Gooselives

It us airways pilots and management and gate agents sinking the AA ship

UPTme

I do wish CLT pilots would donate to the PAC. 15 percent is pathetic.

Arado 234

My opinion of both sides of M AA nagement is not great. Start pointing the finger at yourself before pointing it at others.

Al Czervik

Maybe, who knows. It’s all AA now. My comment was directed at us, as a pilot group. Too many guys jumping all over themselves to answer phone calls and doing everyone else’s job. WE are the reason we contractually lag delta and united.

Arado 234

One issue facing this (and other) pilot group is the generational "shift". Gen X, Millennials etc have other work/contract preferences than the old timers getting ready to retire.

Thedude

You do realize that Doggie got his start @AA and has come full circle.

chrisreedrules

I can attest to that. Many of the millennials I know have zero interest in home ownership, they don’t care about cool cars or boats, and they have no interest in marriage or kids. Nothing wrong with any of that, but they are driving factors behind the need to make money. I think most want to travel, work as little as possible, and make enough money to live comfortably while saving for retirement.

I think most in this career take for granted that the money will come eventually. And for most that are already flying in 121 it is probably a safe assumption that more money will come sooner for them than it did for our predecessors due to the massive movement over this decade. Even being a regional lifer will eventually net you 3x the median household income in this country. Quality of life and time with friends/family trumps money for most at this point.

Tjeff

I second this statement starting at AA hopefully in September… hopefully… I would want to prioritize QOL factors and schedule flexibility. I’ve learned from previous generations McMansion houses, brand new cars, boats, they’re all just money pits they never accumulate true emotional payoff. I don’t think I have what it takes to get involved with the union and negotiating but I hope many of my better and more competent contemporaries do. I believe there can be a positive shift in AA culture.

AllYourBaseAreB

It’s not us airways pilots sinking the ship, it’s older pilots in general. My last fo was in his 50’s, hired a few years ago, leaning wayyy too forward.

AAL24

One important component not to overlook is the amount of 4 pilot operations at each carrier. UAL and DAL both have many more long haul routes which require 4 pilots. Driving up staffing in the widebody category. For someone looking to fly international at a legacy carriers it's a factor. Which is why I originally said a pilot looking to fly international would do better at United where they have twice as many widebody acft as well as a route network that requires more 4 pilot operations. Some pilots could care less about international and they might be willing to put up with an industry lagging contract in exchange for more retirements. In that case AAL is a great choice.

A few more data points

Fedex WB Fleet +- 69%
UPS WB Fleet +- 72%
Hawaiian WB Fleet +- 39%