Major Airline Captains, would you recommend career to your son/daughter?

[check six]

Overall, the career still has its good with bad but is it getting any worse?

Positives:
Pay at majors is at all time highs. Pilots are home about 12 to 16 days per months. Two pilot crew seems to be the standard now. The actual job is great work.

Negatives:
Lose your job due to furlough, company bankruptcy or loss of medical and you start over. Norwegian air shuttle model is a threat but may get shot down by ALPA. Defined benefit pension plan is gone (most corporations don't have it either).

Would you recommend to son/daughter?

Thanks,

Check Six

 

[AKAAB]

Yes, but only for some very specific reasons.

1. Airline hiring boom is on the horizon because of massive retirements.
2. Son's HS is providing free flying lessons (no additional tuition) next year with their new program. Seniors in the aviation program should graduate with a Private certificate.
3. He wants to be a writer. (Published first novel on Amazon at 15 y/o.)
4. We want him to be a writer, albeit a well-fed, debt-free writer with a decent source of income.
5. He has no interest in any other college degree other than creative writing and has no vocational interests or prospects.

Ten years ago, I would have said no way. But it's on the table for now.

 

[jonjuan]

How about asking major airline FOs who will never be CAs due to the stagnation/downturn? At least those who won't/can't be wide body line holding, non-commuting CAs.

 

[hockeypilot44]

Overall, the career still has its good with bad but is it getting any worse?

Positives:
Pay at majors is at all time highs. Pilots are home about 12 to 16 days per months. Two pilot crew seems to be the standard now. The actual job is great work.

Negatives:
Lose your job due to furlough, company bankruptcy or loss of medical and you start over. Norwegian air shuttle model is a threat but may get shot down by ALPA. Defined benefit pension plan is gone (most corporations don't have it either).

Would you recommend to son/daughter?

Thanks,

Check Six

Pilot pay at majors is nowhere near all-time highs. The pay just seems high after bankruptcy.

 

[StopNTSing]

I think the industry has one more big surge in hiring/movement over the next decade, fueled by all the retirements and the dearth of new pilots in the training pipeline. If your son/daughter is able to capitalize on this last wave by getting on with a major airline in the next 3-4 years, they could still have a good career. Beyond the next decade, I see the profession stagnating again as technology (like single-pilot cockpits) and increased pressure from foreign pilot mills (which don't exist yet, but will soon) satisfy much of the demand....to the detriment of the profession's career value.

My kids are still very young and I hope they don't catch the aviation bug.

 

[SpauldingSmails]

I'm a recent F/O to the majors, but I'll offer only this. I've worked hard, but I've also been extremely lucky, and blessed with the gift of being in the right place at the right time.

We all know those great people who have all the right qualfications and are deserving of a shot but never quite launch for one reason or another - usually it's getting stuck at some intermediate point, like a regional or corporate gig that starts to fray and the upgrade never comes. Thus, they never get their big break.

Others will just stagnate out of comfort or laziness, and some will be struck down with an off the wall medical issue, an incident or a momentary insdiscretion.

I guess I'd only encourage a move into the profession with one's eyes wide open and a robust back-up plan (i.e. pursue a degree in something other than "airplanes") - there's just too many people who have done everything "right" and never get a chance to grab the brass ring.

 

[Dan Roman]

I don't think a parent should decide what a child does, but if they are asking for guidance I would say you should only go into flying if that's what the child really wants. If you love flying it's a great way to put food on the table. If you don't and only go into it because you think you'll make a high income and lots of days off, you will probably end up misarable. All careers have good and bad points, but if you don't love flying you'll end up focusing on the downside of our career and likely miss the upside.

 

[Dan Roman]

As far as predicting the future, no one knows and it's foolish to try. But the bottom line is Boeing and Airbus are predicting huge growth in air travel worldwide. They know more then any of us on that subject. So if someone really wants to fly airplanes for a living, they probably will have as much opportunity to succeed as any other proffession.

 

[Whine Lover]

" Pay at (the) majors is at all time highs."

Absolutely, positively, completely, and with out question ....WRONG.

They are at "ALL TIME LOWS" .

Here's why:

- 1990 - NWA 747-4 Max Captain Pay = $ 185,000 Annual Guarantee

- Present - Delta 747-4 Max Captain Pay = $ 210, 600 Annual Guarantee

- Adjusted for Inflation / Buying Power :

http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=185,000&year1=1990&year2=2015

So, a Senior Captain at one of the premier U.S Majors is, in fact approximately, $ 120,201 behind the power curve/buying power/wealth ( on an annual basis ) when compared to his predecessors.

Sorry to piss on all your Cheerios Folks...However, it is the sad reality we all must come to grips with.

Glad I am retiring soon...

Whine

 

[Traderd]

Overall, the career still has its good with bad but is it getting any worse?

Positives:
Pay at majors is at all time highs. Pilots are home about 12 to 16 days per months. Two pilot crew seems to be the standard now. The actual job is great work.

Negatives:
Lose your job due to furlough, company bankruptcy or loss of medical and you start over. Norwegian air shuttle model is a threat but may get shot down by ALPA. Defined benefit pension plan is gone (most corporations don't have it either).

Would you recommend to son/daughter?

Thanks,

Check Six

Sure, otherwise you might miss out on a magic moment!

http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/american-airlines-dad-pilot-daughter-duo-flight/story?id=29751431