Old Geezer

[PHXFLYR]

. People have priorities, and when you are close to poverty, uniforms tend to not even make the list.[/quote]



I'm curious ...at what hourly rate would it become a prority for you? Everyone has a price....right?


PHXFLYR

 

[rtmcfi]

LearLove.........as a fellow furloughed U pilot and now a Part 91 pilot for a Fortune 100 company, I can assure you that professional appearance is extremely important. I'm extremely lucky that I landed the cream of the crop job in this profession post 9/11. We still take pride in our appearance because it is expected of us.

By the way, we are hiring for "career positions". Two positions to be exact due to new airplane deliveries. If you were interested and applied and got an interview, would you wear a tie to the interview? I already know the answer to that one.

Wearing a tie or not doesn't make a person any less professional. But I'll give you this, your appearance is a reflection of yourself. The people who take pride in their appearance are the people who take pride in their work. They are the people who are going to be flying at our company.

Fatburger
36 years old.

Congrats on the cream of the crop job. You look the part. It is unfortunate that some guys work at lower tier gigs. Many of them look the part as well. Which came first was it the chicken or the egg? Are they at a $hitty gig because they dress porly, or do they dress poorly because they work at a $hitty outfit?

 

[Fedora]

I see Bud's point clearly, and maybe it's because I'm an old geezer too. I didn't cause the problems with our profession, either, because I've only been in it for 14 years. It's not the tie and the bag folks, it's the ATTITUDE that he is seeing that is demoralizing. It's the " I don't give a s**t" mentality that is so sad.
Bud points out things he sees that make him wonder where our profession is headed. Most of the posters on the thread attacked him and even blamed him for the problem. One guy says he can't afford to patch his jeans, but he can afford an Ipod to block out terminal noise. What's wrong with the values here?
Look at the thread about the NWA guy who blows up and tells his customers "If they don't like it, they can get the f**k off!" Well, we all saw who got off the aircraft. Not many posters on that thread even show an inkling that maybe the guy was even remotely in the wrong.
You all wear your ties and suits to your interview when you want to represent yourselves well. (maybe when not even on a payroll) But when you're representing a company that gave you a job and is giving you a paycheck, the attitude becomes "they don't pay me enough, so I don't care how I appear" How sad!
Go ahead and wear your knapsacks, unshined shoes, swear like storm troopers in front of your customers, and blame everyone else for why you go to work pissed off every day. If you don't care about how you appear to others, that's fine! But don't dis the folks who enjoy being professionals and take pride in their jobs.

 

[UnstableAviator]

In my limited airline experience, attitude is directly related to seniority and schedule/QOL. As a relatively senior FO doing all day trips and 14-15 days off a month, I tend to always be positive, well dressed, and eager to go to work. The senior captains I fly with tend to be much the same as well laid back, competent, and professional in all aspects. If I compare myself now to myself 2 years ago being abused on reserve the difference is really night and day. Seeing the people I care about more than a once a week and having control over my life is really making all the difference. I'm happy, I like my job, and I'm sure my performance agrees with that. Being a regional FO isn't easy, especially for those with families. Sure, the Ipod and backpack is unacceptable, but I've only seen such atrocities a handful of times.

 

[PHXFLYR]

Scorboard, you say I am Captain " I got mine". You couldn't be further off base. My career was as turbulent as most. I suffered significant loss of seniority with the Allegheny/Mohawk merger in 1971. As a result of that, furlough number 1 occurred shortly after the merger. Furlough number 2, 1975 with the fuel crisis. That one lasted only 2 years whith a new baby to feed. Recalled to fly a small turbo-prop that paid a whopping 9K a year. We qualified for food stamps and we got milk for the baby under the federal WIK program. Sixteen years right seat and loss of pension. Yeah, I guess I'm Captain I got mine. Only thing that saved my butt was a wife that was a saver.
My career pales in comparison to the pilots furloughed at US Airways that have been on the beach for 6 years or the 1989 pilots that have been on and off more then Tracy Lords.
Personally, I have never intentionally flown over 85. Flying International, some conditionds forced going over. But with so many pilots out on furlough, this Captain I got mine, would do anything to help get guys back. I'm no whore.
As far as looking sharp, whatever your company manual says is policy, that's fine. If it says no tie, hat, leather jacket, that's what you'll do. Regardless what is says, you wear what they say. I'm sure the manual doesn't say wear what you want, anyway you like, and by the way, it's okay to look like an un-made bed.

Capt Bud,

Was the small turboprop you mentioned the Mohawk 298 conversion of the Nord 262 that Allegheny flew for a short time in the mid 70's?
PHXFLYR