasca 142 or AST 300 simulator, or go to a face-to-face interview, most often with Washka and a representative of the airline’s human resources staff.

In the simulator, AirNet examiners try to simulate an ATC environment. Candidates are asked to perform a takeoff, intercept a radial to a VOR and fly at an assigned altitude, and then set up for a hold, but not necessarily enter it. The sim check includes some partial panel work, but that is explained in the information packet and briefing, “so there’s no surprises.” Engine failures are not part of AirNet’s sim evaluation.

“One thing that’s really important is we’re going to have them navigate to an NDB and set up for an ILS using the NDB,” Washka says. “So, if they’re not familiar with NDB approaches and NDB holding and tracking, they need to make sure they are current on that before they get here. We have noticed there are some pilots just haven’t had much NDB training because NDBs are not very popular in certain places like California, not to pick on any one state. Even with the advent of GPS, the NDB is still important, so we’re going to ask them to navigate to a locator outer marker and set up for an instrument approach, a precision approach.”

Washka says the face-to-face interview is primarily technically oriented, but the HR person probably will ask a few questions, too. He says they are most interested in how they think a person will act as a team member with the company.

He says he generally asks a few questions about a light piston twin the interviewee is most familiar with and then sets up some “real-life flying scenarios,” including aircraft performance and V-speeds.

“I like to talk about a candidate’s short- and long-term career goals and make it a learning session with take-home value,“ he says. The whole meeting usually takes about 25 or 30 minutes.

When the process is concluded for each interviewee, everyone meets back at the classroom for an interview debriefing. AirNet recruiters describe to the pilots what they can expect if selected for training. Washka says he sometimes makes announcements of class dates, “but most of the time we tell everyone we’ll notify them within a day or two of what their results are.”

He estimates about 40 percent of interviewees are offered a job the day of the interview, but many times, his staff is trying to compare how people did with candidates from a day or two earlier.

“So, just because someone doesn’t get an offer on the spot, it definitely doesn’t mean we don’t want them,” he states. “In those cases, we have a selection board that meets to take a look at a wider range of pilots before we bring them in, but it doesn’t take a long time. Everyone, no matter what, will get a call and know their results within a week.”

Craig Washka has been with AirNet more than 15 years and has been instrumental in developing the company’s pilot interviewing and training processes. He is captain-qualified on all of AirNet’s aircraft types and regularly flies scheduled routes in order to keep his IFR skills up-to-date. Washka recently spent time with Airline Pilot Careers, explaining several significant changes to the late-night freight carrier’s hiring process, and several new business alliances aimed at making the process easier and more productive.

ALPC: How many pilots do you plan to hire next year, and will you be hiring directly into the Learjet?

Washka: We plan to hire at least 100 new pilots in the year 2000, so that’s at least eight to 10 each month. That would require us to bring in at least 125 pilots to training.

We try not to hire straight into the Lears, and we haven’t done it in quite some time. We much prefer to promote from within, but if the needs of the company change, it could encourage us to do that again. If somebody is Lear PIC qualified, they certainly should take a look at AirNet and get in touch with us. You never know.

ALPC: You mentioned it takes training 125 pilots to put 100 on line. What would prevent a pilot from making it through AirNet’s training?

Washka: Our success ratio in training is a little over 80 percent right now. The biggest challenge we see in training pilots is in the flight training and check ride—basic instrument flying skills—the ability to fly a high-performance twin in IFR conditions at night. A lack of recency of experience attributes to the lack of performance, but mostly it’s a matter of getting behind the aircraft. The Baron’s a little faster than the Seminole or Duchess that a lot of pilots are used to training in, and it’s easy to get behind in nighttime IFR conditions.

ALPC: Once selected, how long will it take to get a class date?

Washka: Well that’s all changing too. In January, we’ll have the opportunity to offer class dates about every three weeks, whereas before it could have been more than a month-and-a-half wait. We used to set up class dates by starting two classes say, in the beginning of January that would last for seven weeks. If you were hired halfway through December and those classes were both already full, you’d have to wait until late-February or early-March to start class.

Now, we are setting up a system that will start a new class every three weeks, so even if the next class is full, a new pilot will only have to wait a month at most to start.

ALPC: How are you going to speed up the training process?

Washka: What we’re doing is, we’re going to start using SimCom’s Baron simulator in Orlando, Florida, and they’re going to do the Baron ground school and initial flight training in their simulator. The way it will work is, pilots will show up in Columbus, Ohio, then we’ll airline them down to Orlando where they’ll go through SimCom for a week, then return to Columbus to finish up their ground school, flight training, and check rides. The whole training cycle will take four to five weeks.

ALPC: Will AirNet instructors conduct the training in Orlando?

Washka: SimCom instructors will conduct the training according to AirNet’s program. In fact, we’re going down there late in December to set everything up and SimCom is scheduled to start its part of the training in the second week of January.

It’s a great addition to our training program because the simulator is identical to the Baron 58s that we operate, and everyone will be trained exactly to AirNet’s systems, maneuvers, profiles, and procedures. What that does for us is, it basically eliminates us having to train them in our Frasca or AST and frees those simulators up just for interviewing purposes and practice by our pilots in training.

We’re also doing jet training through FlightSafety and PanAm/SimCom. Anyone going through jet training now goes through about 11 days of full-motion Learjet simulator time before they come to AirNet and learn how to do it AirNet’s way. So, that’s another new thing we’ve implemented recently.

ALPC: Are new-hire pilots paid during training?

Washka: Everybody receives $28 per diem. It used to be that only captain-qualified new hires received that, but now everyone is paid. We also provide housing accommodations while in Orlando, and we have apartments set up here in Columbus for pilots in training.

ALPC: What does the new hiring alliance with USA Jet in Michigan entail?

Washka: We’ve established a hiring alliance that allows our pilots who would like to move forward with their careers to start out at AirNet for 24 months to build the hours they need to apply to USA Jet, and based just on a recommendation from our flight department, they can do a face-to-face interview with USA Jet. If the interview goes well, they can go straight to USA Jet’s training without going through its initial application process.

We know some pilots like to fly bigger planes, so USA Jet’s DC-9s are a good step up, and they’re a Part 121 carrier, and our pilots who eventually want to fly for the major airlines know they need that experience. We may have other avenues to progress available soon, too, but this one with USA Jet is our first official agreement.

ALPC: How do you feel about pilots moving on after starting their careers with AirNet?

Washka: We know a lot of pilots use us a stepping stone, and we don’t frown on that. When they first come here, I just like to know that they have a short-term and a long-term plan for their careers. I would hope the short-term plan would include flying at AirNet at least through Learjet PIC, because I think that’s the best experience they’re ever going to get.

I think they need to know we are looking for pilots who will fly with us through Lear captain and the way things are going right now, that takes only about two-and-a-half years. Right now, upgrade time to the right seat of the Lear is only about eight months, and it’s less than a year from that position to the left seat of a Learjet.

ALPC: How can pilots learn more about AirNet?

Washka: There’s always our Web site (www.airnet.com), and it spells out everything in detail, but we’ve also set up a toll-free pilot recruitment hotline, and the number is 877-AIR NET6 (877-247-6386). We staff the phones Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and if they call that number, they can select a taped message or talk with someone directly. There will be specific extensions, or they can just talk to a recruiter and ask any question they want to. We’ll be glad to help in any way we can.