Whenever someone asks me how to know if an agency is “Good” or not I always advise them to find someone who has worked with that agency.  There is no better source of information than direct feedback.

It is my pleasure to present feedback from two pilots who recently worked with Mr. Leonardo Garcia during.  These are both unsolicited letters sent by the pilots:

“Dear Sir,

I’ve recently completed a[n] [airline] application using Paramount recruitment system.

I would like to make an appreciation for the terrific client support given by Leonardo Garcia through all the steps I’ ve done since Aug this year.

Leonardo showed job and customer dedication at all the time.

Unfortunately my way to [airline] interview has been delayed due to my father’s illness.

We suddenly found a bad thing just few days prior my scheduled interview.

That did not close my way to [airline] because Leonardo took care of my “folder” as his own one.

He has watched over me and arrange a date without a new application.

Unbelivable, I’ ve never met him!

He has been proactive and extremely efficient at all the time to meet the highest standard your company could request for the mission.

Please recognize Leonardo Garcia as outstanding performer, solid example of total client dedication. Simply a wonderful person. He deserves the best.

Thank you very much.”

Second Letter:

“But tell me something Leonardo : you looks to work 24/24H ! J

You always answer immediately!

This is something uncommon to see in this industry and in other recruiting agencies.

I’m happy to see I’m not the only one working a lot J!

Anyway, thank you so much for all your hard work and I wish you a nice weekend,”

Congratulations on a job well done, Leo. Thank you for your continued hard work and dedication.

L-R: Glenda and Anne

Paramount is pleased to announce the addition of two key people to our team: Mrs. Anne Petty and Mrs. Glenda Harris.
Both ladies bring with them wonderful, friendly attitudes and a wealth of experience and insight. They have already proven to be critically important to operation.
Anne will be providing much needed support for telephone interfacing, file correlation and maintain organization expertise.
Glenda will utilize her technical background to help with record keeping, computer and website support as well as technical writing for our Study Guides and Contract Overviews.
Our highest priority is maintaining the best customer satisfaction in the industry. Anne and Glenda will be instrumental in providing the much-needed support needed to handle our steadily increasing work load.

Welcome Aboard!

There is a direct tie between the future demand for air travel and two key market indicators: 1) Aircraft orders, and 2) Traffic Growth. While these two indicators are often interdependent, they are fantastic predictors of the increased number of “seats” that must be filled by trained, qualified pilots.

By all accounts, there will continue to be an increase in air traffic for many years to come.

1. Aircraft Orders: Boeing predicts that there will be a need for 30,900 new jets between now and 2029.  Over the next 20 years, 77% of demand for new aircraft will come from outside North America with about 34% of deliveries going to the Asia Pacific region. While many of these orders will be for the replacement of existing jets, the overall increase in the number of aircraft delivered is expected to increase by 17,410. See full reference article here. 

2. Traffic Growth:  According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) the number of people traveling by air is forecast to increase by 800 million travelers to 3.3 billion travelers per year by 2014. See full reference article here. 

None of the increased traffic demand will be possible unless there are qualified crews to operate the equipment. Boeing predicts that growth and retirements will yield a doubling in demand for future pilots between now and 2029. In this period it is predicted that the total demand for new pilots will be 466,000 pilots. This requires an average of 23,300 new pilots a year.    Aviation Week & Space Technology, Volume 173, Number 4, January 24/31, 2011, p. 112.

There are only two solutions to meet the demand for crews: 1) Crew Procurement Services, and 2) Training.

In Part 2, I will address Procurement and Training as solutions for meeting this forecasted demand. Finally, in Part 3, I will address increased demand for pilots in the most rapidly growing sector: Asia.

Air Team Class 1

It is a pleasure to announce that the first cadre of MD-11 pilots has begun training for Air Team in Helsinki, Finland. The first MD-11F aircraft will begin operating on 1 August.

Congratulations go to Mr. Timothy Ford, COO, and his team for their extraordinary job of coordinating all aspects of this operation. The screening and selection of crews alone for this operation has been a significant undertaking. The response to the vacancy announcements has been incredible.

There are many favorable factors that have resulted in such a high response from prospective flight crews: the operation is located in Helsinki which is close to many major European cities and easy to get to, the operation is well organized with a solid business plan that includes incremental fleet growth plans, and the management team is very experienced with a solid vision of how this airline will prosper.

Our mission at Paramount continues to be to provide the safest and most professional airmen available. This group of pilots in Class 1 epitomizes these principles. Each of them is a very experienced and dedicated airman with a fantastic operational background and wealth of experience.

The first group includes Paramount pilots: Captain Jack Anton, Captain George Boyko, Captain Henk Schep, Captain Bob Stroup, and Captain Todd Wyland plus MCS Universal pilot Captain Tom Keck.

Paramount continues to recruit pilots for future classes with Air Team. For more information please visit our website at www.paramountarg.com/opportunities.

Mr. Leonardo Garcia, Recuiting Specialist

Leo’s full biography can be read here.

Paramount has established itself in the marketplace as one of the premier procurement agencies.  We have accomplished this through our commitment to safety, excellent customer service and complete integrity.  We also pride ourselves as one of the select agencies that is owned and operated by aviation professionals. All of the core team members have a background in flight operations, are committed to maintaining the highest level of safety and providing complete customer satisfaction. Leo is certainly no exception. He brings with him a fantastic background of experience in flight operations as a flight crewmember, dispatcher and manager as well as a positive, customer-oriented attitude.

The aviation market continues to gain momentum for crew demand. Leo has hit the ground running and is doing a fantastic job of managing the recruiting effort for our pilot vacancies with Qatar Airways. Leo is also working on pilot vacancies with Korean Air.

For more information regarding vacancies with Qatar Airways click here.   

For more information regarding vacancies with Korean Air click here.

Please feel free to contact Leo directly at leonardo.garcia@paramountarg.com.

IndiGo is a very impressive company. Similar in structure to Southwest Airlines in the U.S., IndiGo has forged a strong niche in the Indian domestic market by providing safe, efficient, reliable and affordable air transportation.

While they are relatively a new-comer to the Indian sector, they have out-performed many of their elders. For example, Skytrax recognized IndiGo as the “Best Low-Cost Airline India” for 2010.

Most recently, IndiGo once again separated itself from the pack when it placed the biggest single aircraft order in the history of commercial aviation for 180 A-320 aircraft with Airbus earlier this year. That is an incredible number of aircraft.

We find this very exciting because of the obvious reason that these new aircraft will require many pilots to operate. We are working diligently now to provide as many safe, professional and qualified A-320 captains to IndiGo as possible. This demand will continue to increase as IndiGo expands for the foreseeable future. IndiGo provides fantastic opportnuities for qualified and experienced A-320 Captains to be part of a fantastic company with a very bright future.

All along the way we will be there helping to support their continued success and growth.

More information about job opportunities with IndiGo can be found at www.paramountarg.com/opportuities.

The table below illustrates the time of useful consciousness at various altitudes. SWA 812 had reached an altitude of 34,400 fleet according to Flight Aware http://flightaware.com/live/flight/SWA812/history/20110401/2225Z/KPHX/KNYL/tracklog

Flight level  Time of Useful Consciousness Altitude m / ft

FL 150       30 min or more     4,572 m      15,000
FL 180       20 to 30 min          5,486 m     18,000
FL 220       5-10 min                6,705 m 22,000
FL 250       3 to 6 min               7,620 m 25,000
FL 280       2.5 to 3 mins          8,534 m 28,000
FL 300       1 to 3 mins             9,144 m 30,000
FL 350        30 sec to 60 sec   10,668 m 35,000
FL 400       15 to 20 sec           12,192 m 40,000
FL 430        9 to 15 sec             13,106 m 43,000
FL 500+     6 to 9 sec               15,240 m 50,000

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_of_useful_consciousness

At this altitude the time of useful consciousness was in the range of about 30 – 60 seconds. This seems like an eternity to put on your oxygen mask. Most of the modern masks are very easy to donn. However, there are other factors that complicate the situation that should be considered:

1. Decompression results in a vacuum. This means that much of the volume of cabin air is released from the aircraft through the breach. As a result every peanut, cracker crumb, piece of dirt, dust, and all other debris becomes airborne. It gets in your eyes, nose, mouth- everywhere.

2. The temperature will drop significantly. At 35,000 the average temperature is about -69º F. That means a 70º cabin has an almost 140º temperature drop.

3. The reaction time for an unexpected event is delayed. According to www.visualexpert.com, “Reaction time is much slower when people encounter a low probability or unexpected event.” http://www.visualexpert.com/Resources/reactiontime.html.  We do not react as quickly in a real event as we would in the simulator when we are keyed into the exercise of practicing a decompression.

Therefore, it is critical to periodically review your company’s decompression procedures. In such a rare event it is often difficult to recall all of the procedural steps during the actual event if they are not reviewed on a regular basis. Additionally, and more importantly, preflight your oxygen mask before every flight. Make sure that the mask operates as it should and that there is the required amount of oxygen on the aircraft before dispatch.

I had an instance on a DC-9 some years ago where I discovered that the supply hose to my oxygen mask was full of water. It was a rainy day and water had leaked through the side windscreen and flooded the compartment housing my hose coupling. It was much better to find this out on the ground than during an emergency. It resonated with me to always check my mask.

I congratulate the SWA crew for their professionalism in managing the decompression and landing the aircraft without incident. Kudos.

The FAA defines an aircraft as being upset by having:
1. A Pitch Attitude greater than 25 deg, nose up.
2. A Pitch Attitude greater than 10 deg, nose down.
3. A Bank Angle greater than 45 deg.
4. Within the above parameters, but flying at airspeeds inappropriate for the conditions (too fast or too slow)[1] .

[1] Pilot Guide to Airplane Upset Recovery http://www.faa.gov/other_visit/aviation_industry/airline_operators/training/media/AP_UpsetRecovery_Book.pdf

Most airline and corporate pilots will experience these conditions only in the training environment. The goal of all professional pilots is to provide a safe, smooth, uneventful flight. Therefore during the course of an ordinary flight the aircraft will not experience any conditions remotely close to these upset parameters. The U.S. air travel system remains the safest in the world as a result of the high level of professionalism and training U.S. pilots maintain. However, any flight can be subjected to conditions promoting the onset of an aircraft upset.

Most upsets are caused by external conditions or unusual malfunctions. External conditions include, but are not limited to: icing conditions, turbulence, extreme weather conditions, or mechanical failure.

There is no doubt that upset recovery training is important. More professional pilots than ever before are trained through a civilian training system. Historically, the majority of professional pilots came from the military. One of the advantages of experiencing military training is that fixed wing military cadets are introduced to aerobatic maneuvers whereas the exposure to maneuvers with attitudes similar to aerobatics are not as prevalent in the civilian training system.

There is another underlying factor that is just as critical in dealing with upset recovery which has always played an important role in aviation incidents and accidents: crew complacency. Complacency is defined as: “a quiet feeling of pleasure or security, often while unaware of some potential danger, defect or the like.”[2] In the cockpit this translates to: removing the crew from the reality of the current aircraft condition and environment.

[2] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/complacency

With the continued advancement and improvement of aircraft systems and controls there is less for the professional pilot to monitor than previously. As the pilot becomes more dissociated from the condition of the aircraft it becomes harder to detect unusual or potentially adverse conditions. Not surprisingly, it is often critical to recognize and address potentially harmful conditions as early as possible. Increased vigilance on the part of the crew is essential in ascertaining the aircraft’s condition and perceiving potential threats.

However, there is no current training requirement for dealing with complacency. Upset recovery addresses the result of an unusual condition whereas crew complacency training would address the prevention of an unusual condition. Both aspects need to be incorporated into a pilot’s training curriculum.

For more information and examples see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_upset

Like all service providers the level of competence, integrity, knowledge, support and commitment to excellence varies tremendously among the various agencies. One of the reasons it is critical to identify the caliber of the agency you are currently working with or getting ready to work with is that they will have a direct impact on your life. Often the agency will be a critical factor as to whether you get the interview or not.

In the contract realm the agencies act as the facilitators between the hiring companies and the flight crews applying for open vacancies. The general model is straight forward: Companies that need to hire personnel will utilize procurement services provided by agencies to help recruit, screen and process candidates. It is a way for a company to supplement their own human resources department.

However, the relationship can be more complex than merely processing a candidate for an interview. Agencies also serve as leasing agents. Under this scheme the crew member contracts directly with the agency. The agency in turn leases the crew member’s services to the customer. Therefore, the crewmember gets paid by the leasing agency but is bound to abide by the rules and regulations of the customer (i.e. operation specifications and policies).

There are several key indicators to look for to ensure that the agency you are working with will provide you with good service:

1. Do they respond to your emails and phone calls promptly? While there is always some expected delay in receiving a response due to the high volume of emails and calls agencies receive daily, if you are not getting a response within a week it could be a red flag.

2. Do they provide you with as much information as possible about the contractual provisions and working conditions ahead of time? While agencies are often limited in their access to contractual provisions, they should certainly make the effort to answer contractual questions for you before you are expected to sign the contract.

3. Was the agency referred to you by a friend or colleague? This is the best endorsement. If someone you trust has had a good experience it is a good indication of what you can expect.

4. Does the person you interact with at the agency have a solid understanding of the aviation industry and the customer? This insight is critical in helping you succeed. There are always unexpected issues that arise and having a knowledgeable agent can make the difference between success and failure.

Paramount’s corporate philosophy is that crew members are customers too. There are many agencies to select from and we want our name to be associated with excellence. That is why our staff is knowledgeable, responsive and caring.