For 9 years, I had been looking up to this position, with this Company - now was my time
Newell was my goal from the time I started flying out of High School. It was also part of the reason I did not go to college. Corporate Aviation is a ‘network’. You’re either in the network, or you’re not. I had a reference in that network, long time friend of my family, John Nichols. John had been working for Newell for 9 years before I had my opportunity to become part of that company. I would call him periodically and ask what was happening. Usually, it was nothing, not much, nothing new, no change, etc. But that all changed the summer of 1996. Newell lost a pilot to United Airlines, who was in full swing, hiring pilots.
My wife was pregnant with serial number #1 (or, as we named him, Brock). Great Lakes was starting to show signs of stress. Mechanical problems were not being dealt with properly. We were under the FAA’s eyes for Maintenance issues. I was dealing with those issues every week, and it was getting old. Not to mention, Great Lakes had a history of closing a crew base via fax, at the drop of a hat. With a new family, a desire for something better, I was no longer going to settle for winging it Great Lakes style.
I had 3 interviews with Newell. The first with Human Resources. Less than an hour, with a lady that was loosely associated with the Flight Department. The interview went great, mainly due to my interviewing experience from Corporate job #1.
The second, was with the Chief Pilot. This one was a little more awkward. Why? Well, the same reason I ran into with Corporate Job #1- the Chief felt that with my age and experience, that I would waste no time heading to United, or American...costing them a lot of money.
I was honest. I had applied with United. It was the summer of 1995. I filled out the application in pen (most people had it professionally typed up), and I had not updated the application in over a year (you were encouraged to update every 6 months to be a viable candidate). Well, I watched 42 Great Lakes pilots interview at United- and they were all turned down. I don’t know why, but they were. And these people had more experience than me, they had 4 year degrees, etc. I wrote that opportunity with United off after seeing all those qualified guys fail that interview with United.
I told the Chief that with no college, vision of 20/200, and the dismal results from the 42 pilots from Great Lakes before me, I was fairly confident that they would not be calling little ole me. I understood his position, and I also realized that John was not the only one pulling for a friend to get hired at Newell. There were 10 other pilots there that knew someone looking for a job like this one. So this was not an issue to be taken lightly.
And John did a lot of pulling for me, something I’ll never have the opportunity to return to him. It was him, that re-inforced my feelings about not getting hired with United to the Chief that eventually led to interview #3.
Interview #3 was a snap! Why? Meet a Senior Captain, and go fly with him in the King Air. The Chief was coming along, as a passenger to witness the flight. Flying the airplane has always been the easy part. Basically, we took off, flew out for some steep turns, some slow flight, and back to the airport for a Visual Approach with the ILS profile. That all went great, but the landing sealed the deal...it was a complete greaser. And, I was flying from the right seat, which I had not done for 3 years or better.
The interview ended with ‘I’ll let you know by Monday next week’. I drove home with plenty of optimism. The Chief Pilot clapping after a landing is probably a good sign...but I did not know what the Senior Captain thought. We got along fine, but did he have a friend he was pulling for in this process?
I could not stand the wait. I called John when I got home and asked him if he knew how many other people were serious contenders for the job. He thought two. He told me I would hear something by Saturday night if it was a ‘go’.
Saturday afternoon, the phone rang. It was Human Resources, and they offered me the job contingent upon my approval of the compensation package! Package? They explained that they usually FedEx an envelope with the entire benefits package, and wait for the person to call back and accept the job. I told her I had one question, if it were not too forward at this point. She said ‘go ahead’. I told her about my pregnant wife, that she would not be working after our child was born, and that I was hoping to match what my wife and I were making at Great Lakes. I told her I had one question, ‘How much was the base salary going to start at?’ She told me, and it was just a little more than what my wife and I were making with both our salaries at Great Lakes! I said, ‘You can send the package, but I’ll tell you right now, I’m in’.
Part of the ‘package’ that showed up included; 8% sign on bonus (for carpet, curtains, incidentals for the new house), a completely paid move, 1 point down on my new house in Rockford, 3 months temporary living accomodations/expenses, 401k plan description/contribution options, healthcare package, flexible spending, etc, etc. I was blown away. We had hit the big time. Move me from Quincy to Rockford? Done!
Corporate is a ‘different’ animal. It’s good for some, ok for others, and not good for the rest. What’s good?
Good, is, only flying 38 hours per month. I worked there 11 months and flew an average of 38 hours per month. AND, it only took about 10-12 days to get those hours. The rest of the time, I was home. We had a new baby, being home 18-20 days a month is a very good thing. Good, was, Newell had not furloughed anyone in it’s 25 years of Flight Department existence. It was pretty stable, as stable went in the late 90’s. Good, was, the equipment was very well maintained. 3 full time mechanics worked on our 4 airplanes during normal business hours. Good, was the benefits of having a Corporate job. Healthcare, 401k, etc. Good, was the Flightsafety training every 6 months- no skimping on training. Good, was treatment of employees if they had a family issue. One month into my tenure there, our son was born. I was 90 minutes from flying to the East Coast when my wife called with the news she was going to the hospital in Quincy. I called our Dispatcher, and she said, ‘Call us when you’re ready to come back, have a safe drive South.’
What was bad? Well, bad was a lack of ‘SOP’. No Standard Operating Procedures, like all airlines today use, and I’m sure, a lot of flight departments. Ours had none. One Captain flew this way, another did things that way. You had to keep a little book of what he did, the other guy did, what he liked, what the other guy liked. I did not care for that at all. Bad, was, yes- I had 18-20 days a month off...but those days were shown under ‘look back’. During the week, you wore a beeper. If it went off, you jump. That happened once in 11 months, no complaints with that part. But, you could never just plan a day off, unless it was a weekend. So you could not go anywhere. I could not even pack up the family and head 3 hours West to IA to see my parents. That was very irritating. And the worst part, was, the inter-department politics. I am not the type of personality that gets wound around this stuff, so it was just not for me at all. I am talking about the fact that of the 12 pilots that worked for Newell, they were divided into ‘3 groups’. Not on paper, not by any affiliation. But you had the Senior Captain group, that pretty much ran the operation based on how they thought business should go. Then, you had the group in the middle, who was promoted before anyone else, because they were sort of the ‘teachers pet’. Then, you had the third group (which I was in)...which just wanted to fly airplanes, get paid, and go home. Good trip was with someone in your group or one group ‘up’. I got along with everyone just fine. I had people I would have preferred to fly with, that will happen anywhere. It was just different, especially coming from the Commuters where you have a strict Seniority System in place that controls everything. It don’t matter who knows who, who does what for whom, it’s all locked up. I prefer that over ‘teachers pet’ because I’m not a butt kisser.
Strange things happened at Newell to me, much due to the politics. Things that I would never have done to my co-workers if I were ‘in charge’. But, that’s the way the prop turns. Those strange things started happening 3 months into my time there. And it got me thinking. ‘Do I want to work here the rest of my life?’ With the things I had seen in just 3 months, I was really questioning my friends ‘positive pireps’ of his past 9 years with this company. So what gives I thought.
Well, it comes down to personality. My friend with 9 years, is of the personality that will allow a lot to happen to him before he gets riled up. He ‘rolls’ with quite a bit of ‘stuff’. And his 9 years was very good to him, because he made it good for himself! I admire that, I really do. I with I had that type of personality. But I don’t...
So, things that riled me, I did not really get over. I am of the type that wants to fix what is not right, and make life better or fair for everyone, not the few guys at the top. So with that in mind...my experience of the same job was very different than Johns. Fine, we are different people. No right or wrong in this scenario. The job did not ‘fit me’.
If you have read this from the beginning, you already know I filled out that United Airlines application during the summer of 1995. Well, not it’s March, 1997. I’m 6 months into my job with Newell. I’m tolerating what is going on, and I am not actively searching for further employment. New baby, wife has a new job, we have a new house. There is a lot going on. ‘Sty the course’.
My wife had applied at United Reservations (since closed in Rockford), mainly to get back into the Airline business (she still loves it), and get us some travel benefits. I was in favor of this as well. She had applied in January of 1997. I thought this would be a nice balance, I could fly 10 days a month, make decent money (it went up about 5% per year, if you did not move up in airplanes, and another 10% each time you changed seats in an airplane....so I had plenty of room for growth with 3 seat changes to look forward to), and she could have the travel bennies if we wanted to fly somewhere.
We had gone away for a rare extended weekend. Arriving home, there was a pile of mail on the front step. I threw it on the counter, unpacked the car, did the regular night routine of getting the little one to bed, and that was it. Next day, I’m home with no flying scheduled, my wife is at her job, and the little guy is down for a nap. So I pick up this pile of mail and start sorting. A pile for bills, a pile for junk, a pile for my wife, and a pile for me. I run across an envelope that has United Airlines on the top. Knowing my wife had applied, I automatically placed that letter in her pile of mail, and continued sorting.
When she got home, she went through her mail and ran across that envelope with United Airlines on it. She said, ‘This is for you!’. I looked at it in disbelief. I had no idea what was in that letter, which I had placed in her pile of mail. When I opened it, I was blown away....speechless!
You’ll have to click the link below to find out how the interview process went. But, it was an invitation to come out and interview. And, it was based off of an application that I had filled out, in pen, 18 months prior! It was un-heard of, literally did not happen like that in the day. You updated every 6 months, or you just were not interested in their eyes.
So, I had to figure out now, a few things. One, how was I going to get to the interview without anyone finding out!?!? This was concern #1. Why? Well, lets say it does not go well. It is an opportunity of a lifetime, to see if I have what it takes, to land the top job in the Aviation Biz- United Airlines...of course I’m going to try it! But, what if I don’t get hired? What’s in store for me, at Newell, if don’t get hired AND someone or everyone now knows I am trying to get hired by an airline? Just 7 months prior, I had told the Chief Pilot that I did not think this was ever going to happen. And, I was not hired yet, this was just an interview- anything could happen. But, I wanted this on the low-low until I knew I was hired.
Secondly, what do I tell John, my friend who got me hired there, who let me live in his house for a few months when my wife finally came up to Rockford? I told John the same things I told the Chief Pilot, about not leaving, not having a shot with United. How to tell him? How do I explain this situation? I ended up telling him the truth, and that I had to go try, regardless of outcome. If I was offered the job, then I was in control as to wether I actually left or not.
Also, what would I tell the Chief Pilot ‘if’ I did get hired? I told him the truth about the application, the hiring history with the Great Lakes pilots, I had no college, bad vision, etc. But now, if I go and get hired...how does that make me look? (I was going one way or another, but I’m not burning a bridge un-necessarily).
Well, that day obviously came. I kept everything quiet from the Chief, but the pilots all knew I was going. They all told me they understood my decision too, but I know that some were not happy with me. Some, felt I had duped the system, burned a precious spot which one of their buddies could have had. Others, felt that I ‘used’ Newell to get a job with United. This, was pure insanity. I flew a King Air for Newell...as a Co-Pilot, which did nothing for my career (since it was Corporate, the flight time was not even ‘loggable’ unless I was flying the airplane from the left seat---and that was after I got the type rating in it 5 months after I got hired!) If I had been in one of the jets already, then yes, I would have been building jet time. But I was not, I was just a prop co-pilot.
As luck would have it, the Chief approached me one morning about 2 and 1/2 weeks before I was scheduled to start Ground School at United, and said he wanted to talk about me moving into the Falcon. This was not suppose to happen for quite some time (Corporate culture). I guess I tell him now then! I told him I had something to tell him and we had better go to his office.
He did not understand, and acted as though I was telling him something he did not know. I believe everyone kept it quite from him, but I’m not 100% sure. Either way, it went pretty well. I had to conduct an exit interview when I left, where I had free reign in telling the interviewer just what I thought and why I was leaving. A few months later, an independent audit agency came into Flight Ops and conducted a one week ‘look see’ of the operation. 10 of the pilots encouraged me to ‘fill the interviewer in’, so I did. As a result, things were looked at very closely. As most things Corporate go, from what I hear, everything was swept under the rug!
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