The One Where INDOC Day One Kicks Off in Indy

This morning started off calmly enough—I allowed myself a bit of extra sleep and skipped the gym. After all, it’s the first day of INDOC, and I figured there wouldn’t be a physical fitness test…yet! I headed down for breakfast and spotted a few classmates already gathered. The food here is a step up from Dallas, but I wasn’t in the mood for anything heavy, so I stuck to fruit.

When I got to the training center, I met a couple of new faces who did ATP-CTP on their own—one of them is even from Connecticut like me. We settled into the auditorium for orientation, where they handed out all sorts of goodies: pens, notebooks, bag tags, and a surprisingly nice passport/license holder (wish I’d known that before buying my own). We also got company-issued iPads—mine had a crack on the screen, but hey, it still works.

They showed us some welcome videos: part standard orientation, part “Hey, new job excitement!” Meanwhile, the real training looms in the not-too-distant future. Soon enough, we were logging into our iPads, connecting to Wi-Fi, and downloading an avalanche of apps. A few us hit snags, but most got it sorted out pretty quickly.

Next, we split into groups. One group tackled I-9 forms and fingerprinting (pretty straightforward), while the other went for uniform fittings. Once the first group finished, we swapped—hats were measured, bags were picked, and we headed to lunch. Today’s highlight was a baked potato bar, which was a first for me and not half bad.

After lunch, we dove deeper into the overview of our training program. They emphasized that it’s a robust system, and as long as we follow the steps, rely on our instructors, and avoid trying to “get ahead,” we should be fine. They also warned us we’d be “drinking out of a fire hose,” especially in the early stages, so we need to be 100% focused for the next 90 days or so—no distractions.

By late afternoon, we were free to handle some personal logistics—like alcohol & drug, harassment-prevention modules and benefits enrollment. I wanted to knock those out early so they don’t become a distraction once the real workload ramps up. A few of us then played shuffleboard in the common area (ping-pong was taken), which was a nice break.

Fun fact of the day: there are eight simulators here, each costing about $45 million—that’s $8 million more than the actual aircraft! Also, the fuselage trainer (the one with the emergency slide) was installed before the building was fully constructed, meaning the facility was literally built around it. Another interesting point: the director of training mentioned they’re hiring around 60 new FO trainees this and next month to prepare for a wave of captain upgrades and the busy summer travel season.

All in all, it was a good first day—lots of orientation and housekeeping, but a solid start. Tomorrow brings more presentations and more diving into the training process.