What's still good about major airline flying?

[PCL_128]

If memory serves, the General has been able to hold Captain for a while, but he's waiting for an airplane that he wants to fly.

 

[CrewDog97]

fly4$,
hey brother (or sister as the case may be),
don't take all this gloom and doom to heart. i just got out of the military a year ago myself, got on with a major, and i'm loving it. like you, it's what i've always wanted to do. you know pilots can and will complain about anything. i'm just happy being a civilian for the first time since i was 18. i've been at my airline for less than a year, i'm off reserve, i have 17 days off this month and love having the free time to spend with my family and my other job (couldn't totally part with the military so i'm still a Reservist). i tend to think a bad day flying for the airlines beats a good day flying for the military, but that's just me. PM me if you need to talk to somebody who's been in your shoes!
crewdog97

 

[pilotyip]

Great Job!

If you like to fly it is still a great job, good pay, 100K in ten years almost anywhere, work 15 days a month, free travel, unlimited time off to pursue a reserve career. If you don't like to fly it is a hard job. I am still livin the dream after 40+ years.

 

[MK82Man]

Fly for Bucks -- well I've been at my major for 3.25 years. If you are retiring then you have some good options. Stay with tricare and participate to the max with your new airline 401k, B Plan, whatever. My wife and kids have non-rev'd to the max. NYC (three christmas's in a row -- it's cool when they come home and talk about the rockettes and the xmas show), SFO, ORD, and a host of other places. my kids can travel by themselves and have done it with friends. It's pretty cool to send your kid to SNA with a friend for a weekend for basically the cost of a hotel room. We've done Colorado, Mexico, England, France, Italy, Canada, and a host of other get-aways in the three years, so I count non-rev as a huge benefit. I think the kids are learning alot by being exposed to so much. We can go skiing in the Rockies on a weekend. Is it a cake to non-rev? No, but there are alot of folks who just quit trying and we plan smart, carry back up tickets and the good folks at SWA have carried us lots for dirt cheap. Summer 08 will have us on a greece cruise ... so to me, that is what is still good about the business. Plus the guys (and 2 gals) I've flown with are great. Only a couple of losers in the crowd. And I'm still flying and I enjoy that. There is no PPT, no colonel meet and greet, and Home Depot in the middle of the week is way uncrowded. Good luck

 

[ip241au]

Fly4$

Take a good look at your prospective airline, their domiciles, work rules, routes they fly. If your airline has a domicile that you want to live in that is huge. Commuting sucks and takes away a lot of your free time and also your peace of mind (Will I get to work?)
Are their benefits good? 1st year pay?

If it's all about money, maybe your degree will earn you a lot more instead of flying. Some non-flying civilian careers are paying good money and great benefits. If you don't have a lot of time to put into a commercial airline career, 20+ years I think, you will never get to the left seat. The left seat makes the big money and your timeline to the Captain seat may just have been extended five years.

 

[Fly4$]

Thanks a lot everybody for the constructive posts. I already feel a lot better. I guess there is plenty to love out there, but I will make sure I stay well informed. I am well educated and should have plenty of other options, but for now I just love to fly, and I am looking forward to the change of scenery. (coming from the military)

 

[instructordude]

If you like to fly it is still a great job, good pay, 100K in ten years almost anywhere, work 15 days a month, free travel, unlimited time off to pursue a reserve career. If you don't like to fly it is a hard job. I am still livin the dream after 40+ years.

That's really what it is about, the love of flying and the ability to make the big bucks (100K) and only work 16 days a month. Most angry guys I've talked to and seen on this site don't like to fly and probably don't have any hobbies to do on their off time. This job can be a dream.

 

[vtwo]

That's really what it is about, the love of flying and the ability to make the big bucks (100K) and only work 16 days a month. Most angry guys I've talked to and seen on this site don't like to fly and probably don't have any hobbies to do on their off time. This job can be a dream.

What kind of putz are you???????

 

[instructordude]

What kind of putz are you???????

??????

 

[Kharma Police]

What kind of putz are you???????

That guy is awesome, a true genius. I don't know what's more entertaining, him, or gullible guys that get their blood pressure up by reading his posts.