Latest from ASA/XJT JNC

[Ops check good]

PBR, your crazy consumes you. Calm down man, it's just a job!

 

[Mickey Mouse]

PBR, your crazy consumes you. Calm down man, it's just a job!

Ya. Calm down. Take this little pill and report to room number 19. Please report properly lubed up. The company has some probing to do. Stop asking questions. Stop making jokes. Profits are a serious matter. Our bonuses are on the line here. We could lose our country club memberships. Our wives could lose their breast implants. Just calm down and go back to sleep. This won't hurt a bit.

 

[Ops check good]

Mickey you are completely insane. And the beastie boys suck, so having a license to ill is pretty lame.

 

[Clutch]

Dead Kennedy's suck too

 

[Mickey Mouse]

Mickey you are completely insane. And the beastie boys suck, so having a license to ill is pretty lame.

Licensed to Ill is not meant as a Beastie Boys reference. It is meant as a facetious comment to the licensing in our profession and the subsequent lifestyle that ensues. But since ya mentioned it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5rRZdiu1UE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07Y0cy-nvAg

 

[Mickey Mouse]

Dead Kennedy's suck too

That's what mommy always said.

 

[Mickey Mouse]

I love you guys

 

[Monster Buck]

Be careful about criticizing someone until you have walked in their shoes. I'm going on year 14 at ASA and, though I never planned to be, it looks like I'm a lifer. Had what was an almost guaranteed in at DL in the spring of 2001. We all know what happened in the fall of 2001 and that was that. Had a possible chance to go again in 2007 but due to many factors chose not to. Decided I was better off staying where I was and building seniority and QOL than going to the bottom of the list of an airline that was about to go through a merger.

Those pilots in the top 10% you refer to weren't born there. They stuck with it and earned their way there, working for years at much lower wages. They are nearing retirement, the kids are grown and now support themselves. We have no pension plan. The last few years they have at the airline are their best opportunity to earn a good wage while putting a large chunk of it away for retirement.

Obviously, I don't know your background or current situation but I do know that we all have to cover the same ground. Its a journey to a destination and your perspective depends on where you are along that path.

I'm curious if you would still do it the same today. An '07 hire is at $135/hr on the 767/757 or a line holder with 17 off on the MD88 $122/hr, 14% 401K and my stock from the merger is about $70000 right now. Is your QOL better than that at your airline? Why wouldn't you go? Every major pilot I knew at Delta said that their worst day at work was better than their best day in the regional, even as a new hire.

 

[Oakum_Boy]

Maybe some of us have seen first-hand what kind of captains we'd be flying with and said- "no thanks". Many of your guys take D-baggery to a new level.

 

[jetstream]

I'm curious if you would still do it the same today. An '07 hire is at $135/hr on the 767/757 or a line holder with 17 off on the MD88 $122/hr, 14% 401K and my stock from the merger is about $70000 right now. Is your QOL better than that at your airline? Why wouldn't you go? Every major pilot I knew at Delta said that their worst day at work was better than their best day in the regional, even as a new hire.

Valid question. I'll clear about $120k this year. I had 22 days off in June and 22 off again in July. Other months I average 15 days off. I live an easy drive from my base (no commuting).
I get frustrated at work sometimes, but then I hear pilots from the legacy carriers griping about a lot of the same stuff. I worked many other jobs before I finally made it to the airlines. Believe me, you can do a lot worse.

Would I do it again? In the same situation with the same information I think I would make the same decision. I've seen more than a few pilots make their lives miserable chasing dollars. Each of us has to find the balance that works for them. What's right for me, may not be right for you. Sometimes less is more.