Margaritaville

Everyone better remember the famous investor call from 2021 "We're handcuffed from compensating our executives and investors due to the CARES Act, but we're looking for creative ways around that".

Be Realistic

I said a few weeks ago, when the stock dropped to $96 in after market trading, that was a purposeful profit warning with the intent of crashing the stock to buy it back. Of course that's my little conspiracy, but it gives me something to do!

atpmax

Greetings,
I've been following this thread for a bit but can't really ascertain the real current situation with regards to the new hire situation at SFB or other Florida bases. I see a lot of, "run away, life sucks" comments and I get it 100%. I've been in the airlines in tech ops since the 80's so I've been ESOP'd and bankrupted and "surplussed" more times than I'd like to admit but that's water under the bridge. I've got a little more than a decade left to fly 121 and I absolutely love the Airbus and 737 max as well (I know, sacrilege to lovers of fifi), I have very deep systems and operational experience on the both and would sever an arm to get to fly either for a while. If you fly the Lake Jessup arrival you fly right over my farm, so to say I'm anchored to central FL is an understatement. I understand that I might need to juggle things for a bit to get back to SFB and that TDY assignment is likely once in a while but the hard question is how hard is it to get assigned to SFB or anywhere else that's drive-able in FL. I'd be happy with BNA or PVU to start with too but 6 months in DSM or FNT just might be a deal breaker. I'm OK with 18-20 days of reserve for the duration especially if it's mostly out and backs in the same day. I know it's not sunshine and pixie dust and that some days just suck and you gut it out and hope for better next week. So can a new hire reasonably expect to be able to get to SFB in one form or another. I'd even be happy to be a systems or sim instructor while waiting for a slot at SFB as long as I was on the seniority list and waiting for my turn at QOL.
Thanks in advance for any useful input.

flydiamond

In the last 3 years sfb has gone from an average seniority base to perhaps one of the most senior bases due to continued shrinkage post md80. The bottom 10 fos are simply a revolving door due to the poor reserve life. The most junior fos who are assigned sfb had to be based elsewhere for at least 3 months after training which is very difficult. They’ve promised large bases such as sfb will grow, however, that has simply not materialized. Whether it was a false narrative/gaslighting from management or contingent on actually having enough new hires to grow any base at all (which will require a new contract) remains to be seen. Sfb is also the base where I believe one of the pilots has been involuntarily tdy’d I believe 6 times in the last 12 months… that is simply unacceptable.

Furthermore, as far as instructors, the sanford training center is more senior than the Vegas training center, at least at the bottom end of the list. Pvu is far more junior than Bna but will quickly fill up since it’s more desirable than fnt and dsm.

I would suggest Frontier which from my understanding has a much more junior base at MCO and is mostly 1-2 day trips.

Also, given your background, it is important to consider we were the only low cost airline to furlough, and the only airline to furlough that did not first offer extended leaves, early retirements, etc. So if you’re trying to avoid any labor relations drama as you enjoy the sunset of your career, this is not the place. This place is rotten.

tailendcharlie

Jet Blue American & Southwest offer FL bases and a far better QOL than you would experience as a perennial junior FO at Allegiant, which is what you would likely be for most of your remaining career if you had to be FL based. The people you may have heard about who “have it good” as new-hires have made the decision to just move to ABE, ATW, FNT or PVU and made peace with it. Not likely to be attainable any time soon in FL.

SladeTin

If SFB is your one and only option as a permanent domicile, forget about it. It does nothing but continue to shrink. For anyone new entering the base now, you’ll never see anything more than maybe a mid-level FO in the next ten years. That’s best case scenario.

Be Realistic

Most junior FO in SFB is 1 year on property. Most junior in FL is 10 months. There hasn't been a SFB vacancy for months now, and the there are dozens of guys at the small bases trying to get back to Florida. While some vacancies will open up this winter, they will be fewer than before and will most likely go senior. (senior being a year on property these days). So if you joined now I doubt you'd see the most junior FO position in FL in the next 12 months.

Don't ignore all the warning on this site. Posters tend to hold back on their true feelings about this place because its a public forum.

Be Realistic

Most junior FO in SFB is 1 year on property. Most junior in FL is 10 months. There hasn't been a SFB vacancy for months now, and the there are dozens of guys at the small bases trying to get back to Florida. While some vacancies will open up this winter, they will be fewer than before and will most likely go senior. (senior being a year on property these days). So if you joined now I doubt you'd see the most junior FO position in FL in the next 12 months.

Don't ignore all the warning on this site. Posters tend to hold back on their true feelings about this place because its a public forum.

Margaritaville

Echo the others about SFB. The problem is once you get there, you'll never move up. Think reserve for most of your remaining years, getting sent by ground to every other airport in Florida and Georgia on reserve to cover flights every reserve day, and involuntarily TDYs several times a year. This is the exact reason why people are bailing out. Even at 50% seat seniority your QOL will suck there. Oh and you'll have to fly with disgruntled CAs like me doing the same thing.

shrsailplanes

What is the future of IWA? Is it on the chopping block? How senior is it?