Vai voando en avión de Lufthansa Training Center Arizona
As an airline customer based in the United States I’m mostly used to the way that American carriers source their pilots. Most are former military or have paid a huge sum of money to fund their own private training and then hope to make it through the long days of work at regional carriers before making it into the big birds. Lufthansa’s approach to pilot recruitment and training is quite different. They subscribe to the Ab-Initio training plan, where each pilot is brought in completely green and trained from the ground up in the Lufthansa way.
As part of StarMegaDo 2010 a group of about 30 of us were invited to visit the Airline Training Center, Arizona (ATCA) where aspiring pilots are given their initial in-flight training experiences. We got to meet with the students and the folks who run the program. Oh, and we all got to actually experience the flight training through flights in the same simulators that the pilots learn in.
Fomos recibidos á facilidade por Matthias Kippenberg, o presidente e CEO de ATCA. A pilot who was trained in the same facility more than 30 years ago, who flew the 727, 737 e 747 for various private groups as well as Lufthansa, Matthias has been leading the training group in Arizona for 3 years now. Mr. Kippenberg oversees the training of approximately 240 pilots annually, helping to continue feeding the tremendous demand that the parent company has for additional pilots.
After a brief introduction outside the facility we were escorted onto the flight line (“Badges, we don’t need no stinkin’ badges”) to see one of the Bonanza aircraft that the aspiring Lufthansa pilots start their training in.
We got to climb in the plane and get a feel for what it is like inside, including the fact that they planes are not air conditioned which can be a bit warm in the summer months.
Following the walk-through on the flight line we got to see the maintenance facilities and then, the highlight of the day, actually flying in the simulators.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Click here to view the embedded video.
After the flying we headed over to the cafeteria for a delicious lunch and a Q&A wrap-up with the student pilots and training coordinators. Along the way we happened upon this celebratory scene walking the grounds of the facility. The pilot being carried had just completed his first solo flight and his class-mates were helping to celebrate the event. There is a tradition in the flight world that says following the first successful solo flight one cannot have their feet touch the ground until they have been in the water first. As such, the next stop of this caravan of friends was the swimming pool facility on the property. I’m sure he doesn’t mind getting wet for this one.
The food was top-notch (and we were thanked by many of the students for showing up as it meant they get the upgraded catering for the day). Here’s dessert, ice cream in chocolate. Hard to complain at all.
It is worth noting here that the 20 folks who got to participate in the flight simulator portion of the event were chosen not by luck and not randomly. They were chosen by their generosity. All told, we raised over $5,000 in charitable contributions to Help Alliance, a caridade corporativa de Lufthansa. Simply amazing.
Almorzo con Doug Parker
“Realmente non sei que dicir para ti,” Doug Parker comezou. “A parte que eu non sei como describir é porque está facendo o que fas.” A 150+ FlyerTalkers sentido do mesmo xeito que se esforzaron para entender a filosofía darwinista Parker sobre o futuro da industria aérea estadounidense — un oligopólio con tarifas máis elevadas e permanente da capacidade contida, en que as taxas de equipaxe e de prezos á carta entregar anualmente $400-$500 millóns en beneficio puro. “Se non telo, estariamos de volta onde estaban antes,” el dixo, “mal romper mesmo ou peor.”
Parker non é o CEO da compañía aérea máis popular no cânon FlyerTalk, pero EUA. Airways calor os fazedores Mega ao Xardín Botánico do Deserto, onde se comían un spread almorzo e cappuccinos bebeu (para contrarrestar o champaña) antes Parker dirixiu a eles. Durante a baixada final en PHX, estabamos repreendidos na PA “ser respectuoso dos nosos anfitrións — o seu nome é Doug, non ‘Dougie.” Pero o público estaba tranquilo e educado — ou que só deprimido despois de escoitar a visión do mundo de Parker.
Como amable como podería ser, Parker expuxo a súa visión sombría do sector aéreo no que seis transporte — United, Participar, Americana, EUA. Airways, Southwest ea JetBlue — coexisten nun equilibrio rendibles, aquel en que a capacidade de lugares é rixidamente controlada para restaurar unha medida de prezos, e consolidación segue a tira de máis asentos do ceo. As catro cousas que poderían “romper” este equilibrio é “perda da capacidade de disciplina, e eu non creo que vai pasar;” relacións de traballo (“Non podemos dar todo de volta”); novos operadores como Virgin America (“todo o que nós facemos é gastar moito diñeiro loitando contra elas”) e presión do goberno para reducir as emisións de carbono, levando a novos impostos sobre a aviación. Os prezos altos do petróleo son un problema menor que simplemente un feito da vida, cos custos sendo repassados ao cliente.
Tan cínica en canto á súa fórmula é, parece estar funcionando. Por primeira vez desde a desregulación do sector na 1978, a industria da aviación é anticíclica, mensaxe beneficios marcas en canto a economía está deprimida. “Os nosos resultados do terceiro trimestre foron os mellores na historia da nosa empresa,” el dixo. “O que era necesario por mor da crise é o que nos levou a gañar cartos.”
Previsiblemente, Os fazedores Mega non eran exactamente axitado por ese chamamento ás armas. Q longa&Un período seguido, preguntas sobre o que caracteriza cando a compañía aérea vai finalmente resolver os problemas do seu traballo, rematando o “Leste / oeste” división (estaba sen compromiso), expansión internacional (non espera moi pronto) eo seu papel na alianza. Un participante contou a historia dun voo en outubro pasado en que foi dito para “sentir e calar a boca” por un atendente de loita durante unha emerxencia médica, e foi voando Continental desde (da CLT para PHX, non menos). Parker pediulle que reconsiderar — “Probablemente está esperando tres horas en Houston,” el dixo. “Unha hora e dez minutos,” ela respondeu: — antes de, finalmente, recorrer a “en termos de execución a compañía, estamos facendo mellor que eles.”
Pero a cuestión máis esperado chegou de Arte Pushkin, EEUU ex-. elite Airways que fundou o que foi efectivamente un grupo de resistencia (FFOCUS, tamén coñecido como o “Cockroaches”) antes de desertar para a Continental e tendo un centenar de elites con el. Polos seus propios cálculos, que ten custo EUA. Airways, polo menos, $1 millóns desde. A súa pregunta: Por que está alienado Presidentes cargando-os para lugares adestrador Premium. comentarios Parker, en poucas palabras: estamos a ver algúns deles, pero non todos eles — e ten que chegar en primeiro lugar. “O obxectivo non é levalos lonxe de Presidentes e vendelos a alguén — ou a presidentes. A sala comezou a se mover cando Park insistiu outras compañías aéreas están facendo a mesma cousa — eles non son — e, a continuación, respondeu con “Sei que van facer o mesmo que nós somos.” Quizais, quizais non. Pero ningún dos presentes quixen imaxinar unha carreira para o fondo.
Entón, deixou, e tivemos unha hora para matar bolboretas perseguindo.
Taxas de Equipaxe?
OK, conta este post no “Got Ya!” arquivo. Ao longo do camiño, este reúne quilometraxe reaOKzar unha chea de refugallos e saíndo de Alemaña, eu estou indo a baggageville. OK, ningún membro auto-respecto de FlyerTalk xamais debería ter que pagar unha taxa saco dadas as coleccións de consellos sobre como facer elite e ignorar o cofrinho de panfletos que fai a súa dereita. Así, here’s just a sampling of my “take home” pay just so far:
First Class en todo o camiño de Frankfurt
The Lufthansa First Class Terminal holds a certain mystique. A dedicated building for the most coveted passengers. Getting inside is generally not a trivial task.
Unless you’re a StarMegaDo participant, that is.
For the first time ever the lounge was opened up after hours to host a private event for customers and we had a blast. For about an hour we mingled, sampled a collection of the fine beverages on offer and enjoyed the luxuries that the lounge offers. A few lucky folks even managed to score one of the coveted rubber ducks from the bath suites.
SMD vs. OMG
OK, today is unlike any other day. Quero dicir, just how many days do you start out on a mileage run of sorts with 70+ members of that special secret society of frequent flyers? Anyway, I’m just bidding my time at the gate waiting for my next connection when I hear across the way a few young ladies exclaiming their joy over some topic that clearly brings interest and excitement to themselves. The chosen term—O-M-G. O-M-G in todays lexicon stands for Oh My God or Oh My Goodness, that being a statment of exclamation. Since an exclamation is an expression of feeling, the next words from my mouth will be—S-M-D. You know, an exclamation of feeling about the Star Mega Do. Say it, say it with emotion. We, ladies and gentlemen are getting ready to rumble in the skies—forward march to the airport gate that greets us later today. Let me say it again … S-M-D.
