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lookin4better

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 11, 2005
Posts
6,970
Just wondering whats going on over there? Any hiring this year? Are the 777s replacement aircraft or all additional?

I would imagine its not good as cargo is reporting to be down everywhere....

thanks in advance !
 
It's pretty much the same as it has been for the last year.

We have not had any recent classes, but then again we have not had any furloughs either. Few are pulling down any hours over our guarantee, but that's the trade off of keeping everyone on the property.

Much like everyone else, our flying out of Asia has cut back, but we shifted it to markets in S. America, and Africa. Not exactly "walk in the park" kinda work, but it pays the bills and keeps our people flying. Put it this way, you can ship a flat screen from China on a Boat, but flowers are best sent by air...

As for the 777's, they seem pretty serious about them... They have been spending serious money to get certified and bring the manuals/operation up to speed. But I have been around the aviation block too many times to guarantee that they are coming until they are actually up and flying.

As for those aircraft being replacements, probably, but we just added another 747 classic to the fleet. Right now I am betting that they will park and part a few of the older airframes but keep our fleet size pretty constant by adding lower time classics, or eventually the new 777's.

Honestly things could be worse. It sucks only making 60-70 hours of pay a month, but I have to admit I am impressed that both the company and pilot group have elected to spread the flying around so most of us fly pretty close to our guaranteed amount, rather than throwing the junior "guys under the bus" with a furlough.

When you come right down to it, you can moan about a lot of things, but if a company goes the extra mile keeps you employed in hard times then you have to give them credit.

No solid word on future classes, other than if we continue to ramp up for the new aircraft, they will eventually have to send 40-ish pilots (15 CA/25 FO - ballpark estimate) to training, and as a result it would necessitate hiring to replace.

So to sum it up, Southern is pretty much the same as it has been in the past, just with no overtime in return for keeping everyone on. No hiring right now, but maybe in the latter part of this year.

Good luck to everyone.
 

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