UAL furloughees

[EAP]

Personally I would love to see UAL (and every single other legacy carrier) thrive if only to cram some crow down a few people's throats. I love the "legacy" that the once full service carriers have, and the accomplishments thay have made over the years. How many families put their kids through college on UAL wages - not just pilots, but mechanics, res agents, etc? All on one income? It's too bad so many would love to see the airline business resemble GreyHound these days. It's now a crime if you can make a living in this industry. Never mind that manicurists, hair stylists, vaccuum cleaner salesman and junior managers in other industries are now surpassing many LCC captain wages. They apparently deserve what salary they command, right?

Oh well, just lamenting the direction of the business in general. I suppose blacksmith's must have complained just as badly during the industrial revolution.

 

[Chappysan]

Adler,
As is so often the case on these boards, with a little explanation from both of us, all I can do is agree with you. Finding yourself on the street is absolutely the worst experience in this industry, and I am hoping that I never have to go throw it again. Unfortunately, even with the bitch slap smackdown of management over the past two years, I look over at it from my current contract job in Asia and it still looks like a better deal. Until I can properly break into the porn industry, it looks like I'll continue to be stuck with outside events continuing to dictate my future and making as few QOL trade-offs as possible, which is a crappy way to go through life. I meant the congrats on the FedEx job, cargo seems to be far more insulated from external shocks, although don't tell that to some pinhead major airline management team that shut down their cargo operation to buy bizjets and shut down that operation, etc., etc., etc. It's good to see FedEx now hiring the best guys out there rather than being concerned about furloughees' non-existent desire to return to a dysfunctional mother ship.

Tailwinds,

Chappysan

 

[AdlerDriver]

Chappy,

I certainly hope UAL flourishes and your return results in a successful career. I know there are “gigs” out there that still make UAL look good. What makes me mad is this: With all the normal dues a pilot must pay (CFI duties, 10+ leg days as a commuter pilot for Mickey-D wages, military service, etc), I guess a professional pilot has to accept a career of risk and uncertainty. Now that we know the score, I guess we have no one to blame but ourselves if we choose to stay. Some don’t have a choice based on their personal situations; others just have an insane love of flying. Either way, we’re hooked. What is going to draw young, talented people with a choice to this profession? What’s going to make a military pilot choose to bring his skills to the private sector? I know I couldn’t recommend it with a clear conscience to someone searching for his or her career path.

The traveling public wants to fly cross-country for bus fare. Sooner or later, they’ll get the pilot they’re paying for.

Tailwinds,

A.D.

 

[EAP]

Chappy,

....What is going to draw young, talented people with a choice to this profession? What’s going to make a military pilot choose to bring his skills to the private sector? I know I couldn’t recommend it with a clear conscience to someone searching for his or her career path.

The traveling public wants to fly cross-country for bus fare. Sooner or later, they’ll get the pilot they’re paying for.....
A.D.

I couldn't have said this better if I had 1000 words to do it in. I've been saying this, with not a bit of excitement about the implications, for quite a while now. It's a damn shame too. I can hear the county music song now, in fifteen years... "Mamas... don't let your babies grow up to be pi-lots.... an' don't you think you can get... - on onah those jets... - and live to tell about it..... (Dueling banjos, etc..)

 

[Huggyu2]

Can I assume that many of you feel that the Very Light Jets (VLJ) have a great potential over the next decade or two?

 

[EAP]

I wouldn't assume anything in this business these days. Especially anything about the future I'm usually the last to find out anyhow.

 

[AdlerDriver]

Can I assume that many of you feel that the Very Light Jets (VLJ) have a great potential over the next decade or two?

I'm not ashamed to admit I have no idea what a VLJ is. Request more info, please.

 

[Huggyu2]

They're jets like the Eclipse that carry 6-10 pax, and can operate relatively cheaply. They are fairly fast, and cana land on small runways, thus reducing the total travel time to smaller destinations. A number of companies are planning on starting "air taxi" type of operations with them.

 

[semperfido]

I'm not ashamed to admit I have no idea what a VLJ is. Request more info, please.

small light weight biz jets that carry a few people up to about 1,000NM. small engines (ex: williams), very aerodynamic, computer designed, lots of composites, integrated avionics and cheap. er i mean inexpensive

 

[P3-Adub]

VLJs the next threat ?

Don't think so. Who's gonna fly them and for how much ? I believe the insurance will be the limiting factor. Same liability as a larger plane. Too much in aviation drives the cost in addition to the aircraft aquisition cost. The people that believe the VLJs are going to be the next big thing have overlooked the turboprops and Citation 500 series planes, they have not revolutionized air travel and niether will these planes. Don't have to worry about the Greyhound bus crowd that is currently making up the majority of pax on the airlines these days, they will still not be dropping a premium to travel this way. That and the perception of how small that dang thing is, people think an RJ is small !

How about the other VLJ or should I say RJ ???? Already seeing overcrowded airports and airspace where the RJs are driving up the number of operations. Not just talking about O Hare and Lagarbage either. My prediction is the larger planes will have to carry the load, ie 150-200 pax = 1 operation vs the 4 operations required with an RJ. How much of mainline flying is being done by this type of plane ? A lot. Too much. The trend will reverse itself.