Tired of all the belly aching.

[CaptBuzzard]

I am very lucky to have the flying job that I have. I fly a C402 three days a week and still get 50-55 hours a month. I love flying that plane. My goal is to at least get on with a regional one day and I may just stay there. I used to want 300k/year, but it is just money. As long as I am living comfortably, I am happy. I also work part time on the ramp for a major airline and between the two jobs I do pretty well.

Here is what gets to me. I have to ride an employee bus to the terminal when I go to my ramp job. I don't know how many times I hear current regional and major airline pilots bitching about their jobs. If they are bitching that much, then quit and I'll take your job. They have jobs in this crazy industry and some of those major airline pilots probably know that they are lucky to still be flying and they can't stop bitching. I sometimes want to smack some sense in to them, but it wouldn't do any good. They are probably the ones who bitched all the way to the left seat of their 767 from the beginning. Give em what they want and they will still complain I'm sure. Oh well, it just makes me ensure myself if I make it their someday that I won't be like that.

 

[SelectZoneFive]

FlyChicaga

"If it's worth the effort to complain, it's worth the effort to correct."

You remind me of that geeky kid from that movie

"The Breakfast Club"

 

[IAHERJ]

Those regional and major airline pilots are bitching in the bus but I am willing to bet you some serious cash that in a one on one conversation with you they would not be bitching but rather explaining to you why they really love their jobs. It seems that around all the airlines the typical behavior of the pilots is to bitch to each other on the crew bus, crew room etc. Get them out to the bar and they will admit that they have the best job in the world and love what they do. The everyday bitching I know gets old but it provides for imporvements in the quality of life issues that you may be working under one day in the near future.

At my airline, we are under going contract negotiations. We have a very unified pilot group that is very serious about making much needed gains in compensation issues however our quality of life in other areas is among the best of the majors. Our layover and hotel accommodations are among the best in the industry but we allhave a few hotels to complain about. That is what we do on the crew bus etc.

Point is, those complaining out there are doing it because they think it is expected of them. As strange as that seems.

From a guy who used to interview pilots, let me give those of you young guys out there hammering out flight time in the worst conditions possible for pilot hiring some advice. Keep up the good work!!! We never liked to see a single young guy/gal get out of flying during the tough times. Those with families etc. have an excuse but those of you who are able to stay in the industry, keep it up. You will stand out down the road when the airlines start hiring again.

IAHERJ

 

[Typhoon1244]

I have heard six-hundred-hour pilots in the right seat of the Jetstream bitch about how awful their job is.

I have heard forty-thousand-hour pilots in the left seat of the 747 bitch about how awful their job is.

Dogs bark. Stars shine. Pilots bitch. It's as simple as that.

(Oh, don't ask me why, either. I don't try to explain nature, I just observe it!)

 

[Ty Webb]

Much of the bitching comes from the corporate culture. At Airtran., you will rarely hear pointless bitching. That makes a world of difference in the quality of the time spent at work.

I have ridden the crew van with UPS guys quite a bit- and the difference in the conversation is amazing. They have one of the best compensation packages in the business, but it seems like all they do is complain . . . . . reminds me of the old joke:

Chief Pilot: Guys, I think you're really going to like this new contract. All you have to work is TWO days per week, and you'll still get your guarantee of 80 hrs.

Pilot: Wait- you mean we have to work TWO days? You couldn't do better than THAT? Geez, this offer sucks! You're going to GRIEVE that, aren;t you??!!?

 

[avbug]

I'd quit, but I can't afford to. I'd go find something else, but I don't know how to do anything else.
(I don't know how to do this, either, and as soon as management cottons on, I'm toast).

So you guys get unions? In my day, we had to beg for our jobs, and we were grateful! You get paid? In my day, we had to work for free, and we had to build the airplane, too. And we were grateful! You kids get to work two days? In my day, ever day was a work day, and we worked, boy. We scrubbed lav, drove the rivet, and even rotated the air in the tires, but not by hand. Not on your life! We had to blow into them, I can't tell you how many guys blew out their eardrums, and one joe, pete I think they called him popped out an eyeball once. Just before his squeeze came. But we didn't complain. We knew where we stood. I telll you, we were grateful.

You and your fancy cars. Driving to work! Ha! In my day, we had to crawl, because nobody could afford shoes. None of this two tier salary stuff, we had to crawl using old carpets we dug out of the dump, and it was winter. Cold, I tell you. Cold, and wet, and it was uphill. Both ways. But those twenty miles each way went by fast, because we were thinking about our jobs and how lucky we were to have them. We were so very grateful! Even when the dogs came, and ripped off our clothing. That's why we started wearing epaulets, you know. Gave the dogs something to bite at, without losing the collarbone. I can take the ankles and even the back. But that collarbone sure hurt. It was nothing compared to standing in the unemployment line, so we were grateful!

**CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** kids these days, complain about their wings. You're lucky to have them. In my day, we had to flap our arms. Run fast and flap, and if that don't hurt after a couple of hours, you haven't felt pain. But it was a good pain, because we were doing our jobs, and those were two hours that we weren't on our knees on rotted carpet in the wet snow with dog teeth in our backs. If only our arms had hurt a little more...now that would have been somethign to be grateful for. Especially after we got cuts where the straps on our arms started to wear, because when we landed, the only deice back then was rock salt. And they didn't put it in water, boy. Oh no. THey poured it on, and for a quick turn, they used rock salt in shotguns. That hurt but it kept the ice off, and we were very grateful.

We didn't say bitching, either, boy. No bitching for us. These days kids say bitchin because it sounds bitchin, even if it's not whining or women they're talking about. Back then we didn't do bitchin. we just got married and suffered under the wrath of giant strong amazon women who hated to fly and hated us more. But we were grateful, even if we had to sleep outside and watch the dogs that bit our backs sleep on the couch, getting hair all over our molded carpets. We were grateful. Oh yeah. We were grateful.

So quit yer bitchin.

 

[TDTURBO]

OMG avbug, where do you come up with this stuff?

Thanks again for the laugh!

 

[UPS Capt]

I have ridden the crew van with UPS guys quite a bit- and the difference in the conversation is amazing.
They have one of the best compensation packages in the business, but it seems like all they do is complain

Wow, that's news to me and besides, it ain't just about the money! I'm also pretty sure the AirTran folks complain just as much.

 

[Ty Webb]

Avbug-

Congratulations! That was truly the funniest thing I have read on this board in the 4 or 5 years I have been here. A real keeper.

In my day, we didn't have anything funny to read, we read terrible, putrid stuff that just made your eyes burn, because it was written on in skydrol, on sandpaper, and , if you ever laughed, it was because you were going insane, and it meant you only had a few minutes left before you were dead. Pilots today just don't know how good they have it.

UPS Guy- no disrespect intended. I will tell you, though, it is a completely different environment here. In over a year, I can count on one hand the number of times I have heard anyone use the word "grievance". You just don't hear a lot of bitching on the line.

If you have a legitimate gripe here, then, sure, take it to the Union, but don't just sit around bitching about it, making everyone else miserable. . . . And, if it is a problem that needs to be addressed by Ops, then write up a Line Pilot Report and turn it in . . . . but don't do nothing and then complain . . . . . this philosophy seems to be the prevailing culture here.

Maybe it is because of the fact that this was the second year of the contract, or maybe it is because we are still a small carrier, or because most of us are very happy to have decent jobs right now, but, whatever the reason, I am telling you, I do not hear any "pointless bitching" out there, and it really ads to my quality of life.

I define "pointless bitching" as griping about things that are endemic to any airline operation, the kinds of things that you can't change, but can only try to massage or finesse. I would much rather see a captain get out of his seat and go find out why the load plan hasn't been brought down yet, then bitch about "the d@mn BWI gate agents always screwing things up", etc.

I would rather see a pilot call Ops for catering yet a second time, than sit around, saying "Oh, well, it's Catering's delay". . . . ." and so would most of us . . . . . I know you guys don;t have to deal with Catering or the Gate Agents per se, but I am sure you can relate.

 

[pilotyip]

Random Test

Send Avbug in for a random test