AA Flashcards
Tell me about yourself (intro)
Hi. My name is Tim Harkins. First of all i’d like to thank you for the invite. I am very excited to be here. I am currently a Citation X Capt for Xojet Aviation for the last 11 years. I grew up in a small town in the capital district of NYS. This is where my interest in flying began. As a youngster, i’d find myself riding my bicycle to the local airport and watching the planes take off and land. This is where I fell in love with airplanes. On my 11th birthday I was gifted a “discovery flight” that forever changed my life and cemented what I wanted to do for a living. In high school I began taking flight lessons with Richmor Aviation Schenectady my junior year. After graduating HS and after a year of junior college, I wanted to focus more on flying, I took a job as a ramper and ticket agent for Trans World Express, and later ,fueled aircraft for Signature Flight Support at which I was promoted to lead lineman at the age of 19. The harsh NY winters halted my flight training repeatedly, so the decision was made to move to FL as a young man to complete my private through CFI’s MEI’s. After completing these ratings in just over a year one of the recessions hit and decided to move back home to NY to work a non flying position. About a year later I was rehired as a CFI at the flight school in FL I graduated from. I believe I had more than a 75% pass rate with my students. My first big break came in the form of an SIC position flying a Sabreliner 60 for just over a year. It was my first jet job.
It was during this time that I met my wife on an American Airlines flight to PHL! After the owner passed away I began working for another charter company flying LJ55 as an SIC. I really enjoyed my first taste of real flying with this job in all kinds of weather and all over the US and different countries. Flight Options came next and enjoyed 5 more years of flying two types of jets with them as an SIC. I was yearning to earn PIC time so I decided to resign from FLOPS to begin a contract flying business (DBA). I quickly realized that I wasn’t getting enough clients so I applied to and was hired at Simcom Training Centers in Orlando as a ground/sim instructor. I was assigned to a team for which I put together the syllabus and curriculum for the Beechjet program. In addition to teaching in the classroom and simulator, I was promoted to Training Center Evaluator, a big responsibility issuing pilot certificates and conducting check rides for recurrent clients. During this time I was getting more business flying contract on the side from clients I met that were in my class. It was also during this time that I enrolled at Excelsior College. I’m very proud of scoring an A on my final capstone with the added stress of the pandemic which was an added challenge. It took 9 years of studying nights and weekends but I graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree; truly my greatest accomplishment! I’m very proud that I achieved my goal of flying for a living. My career goal is to retire with AA with a mix of 777 Intl flying, and flying the airbus domestically as a captain.
Why American Airlines? Why do you want to work here?
a. Philanthropy. Especially the innovative miles donation program that’s actually quite generous helping families.
b. I’d love to work with the world’s largest airline. In a world where the “strongest get stronger”.
c. Forward-thinking. Sustainable Aviation Fuel plan with Neste.
d. Culture: One that’s built on respect for product delivered to customers, company heritage and future, and for each other.
e. Social Good, Global Health and Well Being, and Heroes.
How did you become interested in a career in Aviation?
Good speed airport? SCH Airshows.
What were your major responsibilities at your last job?
Captain.
a. Order meals for crew.
b. Ipreflight
Support Part 135 Charter operations domestically and internationally. Ensure all flights operate safely and according to both company procedures and federal aviation regulations.
• Work closely with flight crew members to deliver excellent customer service and timely operation.
Operations Duty Officer.
a.assisting with day-to-day flight operations.
Describe a situation where you were frustrated or impatient with another crewmember?
a. Scot Stambaugh/Indy/taking over the plane/I was a jerk on the taxi in.
What do you like best about being a pilot…Least?
a. Best: The fun/camaraderie with my crew occasionally on RON’s. Going to baseball games major or minors across the country in summer. The rewarding feeling of getting a family safely from A to B. A simple handshake saying “thank you” to the crew for a nice flight. Trying new foods/restaurants.
b. Least: Being gone from home is always tough. Sometimes the hotel life can be frustrating with noisy neighbors. The feeling of fatigue that can linger.
What were your proudest accomplishments?
a. The journey to completing my BS Degree. Getting an A on my Capstone paper. Basically, not giving up. My wife. Setting out and achieving my childhood dream of flying for a living.
Put yourself in the cockpit of an aircraft going to Salt Lake City. What would you be concerned about or would
you look for to make sure this flight remains safe?
a. Wx. Checking the wx hourly for trends. Thoroughly Briefing the arrival and expected approach. Ask for ride reports from previous aircraft for the smoothest air. Checking Notices to Air Missions carefully to ensure nothing listed affects our approach choice or landing runway. X-wind limits. Contaminated runways.
What have you done to further your knowledge and skills?
a. Attend annual CRM classes which have new scenarios each year. Completed my BS degree as an adult. I like to read.
Tell me about your strengths?
I’m generally not a procrastinator. I like to check tasks off of my list early and not induce any stress brought on by having to rush.
b. Communication skills
Tell me about your weaknesses?
a. Negative criticism. Sometimes I struggle with negative criticism. But negative criticism is necessary for growth and learning, especially in a training environment and i’ve learned to accept that.
What do you like about your current – or previous job…What did you dislike?
a. Like: Crew camaraderie. The Citation X I am still in love with and excited to fly. So versatile! Flying into JAC/SAF, etc. The challenge changes daily. New airports i’ve never been to before at least once per rotation.
b. Dislike: I enjoy my current position, but one area my employer could improve upon is pilot retention. The demeanor of the pilot group tends to drop a bit when we hear of another person leaving for another company. Otherwise, the ones remaining still enjoy working with one another and try to get together for dinner on the road as much as possible.
Why did you leave your last job?
a. I’ve been flying 135 charter my entire career. I’ve always been curious about 121 airline ops and discovering a new challenge.
b. No room to grow. To get into the training department or standards Captain I’d have to go on a more aggressive schedule that wouldn’t fit into my home life.
What are your priorities in life?
a. My marriage. Focus on my off time. Try to stay healthy and happy.
Give me some examples of times when you went above and beyond in your job?
a. President of NCAA diversion to RDU due to thunderstorms/driving him to Duke/using my own CC.
b. Delivering a client’s very expensive jewelry back to her at 3 o’clock in the morning.
Have you ever felt that a company policy was unfair?
a. Pilots able to upgrade to the larger fleet out of seniority with just a doctors note.
During preflight, you discover an inoperative component, which is required for flight. What steps would you
take to resolve this problem?
a. Call mx control.
b. check MEL-defer the item per company policy.
c. check that inoperative component isn’t necessary for the day’s flights.( i.e. anti-icing, wx radar)
You are a FO and the Captain you’re flying with continually hurries or corrects you as you complete a
procedure exactly by the book. How do you deal with that?
I would respectfully tell the captain that a couple of things are at play here. (1). I tend to make mistakes when rushed. (2). Please have patience with me as i’m still trying to learn the aircraft and would appreciate the extra time. (3). What I’m doing is binding company policy.
What was the quickest decision you ever had to make?
a. Enroute, pax wanted to all of a sudden land in Carson City, NV instead of SLC where we were enroute to.
b. Assessed fuel/got wx/ permission from ops etc and made it happen with safety, customer service, and company efficiency in mind.
What are your short term and long-term goals?
a. Short term: I’m hoping to reapply to our training department to become a Standards Captain or a Check Airman. I hope to attain that within a year. Also, I enjoyed schooling so much that i’m going to begin the enrollment process for my Master’s degree at my alma mater. I’d like to accomplish that within 6 months.
b. Long term: I would like to complete my Master’s degree. I’ve already taken steps to increase my health and fitness routine. My wife and I have the long term goal of moving to Cape Cod. We already have the short term goals in place to achieve this.
Why should I hire you over the others?
a. I cannot speak for the others, but I can bring some key strengths, qualifications, and experiences to AA such as a renewed energy, years of captain experience utilizing sound judgement with an emphasis on safety, customer service, and understanding the importance of maintaining company efficiency.
What was the toughest decision you had to make in your work?
a. Danny Dunn. He was a very challenging student, and I didn’t want to put a blemish on his career with a type rating failure. I’ve unfortunately had to not recommend or Unsat a few pilots in the sim, but it was harder with Danny because we developed a friendship. But the decision was made to not recommend him for a check ride.
b. Whether or not to choose higher education or go to flight school and finish degree later.
What was the worst decision you made in the last year?
a. *Maybe use the hike you went on in Palm Springs that was supposed to be “quick and easy”, but you ended not bringing water, or your phone, and you tweaked your knee and got lost.
Describe the perfect job?
a. Workplace that is open to communication, management that are approachable and willing to listen. An open door policy. I think transparency is important for the building and sustainment of employee morale.
What has been your biggest disappointment?
b. Not finishing my degree sooner/more windows would have opened.
What was your biggest work challenge?
a. I’d have to say that when I was a sim instructor, we would get foreign students from all over the world including Asia, South America, and Europe, and having to assimilate all of the cultures in one classroom, and to make that happen. The plan was to get to know each student first. We would encourage the students to share information about their ethnic background as a means of fostering a trusting relationship with fellow classmates.Then we would adapt to that. One example was when we had students from Japan we picked up right away that the “subordinate” FO wasn’t allowed to answer unless his captain (sitting right next to him) either nodded his head in approval, or answered for him. We told him that although we respect your culture, your FO needs to answer for himself in order to get through the program and graduate.
What was the biggest problem you had to face in the last six months?
Gratefully, it’s been a pretty smooth last 6 months. But should I have faced a big problem, some steps I’d consider doing would be to (1) define the problem. (2) make short term goals (3) brainstorm solutions (4) rule out bad choices and go from there.
A time you used humor to diffuse a situation?
Hard landing? “Ooh. Take that, Seattle.”
b. Or…lady afraid to fly and carried a teddy bear with her. I said “why are you sitting way back there in coach?” She laughed hysterically and seemed to relax.
Tell me about a time when you had to perform a task that you believed was unsafe.
a. Had a trip scheduled into a rocky mountain airport. There were pilot reports of severe turbulence. Talk about Kriste and the GOM and how it was against policy to depart with know pireps.
Tell me about an emergency situation when you had to react instantaneously.
a. Fine Air carpet fire.
Tell me about a time when you had a conflict with another worker or supervisor?
a. Henry saying i’m taking too long. We were on leg 5 of 6. Rare for us to fly that many. Look. I try to put myself in the pilot’s shoes that we’re both tired and his comment is a result of that. We completed another leg professionally, agreed to get dinner and a beer, and had a nice discussion that we were both exhausted from the long day. To resolve this conflict, I had to recognize that I cannot change or control his behavior. I also acknowledged that this behavior, from both of us, was likely a result of stress due to the heavy workload of the day. Therefore, I adjusted my own communication style to increase empathy, and to avoid any triggers that would potentially set us off again until we completed the trip.
Time when you had a problem learning a job function and how did you deal with it?
a. Learning the new VistaGlobal software. Centrik was new. EPP was new. ETL was new. Shortly after implementation, the company set up multiple seminars on how to utilize the new system. I attended as many as I could, watched the videos, and called the VistaGlobal I.T. mentor that I was assigned to when I was out on the road for practical help. Soon after it became second nature.
Tell about some extracurricular activities that you are involved in that might require similar skills that you
would use in the working environment.
a. I’d have to say that i’m a regular reader of books. To me that means that my concentration is improving as a side effect. This constant learning carries over to the work place ensuring i’m up to date on the latest GOM issuance, FCIF’s, and the latest developments in my craft.
Describe a time when you had to get cooperation for a co-worker who was not cooperative.
a. Maybe use Kevin and I at the bar in CO where he refused to put out his vape.
b. Or use the time when Curtis reached over from right seat and said “let me help you out “ by blowing off checklist and starting engines in front me.
Tell me about a stressful situation and how you dealt with it.
a. Use the example where bags were left behind in PBI and the client was Irate about his 80k watch being in the luggage.
b. I assured him it was still locked up, we have company policies and departments in place for this sort of thing, and I promised I would remain with him for however long it took until we were sure his belongings were put on another Xojet plane and where he could pick them up.
c. I stayed in touch with our owner services and flight crew delivering his belongings.
How do you deal with stress generally?
I usually pause about 10 seconds and know there is a solution just around the corner that we could at least begin working on. I try and remain calm. I most definitely get others/other departments involved if available. I try not to make decisions on my own.
Tell me about a time when you were reprimanded. How did you deal with it and what did you learn from it?
a. Use Kriste example on when she was mad at me for not calling her in time when we diverted to MSY with pax. Although I deviated from the company policy of immediately calling the CPO on a divert, I assured her that it was in the name of pax comfort. b. I assured her we were now safe on the ground and we were making sure the pax were comfortable inside the FBO, and that we would have an answer for them as quick and as company efficient as possible to get the pax on their way. I told her my copilot was on the phone with client services taking care of that task, and that I was on the other line with mx to resolve the mx issue. What I learned was I should have used CRM more efficiently by having the FBO folks escort the pax to the FBO (instead of us), have my copilot call client services a little sooner, which would have freed me up to report to the CPO our diversion much faster. I also learned that calling mx first was the wrong priority.
Tell me about a time when you took initiative in your job.
a. There are many examples of taking initiative in this kind of flying, but a prime example stands out. Rescue trip pick up from MTJ/catering was mistakenly ordered for wrong day/the crew agreed that one of us would run to the local grocery store to get replacement catering. Hundreds of dollars less of course. :)
b. Or use RDU/CC/Duke example?
What have you done to set a good example for others? Describe a specific project you were responsible for and the steps you took to complete it.
During my final capstone class I had to take to graduate college, I was elected “team lead” on a project paper that happened to be a group project paper on the effect a certain MNC had on its local population of a third-world country. Some of the group were nervous about writing about it so I divided the tasking up with 5 other people, compiled the essay results in a single document, and then asked the group to help me decide which essays they like the best to include in the final paper. I’m hoping that set a good example for the others.
Tell me about an unexpected problem you had at work. How did you handle it?
Landed in FOK while snowing/finding out deice truck broke down/called company and suggested ISP be the airport that can recover the clients (no snow).
Tell me about a recent time you had a work-related issue and what did you do to solve it.
a. again. MTJ/Catering/etc initiative.
b. Or FOK deice truck broke.
Tell how social media impacts an airline?
a. Can impact in a positive way…Marketing/ads/cust service stories, etc.
b. Can impact in a negative way…Anyone anywhere can can shed a negative light on an airline whether perceived or real. Video cameras on all phones.
Tell how a pilot can affect profitability.
a. Flying fast/slow/flying the profiles vs not. Abusing sick time.
Tell a time you experienced a challenging situation in the cockpit.
a. fuel wouldn’t transfer from center tank to wings
b. gear indication failure with Brian
As a pilot, how can you help the company save money.
Adhere to a fuel savings program if one is in place. fly the profiles to save fuel. Single engine taxi.
Tell me a recent time you had to make a difficult decision.
Choosing between higher education and flight school and finishing degree later.
b. Or if “recently” then use choosing new Roundtable members cuz everyone so wonderful etc.
Tell us what makes an effective and an ineffective brief in the context of safety.
a. Effective: Briefingsshould be adapted to the specific conditions of the flight and focus on the items that are relevant for the particular takeoff, departure, cruise or approach and landing.
b. Ineffective: Overbriefing. Too much information in a briefing. Briefing irrelevant things pertaining to the leg at hand.
TMAT you flew with a PIC that was unsafe.
George smoking?
Tell us how you got your passion for flying?
Good speed. SCH airshows. Living near an AFB.
TMAT you noticed something that your company policy stated that you didn’t agree with.
a. Allowing kids or other folks a peek into the cockpit/airplane. But understood after 9/11 /covid/ and for security.
b. APU on “high mode” greater than 15 mins(very uncomfortable for pax when hot).
TMAT when someone rubbed you the wrong way.
a. sponge bob and all of his antics? Turn it into a positive saying you cannot change him and keep it professional in the cockpit etc.
b. Tim Maison? Yelling at schedulers/yelling at mx/bellowing in the cockpit on our approach into SMO. Again. Keep it positive. Understand where he’s coming from etc. Say you’re going to your job and keep it professional. Just keep doing our jobs. We don’t have to hang after.
TMAT you made a decision that fostered respect and inclusion.
a. Listen without being defensive.
b. Embrace change.
c. Educate ourselves about difference.
e. Maybe use example of students from all cultures sitting in class together at SimCom
TMAT you went above and beyond for a customer. Did you put the customer’s needs ahead of the
airline?
a. Delivered thousands of dollars of jewelry in the middle of the night to customer.
b. No. We made a deal with scheduling to extend our rest.
TMAT you received criticism and how you handled it.
a. Simcom/new instructor/everyone gets input from the manager on how better to teach or serve the customer. Once I was asked to do less reading from the book word for word when teaching ground school, and more time sort of lecturing and providing your professional input instead. I took his advice and became better. And teaching became more interesting to the clients that way as well.
