Street Captains?????????

[HA25]

Calm down folks. Look at the guy's name. Larry H. Junior? Can you say "troll"?

That being said, I agree wholeheartedly that a furloughed major pilot should not resign themselves to one of the lowest rungs of the aviation ladder. I have done it twice and I can tell you it is extremely demoralizing. Not only are you having to try to financially support your family on $19-$25,000/yr, but also to come to the realization that after a decade or more of experience you are once again starting over -- and once again are worth no more than a recent Comair Academy graduate with less than 300 hours TT.

I feel your pain brother... This is the only profession that truly places no value on experience. My IT, Finance, and Engineering friends all shake their heads when I explain it.

 

[SWA GUY]

Do yourself a huge favor and get out of the airline side of flying. Try NetJets. There is absolutely no comparison between the airlines and NetJets. The place is amazing. It's nice to work for a company that knows how to take care of their employees.

WN is starting to interview/hire in July.

 

[Dirty Sanchez]

For heaven's sake, why?

Why would anyone laid off from a major (for example) immediately consign him/her self to the lowest rung of the regional ladder (19k/yr FO) if direct entry captain spots are available? What a waste of talent and experience.

Course, this is what flow-through (in reverse) is supposed to take care of, and I don't think many regional guys are happy with that either.

Unfortunately in this industry experience is in no way commensurate with pay, only longevity matters. Are there any other careers where you can make a lateral move and not expect your salary to remain at a similar level?

Airbus FO to ERJ FO, or CRJ CA to MD90 FO is going to be a huge cut in pay. I just hope it's not me someday looking for a street captain job at a regional because I am furloughed from a place I thought I would spend the remainder of my career.

There aren't enough 300 hour wonders to fill the right seat at the regionals, yet there are qualified people with thousands of hours of time on the street. It doesn't seem right does it? Maybe a national seniority list is the answer.

Too bad the majors did this to themselves by allowing their regional partners to grow and fly larger aircraft. If Compass and Mesaba didn't fly the ERJ and the 900, NW pilots wouldn't have to worry about their aircraft being parked. Similar situations exist with Delta, United, and US Airways.

 

[FurloughedAgain]

Too bad the majors did this to themselves by allowing their regional partners to grow and fly larger aircraft.

Oh for gosh sakes. You guys whined when scope language kept you from buying jets...then 70 seat jets...then 90 seat jets.

Now you're whining that the major guys were TOO lenient with scope and gave away the golden goose.

Guess we all learned a lesson about scope. Never, ever, negotiate away your job.

 

[Flyer1015]

is anyone hiring street captains these days?
colgan? pinnacle? anyone?

thanks in advance.

I hear American Airlines is hiring street Captains.

You should try them.

www.aa.com

 

[RP170]

WN is starting to interview/hire in July.

Yes, very true. WN is another great company that knows how to take care of their own. It's amazing that the companies that treat their employees with respect are the ones that continue to be profitable. Quite a concept.

What are the projected upgrade times at WN now SWA guy? We are starting to slow here at NetJets. A new hire should expect at least 5 years at this point. Just annonced a 1.9 billion dollar aircraft order a few days ago though.

 

[414Flyer]

Calm down folks. Look at the guy's name. Larry H. Junior? Can you say "troll"?

That being said, I agree wholeheartedly that a furloughed major pilot should not resign themselves to one of the lowest rungs of the aviation ladder. I have done it twice and I can tell you it is extremely demoralizing. Not only are you having to try to financially support your family on $19-$25,000/yr, but also to come to the realization that after a decade or more of experience you are once again starting over -- and once again are worth no more than a recent Comair Academy graduate with less than 300 hours TT.

Thats why I think any pilot should always have some skill or degree that leaves them a choice, so that they are not someone who goes from top of the ladder, back down to FO on food stamp pay because they left themselves no other options.

There are certainly others ways to make a living that pay better than that, and that actually allow a life. I can just imagine how miserable and dejected a new FO would be, that is a former heavy captain, and might be a challenge to spend time in the cockpit with too.

God forbid, there is a world outside of aviation, and definitely other ways to make money.

 

[Bryan D]

Paragon still around??

Yes, pay is comparable to Mountain Air as is quality of life.

Look guys, I've quit aviation a thousand times and I'm not a quitter. I've done industrial maintenance which included changing broken toilet seats, roof repair and changing light bulbs, become a pretty decent CNC machinist, deburred machine parts and many other demoralizing jobs while waiting for my ship to come in. You do what you have to to take care of the family and keep bread on the table. Now I'm flying and I am grateful, probably moreso considering what I went through to get here.

 

[HA25]

Thats why I think any pilot should always have some skill or degree that leaves them a choice, so that they are not someone who goes from top of the ladder, back down to FO on food stamp pay because they left themselves no other options.

I made (no lie) 10 times more money speculation with my small inheritance in real estate between late 2003 and 2006 than I did in the rest of my entire flying career.... I have a high net worth and don't really even need to work, I've done so well in business and real estate.. YET... At every single job interview I've done to get back into flying (as I sadly really love it!).. I've had to explain my "commitment" to flying and why I took this time off to some dip$hit who doesn't get it...

Don't get me started.... then there is my favorite.. "Sorry, you're not qualified" email from American Eagle back in late 2006 telling me that I didn't meet their minimums... Mind you, I'd been hired by American only 6 years before so I had to ask them "How on God's earth do I not meet your minimums?".... the answer.. "You're recency is not with in 6 months".. Ironically, I took two and a half years off, but still pull off a perfect, no issues PIC type on the MD11 at Gemini... I guess Eagle's CRJ training may have been too much they thought!

 

[Soverytired]

"You're recency is not with in 6 months".. Ironically, I took two and a half years off, but still pull off a perfect, no issues PIC type on the MD11 at Gemini... I guess Eagle's CRJ training may have been too much they thought!

Brother, I hear you. It's very unfortunate that recency of experience can often times trump quality and length of overall experience.

And silly too. A 10,000 hour pilot isn't going to suffer much from a 6-12 month break. But it DOES force him to jump in to the real crap jobs just to keep "currency".

 

[414Flyer]

I made (no lie) 10 times more money speculation with my small inheritance in real estate between late 2003 and 2006 than I did in the rest of my entire flying career.... I have a high net worth and don't really even need to work, I've done so well in business and real estate.. YET... At every single job interview I've done to get back into flying (as I sadly really love it!).. I've had to explain my "commitment" to flying and why I took this time off to some dip$hit who doesn't get it...

I agree, why should someone have to have a "commitment" to a career field. Flying is my job, not my identity. Its something I do, that pays me money, so that I may have a life. But it is not my life, unlike those out there who wrap up their entire existence and self worth in it. And if flying did not work out, I would find something else, and still be the same person I am now.

I have even seen it on here, when someone says something like "enough of this crappy career field, I refuse to be treated like crap and paid horribly, I am outta here". Other pilots on here would ridicule that person for being a quitter. The aviation field needs more people who will not put up with it, instead of putting up with low wages and being treated badly.

Pilots being so willing to put up with it, is a big reason why pay can be so low, or broken planes get flown, or pay gets cut. Its all because they can get away with it, most pilots will just accept it.

I once left aviation for a bit, went into wildland firefighting, then got back into aviation on my own terms, when I wanted to, doing what I wanted to do. Even now and then between breaks in some of the projects or contracts I fly on, I will still go do some wildland firefighting on the ground in the summer.

 

[rogerwilcoout]

Calm down folks. Look at the guy's name. Larry H. Junior? Can you say "troll"?

That being said, I agree wholeheartedly that a furloughed major pilot should not resign themselves to one of the lowest rungs of the aviation ladder. I have done it twice and I can tell you it is extremely demoralizing. Not only are you having to try to financially support your family on $19-$25,000/yr, but also to come to the realization that after a decade or more of experience you are once again starting over -- and once again are worth no more than a recent Comair Academy graduate with less than 300 hours TT.

Oh, if you are a captain you are worth more than a FO? Wow, these are the captains I love to get so I can chew em up and spit them out. I laugh my ass off when they violate a reg ! T O O L ! lol

 

[relief tube]

What are the projected upgrade times at WN now SWA guy? We are starting to slow here at NetJets. A new hire should expect at least 5 years at this point.

Who the hell cares? You make it sound like WN is a regional. 2nd and 3rd year F/O's do pretty good.

Guys out there looking for jobs just to keep going and youre comparing upgrade times between two of the best carriers. Grow up and shut up.

 

[HA25]

Oh, if you are a captain you are worth more than a FO? Wow, these are the captains I love to get so I can chew em up and spit them out. I laugh my ass off when they violate a reg ! T O O L ! lol

I don't want to start a fight or insult session, but you claim to have "all the neat ones" for ratings, so maybe you're indeed a 747,L1011, DC10 multi-thousand hour captain choosing to fly an RJ for fun... but I would argue the "Tool" is the guy who thinks his few years of RJ experience bouncing between the same 6 city pairs now makes him God's gift to aviation... Were I to get an FO with 20000+ hours that used to be a CA at ATA for 25+ years, I'd treat him with respect and exercise the best possible CRM with him, keeping only the fact that I'm "legally" PIC in my mind.

 

[RP170]

Grow up and shut up.

What's the problem relief? I asked an honest question and you get all bent out of shape. Just curious as to what they are projecting at this point. I'm not trying to say NetJets is better than WN. Different strokes for different folks. In my opinion, those are the 2 best opportunities out there at this point. 2 companies that have always been highly profitable, providing long term job security.