Skybus Loads

[HA25]

Your scope which you voted on allowed me to have the job that I have. As a second year Eagle FO I am making more then you were making flying an airbus. Pathetic. Did you cash in your stock options?

wow, so I can make $80K/yr and have 15 days off a month, be home every night and get stock options as a 2nd year Eagle FO? Boy a lot sure has chanced in the few years I've been gone from AMR..

need to get an app in right away!

 

[siucavflight]

wow, so I can make $80K/yr and have 15 days off a month, be home every night and get stock options as a 2nd year Eagle FO? Boy a lot sure has chanced in the few years I've been gone from AMR..

need to get an app in right away!

You could apply, but I doubt that we would take you.

 

[Andy]

I see a lot of posts here taking a whack at Skybus pilots and FMS Speed. I didn't like Skybus because of what it would do to the airline industry, but to blame Skybus as the sole problem in this industry is really forked up.
We pilots have all damaged this occupation to the point where it's no longer a profession.
Skybus was merely the newest entrant into lowering the bar. If we're talking airlines, we can point to Virgin America, JetBlue, Airtran, Southwest, and plenty of others on that list at different times in history. We can also blame the majors for lowering wages in concessionary contracts, BUT those wages were lowered to get closer to the very low bars already established.
We can blame crappy scope contracts for creating more jobs at the lower paying regional level.
We can definitely blame PFT.
A huge amount of blame for future wage cuts is age 65. The average pilot hasn't wrapped his skull around the fact that in upcoming contracts, airlines are going to cut wages and benefits as a result of age 65. Over time, this is going to lower the bar much more than any low budget startup.

So we've all helped lower the bar in this industry.

For those that haven't yet been furloughed in this business, as FMS Speed has, it's easy to take shots at him. I was furloughed just short of 5 years; I'm guessing that FMS Speed has been out on the streets quite a bit longer.
I can remember how many on this board were busy carving up the pieces of UAL while I was on furlough. It wasn't pleasant to read that crap. FMS Speed and plenty of other pilots at Skybus are now out of a job - to rub salt in the wounds at this point is unnecessary.
Rather than kick these guys while they're down, how about someone post some job leads for them and the guys from ATA and Aloha?

One final note to all of the Southwest pilots who post here. I'd like to thank all of you for being classy enough to not grave dance. Southwest is the only airline that is in good enough shape to gain a lot of market share when we come out the other side of this. The lack of posts from you guys on how Southwest will exploit other carriers' problems shows a lot of class.

 

[HA25]

Andy, thanks... and you're right, we are all part of the problem. Pilots are their own worse enemy.

As for Skybus pilots.. I see guys here and other places running us down as losers and guys who couldn't get hired elsewhere..

the truth:

I'm one of the lightweights I knew at skybus.. in my short time there, I had the pleasure of flying with seasoned captains from Delta, Northwest, American / TWA, USAir, Emery, Ryan International (he was #1 when he left), ATA, various Air National Guard Fighter, C130, C17, and Tanker unit guys, and many Independence Air veterans (mostly very senior), The average guy had between 15000-20000, the low timer over 5000 and at least a check airman on the RJ and at least one if not three of four airline careers behind them in many cases, and in one case 10 airlines (not by choice).... yes, we were losers, but not as airman or pilots, only in the fact that we timed our careers and picked our airlines without the benefit of hind sight incorrectly. Yes, and the few low time RJ guys were hired too, and from what I could see all but a small handful were smitten by flying an Airbus.. Most of us flew bigger and faster jets before.. it was the chance to be a part of something new with the promise of being like those Southwest founders... rich with stock that lured many of us.

.. we weren't a bunch of whores like people who just love to hate want to portray, we were mostly like the guys you fly with... I can't speak well enough of the caliber of the average skybus pilot I knew.. as good as anyone I've seen at ASA, American, or Gemini..

Lastly, while we all fight with each other here the real problem, hedge fund managers, and airline CEO's with no real desire to run airlines but who are more interested in making money for themselves in the short run are the real problem.

This is why it didn't take long for the guys at Skybus to get an 80% card count for the IBT to represent us inside of 1 year from the day we began operations. We weren't a bunch of kids with shiny jet syndrome.. we were airline pilots trying to make best by our families.

I specifically can recall one of the guys, who was with Ryan International for 20+ years had cashed in his 401K and moved his family.. he had adopted his grand children as their step daughter was not able to care for them.. straddled with the cost of the move, and a $47,000 tax bill for closing out his 401K, he is now facing bankruptcy with no job.. If you revel in this, you're satan himself.

 

[Lear70]

Lastly, while we all fight with each other here the real problem, hedge fund managers, and airline CEO's with no real desire to run airlines but who are more interested in making money for themselves in the short run are the real problem.

Whatever makes you sleep better at night.

People who refuse to accept responsibility for the role they play in lowering the bar are a large portion of the blame.

Due to their own refusal to accept this reality however, they will never acknowledge their own liability in the problem nor seek to change their behavior.

I specifically can recall one of the guys, who was with Ryan International for 20+ years had cashed in his 401K and moved his family.. he had adopted his grand children as their step daughter was not able to care for them.. straddled with the cost of the move, and a $47,000 tax bill for closing out his 401K, he is now facing bankruptcy with no job.. If you revel in this, you're satan himself.

Again, I feel sorry for the FAMILIES. However, thank you for pointing out the pitfalls of what you guys did.

I can think of half a dozen non-legacy and non-LCC jobs that were easily available that made a LOT more money that you guys were. It wasn't the only job out there; it was an opportunistic move. Period. Quit trying to put lipstick on a pig.

Maybe next time pilots will think twice about taking such a crap wage job.

 

[SLOTH]

Lear70,

Every job is an "opportunistic" move!


To all the others,

Many of us may not have been happy with the likes of Skybus, it doesn't give any of us the right to kick the furloughed when they are down. I'm very disgusted with how unprofessional many of you are behaving!!