PressOff

I'm a very senior captain here who is grateful to be senior, don't get me wrong. I just can't stomach the thought of going back down to the bottom of the list of another regional. I jumped ship to here in the first place after many years at another regional, when I was furloughed suddenly while the company declared was well. To think I may be back back to square one where I was so long ago makes me sick. I don't know if i have it in me to that if it comes down to it. Who knows what happens to the American flying. I've had my apps out for years but no nibbles..Anyway I wonder how much sleep this pilot group has lost collectively over the past couple days. I know I've barely slept. I've got a family of mouths depending upon me.

Turbosina

Here at OO we do have the longevity pay arrangement, so if you wind up here, it certainly wouldn't be the same financial hit as if you'd gone back to Year 1 FO pay. Not that that's a huge consolation but at least it's something.

I *almost* went to Compass 5+ years ago but chose OO for its bases. Everyone I've run into from Compass has been a pleasure to meet. I hope this all turns out better for all of you than expected.

We are all just subcontractors, alas. Then again, a job at mainline sure isn't a guarantee of anything, either. It's a strange profession, to be sure, full of challenges and uncertainties that don't plague cube-dwellers in corporate America. But the view from FL350 sure beats the view from cubicle FL-350.

Best of luck to you and everyone else at Compass. Except the FO who flipped us the bird yesterday at an unnamed SoCal airport.

BobbyLeeSwagger

Wha??? Seriously? Did you get the tail#? That's not ok

VIRotate

Thanks for the words. And I’m sorry about that FO. That’s pretty messed up...

Choppy

This doesn't signify anything, in my opinion. Of course any pilot should leave Compass for a better career. CPZ may get new flying or new opportunities but it's not like it will suddenly pay more than a major or LCC.

poutine

Part of the deal of this ‘opportunity’ will help bring the pilot to their ‘final destination’.

Turbosina

Ah, you know what, I get it. It sucks to be in his position. I've been there twice (although not in an aviation job, not yet at least.) I get the frustration and sometimes you gotta vent it any way you can.

But so far in all the convos I've heard in OO crew rooms, the unanimous tone has been 'that sucks.' I have not heard a single person expressing happiness that we're getting some of that flying. I've jumped on Compass more than a few times and have also returned the favor and you guys have always been great. We're all just doing the same job and striving for the same goals, to feed our families and do our professional best and hopefully move on to a major (or not, depending on our life situation). The idea of rivalry among regionals just strikes me as completely off-base. So I hope you all have smooth landings, regardless of whether that's at Compass or somewhere else...

s3cLyfe

That is unacceptable behavior. I’m sorry you were given the bird. Most of us aren’t like that. I appreciate your sentiments.

Turbosina

Ah, it's OK. If I had put in X years at my company and was now faced with the prospect of being at the bottom of another seniority list, I'd feel the same way. But heck, at least we're in the middle of the most incredible boom in pilot hiring I've seen in 20 years of professional aviating. There's never been a better time to be a pilot and there have never been so many opportunities. So there's that to consider.

When I graduated college in '94, the regionals wanted 3000 TT with 1000 ME and 250 turbine preferred (to get into the right seat of a San Antonio Sewer Pipe, aka the Metro). The kicker was, you couldn't really build that 1000 hours quickly by instructing, because multi students were few and far between, and where was a 21 year old kid going to get turbine time? How times have changed. Despite this dark day for Compass pilots, just take heart in the fact that we've all got more opportunities for rewarding flying careers than have ever existed in the past 30-some years...

BobbyLeeSwagger

Well, you sir, are very classy. We at compass appreciate the well wishes. And you are exactly right, it is still an amazing time to be a young pilot as many of us are, and we need to keep that in mind.

They were never our planes to begin with.. We got to fly them and get some jet time while getting paid and eating snacks. We will all survive this.

As to the FO who did that, you should not be a compass pilot with that kind of tool behavior. And remember, the pax can see what you are doing, and its quite easy to find out who it is and report them, so if you cant be motivated by simple decency, then at least think about how much you put your job in jeapardy when you act like a complete idiot. If you did that on my flight I would have swung around and dropped you off at the gate (unless it was go home, of course)