Why the &%#* do you work there?

[SuperPilot]

Spitfire,

My happy attitude is all I have right now. I can't afford anything else. I know the pay sucks. I know the workrules suck. I have firsthand experience with all the bad crap that can go on at the airlines. I actually have stood in the lines at Continental and United. I have seen what happened to my family thanks to guys like Lorenzo. My dad has about 11 different uniforms in his closet. Of the 4 major airlines he's worked at ALL 4 OF THEM WENT BANKRUPT.
I still can't believe when I read things like UAL giving out an average of $70k to their top 100 or so execs. They're bankrupt for @#$% sake! There is a lot going on in our industry that is not right and shouldn't even be legal. All I'm trying to say is that instead of bitching about how bad things are, we need to start trying to make it better. If you can, contribute to the PAC, get invovled with a commitee. Do something.
I know that I am new to this and yea, I'm tickled pink that I get to go to work in an airplane but the pay still sucks for me too. I can't even afford a table to hopefully make enough to put food on. But I'm also not just sitting around wondering why a check out clerk makes more than me. I'm not trying to sound idealistic or anything, I just think that this career choice can be both fun and fruitful but we have to fight for it. And it won't be easy.

 

[FSB99]

I think its great when someone says they love to fly. What I hate is when they use that as an excuse to work for poor wages. If you love to fly as a professional, then you should be paid as a professional. If you just love to fly, take off the polyester airline uniform, get a job outside aviation, and fly your 152 on the weekends. The rest of us who have chosen this as a CAREER need to eat.

this is what i was trying to say, but i tend to ramble and lose my point!

 

[spitfire1940]

SuperPilot,

What happened to your dad is terrible. But the more I learn about the industry the more I doubt that any significant changes can be made.

You've got the right attitude and maybe I was too hard on you before. You're also right that there's nothing worse than bitching ...

But what if the solution is not PACs and unions but sticking the CEO of ACA's head on a pike and setting it out next to one of the taxiways at IAD?

The suits are always going to screw us. Maybe a couple of good years and the unions will find their testi&*@S and win back some of the concessions they're making now.

Good luck and keep hanging on--there's nothing else to do.