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Spirit Airlines Pilot Interview Profiles

» Home » Pilot Interviews » National Airlines » Spirit Airlines
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Date Interviewed: April 2014
Summary of Qualifications: N/A
Were you offered the job? Yes
Pilot Interview Profile:
Fifteen candidates -- mostly regional pilots from Silver, Commutair, SkyWest, and a couple of others I can't remember. Don't know if they were captains or FOs. Also two captains from World Airways.

The day began with a short presentation by the Director of Training about Spirit -- past, present, future. Each candidate was asked to stand up, introduce themselves, talk a little bit about their experience/history. First chance to make an impression.

Test was distributed. The Spirit Training Director joked that it's the same test posted on the net, and if we didn't score 100% we wouldn't be hired because it would show we didn't know how to properly utilize our available resources. The gouge supplied by FAPA.Aero was spot on. Didn't crosscheck the WFFF gouge. I remember an additional question about weather required for an alternate with a precision approach. Also a question concerning the meaning of WS on a SIGMET. All other questions were either verbatim from the gouge, or very obvious to any pilot. They never told us our final score. I think that unless one totally tubes the test, it will have very little bearing on whether or not one is hired. I heard from at least two other Spirit pilots I talked to, one operating my flight out, another currently in training, that the test is a tie breaker if there is some problem during the panel interview.

While we were taking the test, they called us out individually for the panel interview. There were two interview teams each consisting of a pilot and an HR rep. My interviewers were Sandi Fagenbaum, the HR lady who handled all of my prior contact, and Capt Rodesta, the FLL Chief Pilot.
1. Talk us through your resume/career. Tell us about yourself.
2. TMAAT your integrity was questioned.
3.. Define success as a pilot.
4. What is your impression of the culture at Spirit.
5. Any other questions for us.
They were very relaxed, but also there was zero feedback. I had no idea whether or not my answers were well received.

After all the interviews were completed and everyone had finished the test, there was a luncheon in the break room -- sandwiches and chips. The interview team was also there to chat with us. There are several small tables with 4 or 5 chairs around each. I would suggest being around the middle of the line so that you can pick a table where a Spirit rep will be sitting. It's another chance to make a good impression. You don't want to be sitting at a table where you are talking among yourselves without a Spirit rep.

That was it. Out by 1300. Interviewed on Tuesday, received a call six days later on Monday, and was offered a June class date.
Date Interviewed: April 2014
Summary of Qualifications: 9500 TT 7000 Pic Turb/Jet
Were you offered the job? Yes
Pilot Interview Profile:
Step 1 as most is attend a job fair. I had numerous internal recs and did not recieve any response. 2 days after attending the job fair in FLL I was sent the full application. Rumor is that you need to submit the completed app within 24 hours. I did, and was called for the telephone interview 3 days later. This call came from Sandi in the HR dept. It is a laid back, pleasant discussion, just sort of getting a feel for your level of interest and also how much awareness you have regarding the Spirit philosophy and buisiness model. As many others have said, your personality seems to go a long way at this company. They want to see who you are, assuming you can fly an airplane.

Next step,is the 20 minute online test. No way to study for this, just relax, sit down at your computer and try to get through as many questions as possible in the time allowed. I have no idea what my score was, I answered about 90 questions. If you dont know the answer after about 10 seconds, guess and move on.

After the online test, I recieved the invitation to interview in FLL. Spirit provides you a seat, you need to take care of accomodations in FLL. The day I interviewed, there were 15 or so candidates. They start you off in the morning with a company presentation, introduce yourself to the group, and it is very relaxed and loose atmosphere. The group ranged from all types of backgrounds, no specific type of person was obvious. You may get to meet the director of training, FLL chief pilot, etc. Everyone is nice, and they do a good job of putting you at ease right away. That being said, you are almost always within earshot of someone from Spirit so you need to keep that in mind when talking to other candidates etc. You want to maintain a positive, friendly image without being over the top or weird about it. You don't need to put on a show, just don't sit in a corner texting while you wait or stuff like that. You will be given a written test comprised of ATP type questions and some bonus ones. Almost all of the questions are in the other gouges. Allegedly this test is used if they are on the fence about you, so do your best but the actual interview is more important.

I was interviewed by a panel of 2. They were both from the training/flight side. I was asked these and probably more that I forgot:
"Why Spirit"
"What have you sacrificed during your career"
"TMAAT you made it difficult for another crewmember"
"Why should we hire you"
"What if we close your base"
"Describe your dream airline "

My logbooks(which are a disaster) were reviewed during this time. After about 15 minutes, we were finished. I thanked them for their time and consideration and that was it. We came in at 0800 and I was one of the last to interview. I left the building around 1430 or so. About 5 days later, recieved the good news from Sandi that I was selected.

Overall this is about your level of interest, willingness to stay at Spirit, and your ability to fit in to their company. The emphasis is on working together to keep the growth going, and you need to show that you will do that. Do your homework on the company, and demonstrate that you WANT to be there, and I think you will have success. Once you get the app and begin the steps to get hired, try to do everything as soon as you can, this seems to be an indicator to them. Best of luck!!!
Date Interviewed: January 2014
Summary of Qualifications: 4000+ TT, 2000+ Turbine, 1500+ Multi
Were you offered the job? Yes
Pilot Interview Profile:
I attended the job fair in November. Asked "Why do you want to work for Spirit?" I was also asked a few specific questions about my resume. Received an email with the long app the next day. I turned in the long app and got a call for the phone interview 3 days later.

The phone interview with Sandi from HR was very laid back, just getting to know you. She asked:
Why Spirit?
What base are you interested in?
What if we close that base?
What have you heard about Spirit?
What did you think about the Spirit presentation at the job fair?
It was about 20 minutes total and she emailed me the link to the cognitive test right afterwards.

20 minutes timed test. You can't study for it. Sratch paper and a calculator would be helpful.

I was called to schedule an interview 2 days later.

I interviewed with almost all 121 guys, a few 135 and one military. We met at the training center in FLL at 8am where Sandi from HR and the director of training did a short presentation on what the day entailed. Includes Spirit's growth plan and other info about the company.

After the intro we took the 50 question ATP test straight from the ATP test prep book. While we took the test, they picked candidates away to do the panel interview.

The panel interview used to be 3 on 1, but now it is 2 on 1. I was asked the following questions:

Besides growth and a quick upgrade, why do you want to work for Spirit?
TMAAT you helped a gate agent.
Tell me about the most difficult thing you had to do in aviation.
Have you had any checkride failures?
Do you do any volunteer work? Tell me about it.
What makes a successful pilot?
TMAAT you had a long delay but the flight didn't cancel.
Have you ever flown on Spirit? If yes, give us one recommendation about how we can improve our company or service.

They also asked a few resume specific questions.

There were some other questions that were very similar.

After the interview, they brought in lunch for all of us and we got to sit down with the CP, Director of Training, VP of Flight Ops and members of the interview board. We had an opportunity to ask any questions we might have.

I was offered the job and was told this 'meet and greet' weighs in heavily on their decision, so make sure you have some good questions and show how happy you are to have the opportunity to work for Spirit. Very positive experience over all!
Date Interviewed: December 2012
Summary of Qualifications: ATP, 4000TT, 2900 Turbine PIC
Were you offered the job? No
Pilot Interview Profile:
Spirit has changed the interview process to two phases.

First fill out the online application. If you were selected from the pool of applicants you will receive the full application via email. If you get the full application that means you should get a call to continue to Phase 1. Once I filled out the full application I got the call about 3 days later.

Phase 1 Phone Interview and Online Assessment
During the phone interview I was asked Why Spirit? Tell me about yourself? What do you think about our business model? What base would you be interested in if hired? Very basic stuff which took about 10 minutes. I was then asked to complete an online assessment as part of Phase 1. The assessment consist of 175 question Vanguard personality test and 125 question Thurstone Mental Alertness which is timed (20 minutes). The personality assessment is question which see if you fit the type of person the company is looking to hire. Questions like:
At a party you A) Hang out with your friends B) Like to be by yourself C)
In High School you A) enjoyed Math B) Enjoyed English C)

The Thurstone Mental test is timed which you will have 20 minutes to complete. I only finished 43 questions in 20 minutes. It’s a combination test of vocabulary, mental math and number sequencing. Questions that I remember were as follows:
Select the word that means the same or opposite as Perception.
Select the word the same or opposite as Barbarous.
Select the word the same or opposite as humid.
What is the name of the rod that is used to direct a band of orchestra?

The options were A,B,T,E I think the answer is B aka Baton. What is the name of the vehicle that is covered and used to move furniture? D, R, V, Y answer should be V =Van.

Got an e-mail a few days later saying thanks but no thanks. Did not get invited to Phase 2. Hope this helps!
Date Interviewed: March 2008
Summary of Qualifications: 3500 tt 2300 jet 800 tpic part 121 RJ
Were you offered the job? Yes
Pilot Interview Profile:
Spirit Airlines paid for my entire trip, to include Transportation, Hotel, and free flight on Spirit. The hotel was very nice as mentioned. 30 min presentation from Alpa rep Herb Law. Also Manager of Training Jeff S. Sandi from HR gave a small presentation and Line pilot Ryan F. Study ATP for the written test. It is hard. Many situational questions...TMAT, some technical questions. Very Laid back and fun day. Best of luck. Recomendations highly valued.
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