WestWind Airlines?

What is WestWind Airlines?

Grasping for a better understanding of just what WestWind Airlines is?

The August 1998 issue of Full Throttle contained an article entitled "Virtual Airlines 101: A Crash Course" written by WestWind's Sean "Crash" Reilly. It detailed what a virtual airline is, how one operates, what to look for in choosing a VA to fly for, etc. The article contained several screen shots from this web site plus graphics of our aircraft!

Click here to read the article that appeared in Full Throttle!

WestWind Airlines exists in the hearts and minds of its employees, and on this site on the Internet. It is not a game, but an opportunity to become a Professional Airline Pilot. If only virtually!

To read about how it all began, warp to the History of WestWind by founder Sean "Crash" Reilly.

We have a widely varied fleet of aircraft, a group of dedicated managers and a large number of pilots who are serious about being a professional Virtual Airline pilots.

As with most things, we do require you to be committed. You will need at least an hour a week, if not more, to remain a current Virtual Airline Pilot.

There are four Prerequisites to become a pilot with WestWind Airlines:

Armed with the above mentioned things you're ready to join our Virtual Airline.

The first step it to take a trip to our WestWind Training Center, where you complete your initial type rating with the airline. This consists of advanced flight training culminating in a Check Flight with one of our Virtual Check Captains.

The next step is to complete and then submit a Type Rating Application Form and answer some quick questions about the Check Flight you have just taken. Once we are in receipt of this, we will assign you to a hub of your choice, and you may begin flying operations with us. Take a look at some of the different Operational Areas that we service.

WestWind pilots are not restricted to just Passenger flying. Each month, we have a number of Charter flights that provide something new and different, as well as our subsidiary cargo division, WestWind Cargo which is always on the lookout for pilots wanting to add just a little more flight time to their logbooks.

Perhaps now would be a good time to familiarize yourself with the WestWind airlines, web site and read over some of the important details. These include the Rules and Regulations and Standard Operating Procedures found in our Personnel Department.

As with most Real world airlines, there is a chance to work your way up the corporate ladder. You begin as a Category I pilot, flying the Canadair CRJ-200/700 regional jet on some of our shorter routes. Once you accumulate the required number of hours, you are eligible for promotion, according to our Pilot Promotion Scale.

In order to continue your employment with WestWind airlines, we do require you to remain Current. By Current, we mean that you must fly at least one hour per month, then submit a Pilot Report (PIREP) to let us know this information. Unfortunately, we are unable to keep non-current pilots on our list of employees. Incidentally, PIREP's can be filed anytime, but you must file at least ONE PIREP each month to remain on the Active Pilot Roster.

Once you have attained a Category III rating, you are eligible to apply for a management position within the airline. Usually new managers start as Assistant Hub Managers, and can work their way up the ladder into some of the more senior management positions within the airline.

During the course of all this, you will learn all manner of new skills and abilities, as well as make many new friends with people all around the world.

There is only one danger with joining WestWind airlines, you will spend far too much time – in the humble opinion of your wives and friends, who "just don't get it " – perched in front of a computer screens "playing pilot." Additionally, you may even realize your dreams and take to the air for real.

If you are still keen to pursue your Virtual Career, you need to select the link below and prepare for Take-off …

Click Here To Begin Your Virtual Career

Questions or comments? Join us in the forum or e-mail us using the links at the bottom of the page and we'll do our best to answer your questions.