JetBlue or UAL

[thruthemurk]

yeah, businesses and people are gonna stop shipping stuff someday so you cargo pilots watch out. .... genious!

People won't have to stop "shipping stuff" for the box carriers to suffer severe setbacks. There are more people flying today than ever, yet pilot pay and career prospects for almost all pax carriers is terrible (on a historical, inflation adjusted basis).


PS the word is genius.

 

[skykid]

People won't have to stop "shipping stuff" for the box carriers to suffer severe setbacks.

Yep, 9/11 was almost the end of the box carriers. Plus, all the freight that is getting left behind because the box carriers can't get lift fast enough - those guys are going to get POed.

 

[Scrapdog]

If you have any shot, pursue the package carriers.

Fedex and UPS are the only sensible game in town.

Best advice on the entire thread.

 

[Bavarian Chef]

People won't have to stop "shipping stuff" for the box carriers to suffer severe setbacks. There are more people flying today than ever, yet pilot pay and career prospects for almost all pax carriers is terrible (on a historical, inflation adjusted basis).


PS the word is genius.

Actually the word is dork. I didnt capitalize anything either on that post, made it in haste. Oops -- there I go not using an apostrophe and some very questionable sentence structure.

 

[Hagar17]

She got hired at United with very low time and experience.

GP

shocker......

 

[RedTailSwinger]

How did United finance the majority of its exit financing? I have heard they used a lot of debt financing vs. equity financing. A lot of airline managment think that is crazy and don't know what United was thinking.

Now United seems to be desperate to merge or be sold (i.e., attract new financing without losing face). Doesn't sound like a company that is confident in its business plan.

 

[JP4user]

325 TT.. Disgusting.

and typical as MCDU said of the culture of hiring then

 

[JP4user]

Who "encourages you" to clean airplanes?

 

[UALjan15]

How did United finance the majority of its exit financing? I have heard they used a lot of debt financing vs. equity financing. A lot of airline managment think that is crazy and don't know what United was thinking.

Now United seems to be desperate to merge or be sold (i.e., attract new financing without losing face). Doesn't sound like a company that is confident in its business plan.

These are the type of questions you should be asking. My advice: do your own homework (far beyond starting a thread on flightinfo). After I turned down SWA in 2000 to go to UAL, only to be furloughed in '03, I was consoled by many pilots with statements like "You made the best decision at the time" or "Hey, no one could have known what would happen at UAL." It seemed like the only one not surprised was my dad, who wondered aloud to me when I started at UAL how a company with such a sick balance sheet could even be in business. Of course I listened instead to all of my fellow pilot buddies and their stories of 3 year upgrades, widebodies going to new hires, etc.

I will have to make a similar decision next year and either go back to UAL (I bypassed this summer) or continue with US Airways and be near the bottom of the combined seniority list. When the time comes, this time I will approach the decision like an investor would, and dig into the numbers. The stuff we all care about--pay, work rules, a/c orders, upgrade times, contracts, mergers, future hiring....it is all either temporary or too hard to predict.

There are a few things about your airline that are predictable and long lasting that you should pay attention to. The first is culture. Management teams come and go, but by and large, a company's culture endures. The second is long term debt. It hangs like a dark cloud over many a legacy carrier, and is hard to get rid of, even in bankruptcy. Cash on hand is nice, but the more of that there is, the more irresponsible your management will get with it! SWA's control of their long-term debt is a big reason behind their consistent profitablility. Lastly, you have to take a hard look at where you would stand in the pilot group. I was hired at age 36 at UAL, near the end of a massive 6 year hiring wave. Many in this wave are younger than I am. I was originally projected to never get higher than about 2400 on the list (I know this will change after some of the furloughees don't return). The best I can expect at United is to be a narrowbody Capt or widebody F/O. Someone posted some good stuff about the JB group, and how all of the 320 Captains for all of the forecast growth are already on the property (and pretty young, I might add).

Anyway, good thread. Funny to see how attitudes have changed over the past year. Good luck with your decision.

 

[727C47]

hey,albie,(just let me hijack this thread for a sec) ,you are a good man ,and a good friend to defend your female buddy the way you did,cheers, over and out.