The entire time I spent at the AA Headquarters, it seemed like everyone there was part of a solid team, and they all genuinely wanted me to become a member of the company. Very professional, extremely friendly positive people who were fun to interview with and probably more fun to work with! All I can say to those of you who are about to take this interview, be prepared to meet the nicest people in the business. Any "trash talk" you read anywhere about the eagle interview process is nonsense.

I showed up early at 7:00 am at the headquarters, we started the process at 7:45. One of the HR gentlemen, a senior captain, led the way to the testing room. Little school house desks were lined up side to side, had a seat while he gave an overview of the company which lasted for about 20 minutes. First thing was the 50 question ATP written exam. There were no refer-to-figure questions on my entire test. They were all straight forward questions, nothing tricky, very fair and just right as far as the difficulty in my opinion. Mostly the test covered some aerodynamics, instrument procedures, a few regulations, and some weather stuff (METARS PIREPS and some meteorology). Basically get hold of the ASA ATP written test guide book and pick out some of the most straight forward questions from each of the above listed sections and that's a sample of what you are likely to see. Minimum score is an 80% and I made prep for the written and technical interview my top 2 priorities. start to finish all 50 questions might have taken me 15 to 20 minutes. Do well because the score counts.

Next on the agenda was the technical interview. The captain was not "warm & cuddly" just as previous post indicate, but he was still a good guy and never once seemed mean or intimidating or anything like that but he had the game face on and he is not there to be your buddy either. Here is almost everything he asked me. I remember the questions vividly so I doubt if I am deleting more than 3 or 4 questions. (Keep in mind I am no good with Jepp. I wish they used NOS, but I took my time to answer some of these, i felt like i could have done better)

1.As a pilot for American Eagle, how many on duty hours per day are you limited to?

2.What about per week?

3.Per month?

4.Year?

He puts a Jeppesen full page airport diagram of DFW international with various approach plates, departure and arrival procedures stapled to it on the table in front of me. As posted previously. READ ALL NOTES!

1.We are in a Saab 340 on the taxi out to runway 18R and the RVR is 600 can we takeoff?

2.On the taxi out the touchdown zone RVR goes inoperative, can we takeoff? Under what conditions?

3.How much runway is remaining at Runway 35R if we want to depart from taxiway Quebec Nine?

4.See runway 35L. what does the little 355 degrees in parenthesis mean?

5.What does the little line that zig zags like the edge of a stamp straight down the middle of DFW international mean?

6.Where is the east cargo ramp? West cargo ramp?

7.When do you have to have a takeoff alternate?

8.In a 2 engine aircraft, how far away can the takeoff alternate be? Under what conditions?

9.When do you have to file an alternate?

10.What are the crossing restrictions at so-and-so intersection?

11.We are 20 miles out form that intersection and ATC tells us to descend to 15,000 and then we start getting closer but the crossing restriction is 10,000 feet, what do we do?

12.Our clearance includes the Texoma Eight Departure with the Okmulgee transition from DFW International. What heading are we supposed to fly after takeoff from runway 18R?

13.What radial off of what VOR do we initially follow for that Departure procedure?

14.What will the departure frequency be?

15.We are vectors for the ILS runway 04 approach at Amarillo, what is the localizer frequency?

16.What is the DH?

17.is ceiling a factor for this approach?

18.What RVR do we need?

The guy who did my HR interview was cool, very laid back and super nice. I am naturally a fidget and usually get noticeably nervous when im being interrogated for interviews or check rides etc but this guy was wonderful at making me comfortable I felt like we already knew each other when the whole HR interview was kicked off. He really just wants to get to know you and see the non-technical side of you. He wants to see that you would be fun to make flights with or just be another face in the crowd. He had a way of making the whole HR interview into a big conversation and managed to even sneak a few HR questions in there without me even realizing it before I was half way through the answer. Basically it was this.

1.Tell me about your flying back ground.

2.Why do you want to work for Eagle?

3.If there was one thing about yourself you would change, what would it be?

4.What makes you a better choice than the other candidates?

5.What are some personal qualities you like to put into your work?

6.What, in your opinion, determines how quickly a person advances in a company?

The key to success with the eagle interview is to be confident and friendly, But most of all be relaxed and be comfortable. They WANT you to get the job, your at the interview because the job is already yours to take.just up to you to make it happen. We had a quick 30 or 40 minute lunch break and were told to be back for the Simulator Evaluation at 2:15. The sim is AWESOME, no matter what just get in the thing relax and have fun with it. Try and think of it like this.American Eagle has invited you to fly their multi-million dollar full motion flight simulator for free!!! Just remember the basic instrument scan, trust the flight director and no matter what happens fly the plane and for the love of Pete keep talking. use the guy in the right seat, make the initial power application and then tell him to set exact power. Tell him what frequency to tune and when to tune it. They want to see 3 things from you. 1) Do you have any idea of what CRM is and how to use it 2) Can you fly very basic IFR and 3) How teachable are you?
Every other post has nailed the sim profile. Depart 24R at LAX. climb to 5000 at 200 knots. A few turns, go direct seal beach VOR, brief a hold. everyone briefed it right but still had to do the hold anyway this time though, one ILS approach to full stop using the flight director except for the last mile or 2 of the approach. Done! The nose wheel steering tiller is a beast, look forward to mastering it some day. Pitch is a little sensitive, no descents over a few degrees deep and climb pitch is 10 degrees nose up. The Saab sim seems to roll into turns a lot easier than it rolls out of them. roll out is a little heavy.

This interview takes a long time and covers a lot of paper work and interview aspects, by the time the sim eval was over it was 6:00 pm. They tell you not to eat anything after 8pm for the medical. So eat plenty before 8!

Second day was the medical portion; check in at 7:30 am. Blood test was straight away. 3 full vials so be patient if you are not into needles and don't sit up to fast when they are done! You have to "donate" a lot of urine so show up to the medical with the need to pee like a race horse! Then you get to hit the cafeteria for breakfast. Good food. Report back for the rest of the medical. I'm 26 and had to do the EKG. worst part was tearing off the blue sticky gel pads. Don't forget the ones at the ankles, it will freak you out come bed time when you take your shoes and socks off! There will be a quick check for blood pressure and then a hearing test. Some odd computerized reaction time test. seemed goofy and I thought I was being taped for eagle's amusement at times but do well on it anyway. Whole vision set, color, acuity, depth perception, glaucoma test etc. they verified ID and recorded the fingerprints and then went to see the doctor. He just tested reflexes, looked in the ears, eyes and the throat and prodded around on my stomach for a minute and asked about any pain during the whole process. All very friendly staff can't say enough good things about them. They had me out of there and on the way home around 2:00 so day 2 isn't that bad despite the 200 point certified pre-owned inspection they do to your body.

Hey all. Day started with a very brief meet and greet with one of the HR people. Started off with the 50 question ATP written exam, do not take this test lightly, even if you just took your written. I studied quite a bit and still only got an 80 (80 is passing). My test focused on high speed aerodynamics, weather, and instrument proc. Next up was the HR intervew, super nice lady, very friendly and talkative...Why eagle, what would you change about yourself, what separates you from the other applicants, what will be your biggest transition from teaching to 121, what do you look for in a company. The tech interview was alittle stiffer, the Captn wasnt as warm and cuddly as the hr lady. If you use Jepp charts this will be a breeze, as long as you read the notes!!! Departure out of Tulsa Ok, RVR takeoff mins, nothing too scary here. Departure proc. Read the notes! Arrival procedrue, read the notes! there were a bunch of number bullets with altitude or airspeed restrictions. You lose GS inside/outside what can you do, he wants to hear that since you didnt brief LOC mins/no loc mins for the approach you go missed, then fly to the hold. after entering the hold you go lost comms...what do you do? go to the alternate! the sim ride was in a SAAB 340 full motion sim, its a blast, just keep your scan moving and use some basic CRM, ask the Capt. sitting next to you to do anything and everything you can think of. Take off, climb to 5000, direct to SLI seal beach VOR, Take your time with the holding instructions, you get the hold correct you dont have to do the hold. You get it wrong...YOU ARE THE WEAKEST LINK....Good bye. The Capt will take the flight controls while you copy holding instructions and brief the entry. TAKE YOUR TIME. ILS 24 LAX with the flight director, sooo easy, ILS with out it, just remember what the pitch attitudes and heading was, they wont change the winds on you so the same heading will work. If at any point during the day they dont want you they will tell you right away, so if your still around to go to the sim, u made it that far. Same with the HR and tech interviews. The medical the next day took forever. Blood test first, then 2 urine tests, drink alot of water! i mean ALOT! Lunch break, hearing, vision, EKG (im under 30 and still had to do one), visit for the old "turn your head and cough". Long draining process but do whatcha gotta do.. good luck all.

Just got the call today a week after interviewing--passed the Captains' Board and now need to come back for the Medical. 4 of us started...three flew the Sim. If Phil (Ross not here this day) tells you to go to lunch and be back in 30 minutes, that's a good thing. And whatever Karen needs you to complete, then do it. She is very personable and will assist you in any way she can. She knows more about the aviation business than you might think, and understands us 'military pilots.' Do your best in all areas, because if you are recommended to the "Captains' Board," which for us meets next Monday, the recommendation goes forward with qualifiers ('highly recommended' etc. How you scored in each area is graded and becomes part of the recommendation). Pack a granola bar/trail mix bar or two and perhaps a banana/apple into your briefcase or flight bag--you will have time to grab a snack while waiting, and you can keep your stomach from growling. Try to relax; this is not a 'high stress' interview (but use the adrenaline to your advantage)...and be yourself and totally honest, as always. They will not send you home for not having absolutely everything in order--but whatever they need you to complete during the interview day, of course do it gladly -- e.g., your NDR form. You can go to your DMV and your previous DMV, if you have moved within the past 5 years, and obtain your driving record, but they will only provide you with your STATE record. Get the NDR form Notarized prior to arrival and you'll save yourself the 10-minute Round-trip walk to Bank of America next door at their HQ1. The flight time form you fill out in pen is slightly different than the flight time calculation used in the online APP. So either fill it out on another sheet first (flight times must add up both horiz. and vert., and no Sim times are counted in the flight totals on this sheet), or you can get a fresh one the morning of the interview. Military pilots: when asked about the aircraft you've flown, give the civilian designation if applicable. Duh, you say. Agreeden, but when Phil inquired I wrongly assumed, by the way he asked, that he would be instantly familiar with the military designations. After the meet and greet, you take the 50-question ATP writ (80% required to pass). I believe the only areas tested from the ATP are Regulations, Weather, Flight Opns., and Emergencies/Hazards/Flight Phys (lost comms, bottle to throttle, wake turbulence (heavy, slow, flaps&gear up). I don't recall one question regarding weight and balance, so if time is critical, focus on the other sections. If you have just taken the ATP writ you should easily score close to 100%. I hadn't taken the ATP writ in 12 years and still passed, but I did some 'day-prior' cramming. They don't come up to you and tell you how you did on the ATP test, but I presume if you fail it, then they will tell you. And then it's time to go home. The HR interview consists of 5 standard questions, then after that the interviewer has a list of about 15 more--he can apparently pick and choose from among this longer list. I got about three more after the 5. STD questions, from what I can recall: Why do you want to work at Amer. Eagle; Why hire you over the others applying, How do you define crew concept, What one thing about you would you try to improve/change, etc. I can't recall all of them just now. Know thyself. And have those "THERE I WAS" stories from your flying history in your hip pocket always. If asked about how you solved a workplace problem and you have a true story about how you used CRM to safely conclude a flight that had been in peril, then use it I say. We all have those stories, so just take some interview prep time to refresh your memory about those 'close calls and other horror stories.' Tech interview: if you are used to Jepp Charts, no sweat. If you are new to Jepp's, no sweat if you take the time to READ, and if you know where to look. Everything you need is on the charts. The flight profile is straightforward, focusing on part121 takeoff mins, takeoff alternate mins, destination alternate mins (1-2-3 rule, get to know it, you Army pilots used to the old 400-1 above approach mins, etc.), flight hour allowances (per 24 hrs, 30 days, in a year, etc.). If you brief an ILS approach under Army regs. and the GS goes out, what do you do? Right, part of your brief includes WHAT IF, so you continue on the Localizer to the LOC-only MDA and watch the time, if you remembered to start the clock. Forget that--if you BRIEF the ILS in the interview scenario under Part121 and the GS goes out, you fly the dashed line (the LOC only path on the Jepp chart) to the MAP and fly the missed. SIM profile. Yes, starting in April they say they will be using the 737 Sim. Having just obtained my 737 type rating, the 737 is a handful. And they didn't say which model of 737 will be used. The -200/300 has the 'old' basic instrument panel, which is just fine for those of us not flying glass right now. I enjoyed the F100's finger-tip touch, although those tricky Germans put the RMI in the wrong place on the panel. But you'll have George in the other seat to do all the thrust, flaps, and gear work for you. So pay attention to the flight profile briefing he gives you, make notes, then if you fly second or third, etc., while the first person is in the Sim, take the time to chair-fly your profile. When you get in that left seat, give your approach briefing confidently and concisely, right off the Jeff briefing strip. Use CRM and call for every Check confidently, repeat every clearance, and give George the controls so you can correctly plan and brief your holding clearance. The sim profile is much less extensive than a type rating profile or even your last checkride, so don't overstress about it. Just spend a little more time hand flying your aircraft and/or sim before you get out to DFW. And yes, you will spend the whole workday there. You may be first one in the Sim if you are catching a flight home, but if you don't have a flight to catch, and you are last one in the Sim, you might get done with the whole process around 6pm or so, as I did.

The previous descriptions are fairly accurate, but the technical portion was a little different for me. I was shown a diagram of DFW and told we would be departing runway 35C. The RVR was given as 600 for all three locations. Could we takeoff? Rollout RVR goes INOP, can we takeoff? Rollout comes back but is 400, can we takeoff? Asked when you needed to file an alternate airport, when you need to file a takeoff alternate. Asked to brief a SID, nothing tricky. Given a STAR, asked to read the restrictions (crossing & altitude). Given a METAR and TAF for HOU and asked if we needed an alternate for a 20Z arrival. Asked to read the METAR aloud. Asked what approach we could expect at HOU (wind 130 at 9). Shown approach plate for ILS 12R at HOU, asked what weather we needed to shoot and land an approach. (DH=250', RVR40/ 3/4 sm vis). I said we needed a 4000 RVR or 3/4 mi vis and adequate ceiling to see runway environment at DH. Asked if I was saying we needed a ceiling to shoot the approach, said no but pointed out that I was asked what weather was needed to both shoot and land. Asked if vis went down to 1/2 but RVR still 4000 if we could shoot the approach. Shown area chart for NY and asked the upper limit of the class B. Asked to identify a class E surface area. All of the charts are b&w copies, so that was a little distracting. Other than that, the other gouges are fairly accurate. The written is pretty basic, no really obscure questions, I recognized all of them from the ASA ATP prep book. They didn't like the fact that my first class medical was 9 months old.
HR interview was standard. Why do you want to work for AE? Name an aspect of your personality you would like to improve. What makes an employee able to advance within a company? What 3 things do you look for in a prospective employer? What does "crew concept" mean to you? Why should we hire you over the other applicants?
I took the written first, followed by the HR interview and then Technical. After the technical I was told I had not been selected. The previous gouges indicated that everyone was very friendly and relaxed, and while no one was mean, I didn't find anyone particularly nice. There was absolutely no small talk during either my technical or my HR interview, just straight to the point. I received basically no feedback during either.
Since I didn't make it past the HR and Tech, I did not go to the sim. I talked to some people who had interviewed the day before and were there for the medical and they said that it was pretty easy, just stay relaxed and have fun. They said the operator was very friendly and helped you out as much as you asked. They said it got a little tricky below 1000 feet on the ILS, but said just don't make any corrections bigger than the heading bug and you will be alright. They said everyone did one turn in the hold which was different from previous reports. Said you are vectored for the ILS with plenty of time to get established. There were around 10 people interviewing, I don't know how many made it through. One other guy was cut as I was leaving, but I was first so I don't know how many others were sent home before the sim.
All in all it was pretty straightforward and described pretty accurately in previous gouges, I just felt like I was asked a lot of 121 questions since I did not come from a 121 background. In a nutshell, know 121 regs and the ATP written and you should be fine. As for the sim, since I don't know personally, all I can say is that they want to see that you will not get frustrated and stop flying the airplane after a deviation. As long as you are aware of the deviation and take swift corrective action you will get a lot of leeway.

Well I recieved notice for an offer to interview over the e-mail and called promptly the following Monday morning. I was sheduled for an interview approximately 1 week later. Since AE was the airline I really wanted to work for I stressed out the whole week. I study and studyed and studyed more. I fly regularly under part 135 however I opted to still go fly with an instructor in a sim. So I rented a Frasca at a local flight school for an hour. Weather it helped or not who knows but it made me feel better. When I went to the interview I was scheduled for the sim first at 7:30 am. I'm a local boy so I can't help you with the hotel or any of that. "Any who."

I arrived at the sim at 7:30 and meet some of the guys just about to start there new hire class and I was lucky enough to be able to pick their brains for 15 or 20 minutes. When the sim evaluator came down he struck up a conversation and put us at ease immediatly. We went up to one of the classrooms and "attempted" to view a video over the sim profile. The video didn't work, so the evaluator turned it off and just explained everything. He handed us the ILS plate for 24R into LAX and then left briefly to allow us to look over or notes. He did an excellent job of briefing the entire profile including what he excpected from us. "Positive rate- gear up, 1000 ft- climb power climb checklist, cruise- cruise power cruise check list etc,. After departure I was given a southbound turn then told to fly direct to the VOR. As I approached the VOR I was given holding instructions, Hold east on the 090 degree radial. Well I was approaching from the south west hdg 070 so I told him Teardrop and he asked me to describe the entry and give him a description on how I would perform the hold. I told him everything including headings and he told me "OK" I'll vector you to the approach. So I did no turns in the hold the only person that actually flew the hold in the group I was with gave an improper entry. The approach is fairly simple, its a normal ILS with calm winds. Once you get established on the localizer the plane just sits there. Some of the prvious gouges said the last 1000 ft is hard, I found the last 400ft to be hard because if you make a correction the plane is so slow to respond. The 707 is a beast. All in all the sim was very enjoyable, I went into it thinking what ever happens I'm flying a 707 sim in the American Airlines Flight Training Academy and was just honoured to be there.

Well after we finished the sim we were excused for lunch and instructed to be at Centerpoint "HDQ" at 12:30. When we arrived they took us in a classroom and briefed us on the airline future and hiring needs and benefits. Out of the 5 that started with me all 5 remained. They then gave us the ATP written test. I had studied for it hard and it was a breeze. After the written out of the 5 that started 4 remained.

We then did mounds of paper work and began the Tech and HR interviews. The HR is pretty basic they just want to know about you. The Tech however was the hardest part of the process, in my opinion. I was asked 121 regs and all sorts of Jepp questions starting with the RVR question out of DFW. All the answers are in the charts its not timed so take your time. Its very intimidating looking for something while a line Captian is staring at you, thinking this guy shouldn't be allowed to fly a kite." Know 121 destination alternate requirements.

All in all it was a stressfull process but very enjoyable. The people were OUTSTANDING and I will square off with anyone that says otherwise!!!!!!!! I can't wait to be apart of the team.

For the day there were 13 people that interviewed 7 were invited back. I strongly recommend developing a repoire with the others you are testing with, during free time Quiz each other on some things. Chair fly the sim profile and talk about HR questions, but above everything relax and enjoy it, its an honor to even be invited there.