Based upon Mr. Lebowski's posts, I am not sure he is in the correct business. His thinking will definately drive him crazy eventually, whether it is right or wrong. Let me look back at my career and see who I might be able to call a scumbag:
1. When I was at Pan Am, Eastern went on strike and we started hiring their pilots into the right seat while I remained at the panel for a couple of extra months. Scumbags? Not to me.
2. When Delta was purchasing the Atlantic routes there was a Sunday deal where 35 engineers from the 747 started training on the panel of the 727 so they could go to Delta. According to the bid (IAW the CBA) I was suppose to be sent back to the 727 panel, not them, but my class was then cancled. I would have been one of those going to Delta instead of being on the street for 20 months. Scumbags? I don't think so.
3. On the day Delta was suppose to finalize the deal to finance the remaining Pan Am, they pulled out and Pan Am closed down. (This was preplanned.) After that Delta would not even interview us because we might have a bad attitude. Scumbags? No, but it would have been nice if the pilots had done somethin to stop that.
4. In 1990 United took Pan Am's London hub and the pilot group argued it did not represent any jobs because only 2 planes went along with it. Or how about when Pan Am closed down and the next day United applied to take the South American routes. No pilots. Scumbags? No.
5. Southwest blocked the purchase of ATA by America West. It then entered into a codesharing. After that it started taking over many of our routes and gates. Scumbags? Heck no, at least not the pilots.
Whenever any airline does well another is going to suffer. Its called competition. And when one group works hard to win the competition why should the losing group then get the benefits?
Unfortunately we have set up a system that is currently being used against us. To dwell on these types of things will definately drive one crazy. If we have RJ guys fly our routes for 1/2 the money, then our company can be more profitable and we can keep getting our high salaries. We may lose a few or our junior guys but they can always do it to others when they get recalled.
If Pan Am had survived I would have been a 747 Captain very quickly with all the retirements that were going to take place (avg age in 1991 was 53, avg captain was over 57). I bet and I lost, oh well. I went to ATA and was quickly a captain on the 757. I bet and I won, at least for 15 years.
Now I sit in the left seat next to guys who are 22 years old and who are senior to me. Next year I will probably be sitting in the left seat of a 767 while some 55 year old ex-major captain pulls the gear up for me and we talk about who we should consider scumbags. Maybe one of those 26 year old new 737NG captains I used to give IOE to while I listened to him complain about how much money he would be making if he was flying the 737NG as a captain at Delta. How some guys can view the world from the top and figure out some way to be unhappy I'll never understand.
Oh well, as long as I get my coffee I'll be happy!
