G4er

I disagree with “putting in your time” while your kids are young so you can get time off while they are in college. To some, yes money trumps all but to others time has value too. It’s one of the things money cannot buy.

rickair7777

Have to agree with that. Kids will want to hang with you when little. Later on they'll appreciate money for vacations, cars, etc. Then you may want/need to pay for college.

I minimized the airline schedule for many years, to be with the kids and family. Didn't really develop a work ethic until kids in HS and legacy CA pay.

Downside is of course time/value of money, and the risk that the industry may not be in a good spot when you're ready to make coin. Your seniority of course is a factor in the later.

rdneckpilot

I think this is something most of us struggle with in the career. When my kids were little the airline industry was in the toilet. I quit for ten years and did other types of flying that allowed more flexibility of time to make sure I didn’t miss things with the kids. Came back to airlines in 2018 and fortunately have moved quickly into a comfortable spot at a legacy.


talk about dumb luck….

one thing I would like to point out in this discussion is that seniority is crucial for quality of life at any airline. Allegiant does not avoid this because of the all day trip model. Seniority progression should be considered when picking a spot to stay. Also not being geographically flexible early in a career at allegiant can possibly be a big problem.

SloNLow

At this point, more & more pilots are voicing their concerns over the ability of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to represent this pilot group. I would suggest looking at airlines with ALPA representation first:


https://www.alpa.org/about-alpa/our-pilot-groups

captnate702

Pilot group wants industry standard. ALPA = industry standard.

Nobody here seriously believes the IBT is more capable of repping us than ALPA.

hindsight2020

Could you share what those avenues were for you, generally?

tailendcharlie

Allegiant holding a monopoly on “home every night” is what Allegiant pilots tell themselves to rationalize leaving millions of dollars on the table. If you perform some due diligence you will find that legacy pilots who so choose can approach a similar lifestyle if they're willing.

captnate702

go post on the legacy forums and ask how which bases and fleet have schedules where you could only spend 3-5 nights a year away from home? (I’ve spent 2 nights away from home in the last 14 months).

there are certainly a ton of benefits to being at a legacy instead of Allegiant. in fact besides being home every night I can’t think of anything else that isn’t better at a delta or United (except our annual block times in some bases are laughably low).

it’s not rationalization that some choose to be home every night. What rationalizations do you tell yourself tailend to stay here and leave millions on the table? Or can we not call you out about blowing smoke? I’m calling your bluff: why are you leaving millions on the table and not going to a legacy?

tailendcharlie

Short answer….too old. I’ve had my career.
For those who have to live and drive 20 minutes from whatever small town Allegiant base of their choosing…..that’s the hill they choose to plant their flag on, more power to them; they’re ideal Allegiant candidates. A legacy isnt’s opening an Appleton base. But I fly with all these 20 and 30-somethings & I’m saying if I told you for a few nights a month you can retire with a couple extra million…..of course; you have to live in base, be a widebody reserve FO like my friend for Delta who works a couple days a month. It’s doable; that’s all I’m saying.

captnate702

oh it’s certainly doable to only spend a couple nights a month in a hotel once you get some seniority at a legacy; but wide body FO is a senior position that’s probably gonna take a decade at least to achieve. I totally understand why many are willing to suck it up for 10-15 years to get that ideal legacy gig. But I also understand why some (not “many” but “some” pilots) don’t want to sacrifice 10-15 years of commuting and hotel hopping to achieve that wide body FO lifestyle.

I wouldn’t recommend Allegiant to most pilots, but for a subset of pilots it’s the ideal flying gig. I’ve always been upfront on here: NEVER try to commute; FL is not for new hires because reserve there is torture; try to live close enough to the airport that you can pick up the occasional open trip and eventually a VFN.

now feel free to call me a management tool - that’s what most ppl on APC call me when I talk objectively about this place. Some get real upset when I don’t follow the mob and try to scare everybody away from this place.