"No time to shine the Bentley -- the real truth about a pilot's life."

[CopilotDoug]

No offense, PilotYIP, but your signature says it all. Many a time when labor and management come to the table for a new contract, Management says:

"We've already won. Go look at the bumper stickers on every car in the employee lot. They all say 'I Love to Fly.' The only question is: How much will you give up this time?"

Flying airplanes in my free time is fun and great. Flying for an airline is a job. Are the other pilots on this board out of line when they ask for improved pay and benefits? Forgive me if I don't buy into the rhetoric of your signature, people have bills to pay.

 

[pilotyip]

Don't stay at a bad job

Yes, Doug, you have to be able to live on what you make, as I have said before 100K is a doable wage in this industry. You can live on a 100K, and live well, if your wife has job even better. I have never made 100K as a salary, but all in all I am very content. If you work for a company that afford more good for you, like UPS, FedEx. When you get to a point you can not get by on what you are being offered, you do the same I and 10,000 other pilots have done, you quit and go get another job that is better, that is how the system is suppose to work.

 

[B1900FO]

For those of who are complaing, please stop. Quit your job and quit bringing the rest of us down. The industry stinks right now and we all know it. We don't need anyone else to remind us. The fact is, it's happened before and it will happen again.

I have noticed that the pilots who are in it for pay, glamour, coolness, chics, etc. are the ones who are complaining about pay, lifestyle, unhappiness, blah, blah, blah. The pilots who truly enjoy what they're doing are on the deck, helping the ship through the storm, instead of sitting inside complaining about the rough water.

Get out! If you're unhappy, that's your problem.

And no, I am not one of those punk kids who will pay to fly a B1900. I quit the regionals because I was unhappy and I am now flying corporate. I am having a blast! I will eventually go back to the airlines, but it will be awhile. I miss the flying, but I found myself a better situation for the time being.

Leave the people on this board alone who are happy with their lives. Quite frankly I'm tired of the negative people. Our industry does not need you!

Blue skies and tailwinds to those who make this industry work every day and love what they do!!!

-B1900FO

(p.s., don't criticize my grammar or spelling, i don't proof read on a forum)

 

[pilotyip]

Nice post 1900 sounds like you have it figured out, you will do well.

 

[CX880]

Sounds like Steve works at Mesa. This article is bull$hit, it makes it sound like that sort of flying happens everyday, and of course it's not the case. They picked some obscure examples that I don't even think exist in the present. Pilot wages are still pretty good and they will only go higher as soon as companies start making some money. Look at the fractionals, a few years ago pilots were making 50-60k now they can frequently make over 100 and up to 200K.

 

[~~~^~~~]

CX880:

The fractionals got their pay because they unionized and stuck together.

As far as obsure examples, they sure are not hard to find. At ASA my shortest duty day thus far this month has been 13:05 and the longest 13:41. My FO will earn less than 22K this year working 20 days a month. He can expect around 6 years to upgrade to Captain.

I don't know why you thought the writer worked for Mesa, could be Mesaba, ASA, Comair, PSA, Piedmont, US Air, Continental, Delta, Northwest, Air Wisconsin, American Eagle, etc....

When airlines do begin making money don't expect management to be in any hurry to give money away. As the Northwest Airlines MEC Chairman said, our generation will never see the pay and quality of life that the Northwest Pilots lost in this most recent round of concessions.

We need to come together to restore this profession.

~~~^~~~

 

[81Horse]

... For those of who are complaing, please stop. Quit your job and quit bringing the rest of us down. The industry stinks right now and we all know it. We don't need anyone else to remind us. The fact is, it's happened before and it will happen again.

No, it hasn't. The financial meltdown of legacy carriers, and the wholesale gutting of contracts and dumping of pensions, are new.

I have noticed that the pilots who are in it for pay, glamour, coolness, chics, etc. are the ones who are complaining about pay, lifestyle, unhappiness, blah, blah, blah. ...

Not all. Some of the complainers are people who have worked 20 or 30 years for their carriers and are now looking at smoking holes where they planned to build their little retirement cabins. Metaphorically speaking.

 

[B1900FO]

What do you mean it hasn't happened before? Weren't Pan Am, TWA, and Eastern all legacy carriers. They all fell apart and several good people lost their jobs. Considering the legacy carriers are still holding on, barely, but still holding on I'd say we're doing slightly better than the last round.

As far as the complainers who have been there for 20 or 30 years, there is a flip side. A guy I sat through ground school with's dad has been with United for 20 years, and has been a Captain for the last 15. He is now 55 years old and a 767/757 Captain. I asked the guy how is dad felt about everything. His exact words were "My dad loves his job, and he enjoys going to work everyday."

The problem is when people get screwed, they don't realize that in some ways they too could have softened the blow to losing their retirement, etc. If they relied on solely that, then that's their fault. My great-grandparents went through the depression, and live average middle class lives afterwards. My grandpa worked for Studebaker and my grandma stayed at home. After my grandpa retired, they were able to buy a car every 3 years with cash, purchase a new condo with cash and live comfortably for the rest of their lives. Sure, retirement and soc sec helped, but we all know that they didn't pay cash for cars on just that.

My point is, we're all going to have stuff come up in our lives that will cause much hardship. We can't be prepared for it, but we can at least do our best to try, as well as keep our attitudes up when it gets tough.

The grass is always greener....

 

[81Horse]

I take your points, B1900. I still say that the current situation is a new kind of perfect storm; multiple carriers are in distress simultaneously, and the fundamentals of the industry are radically different.

And of course we should all plan to take care of ourselves; up until recently, defined benefit pensions were the cornerstone of that planning for many people -- including your grandparents, I bet. And where I live, there are plenty of automotive industry workers now facing the end of a generations-old way of life. You can say it's always been this way -- I disagree.

 

[B1900FO]

81Horse,

I'm just constructively arguing, if there is such a thing. I know that I have a lot to learn, about this industry and life in general. Growing up in a different generation and world you see things from a different light.

For those of you making the transition from the past to the present in this industry I can see that it would be tough. I was talking to a guy the other day from Eastern, who rode the sinking ship in. It's very interesting to listen to him talk about the way things were, like riding in first class on commutes, and deadheads, etc.

Anyways, thanks for the challenge...