gringo

Puff puff give!

Puff puff give!

galaxy flyer

24 year old TW captains upgraded in 1966 after being hired in'63. I knew a few of them as a kid. That hasn't happened since.

Joey Meatballs,

Love the moniker, but folding up and merging can be the same thing, ask any AirTran captain how he likes SWA.

GF

JoeyMeatballs

Folding up and merging are two comepletely different things. One you are out of a job, the other you may be yanking gear for a SWA CA but you keep your pay and still have the ability to put food on the table.

Unless you aren't talking about folding up in liquidation form, that's what I mean

gloopy

I'd say C, but I'm not sure they will hire you without one at this point, especialy coupled with a huge currency gap.

Also, while I'm sure you're sharp and obviously had to be on top of your game at some point to get the quals you have, its been a long while. The last thing you want is to hop into a fire hose training program even if they give you a chance and be behind everything.

So I'd say A, B and C.

Seriously though. Get the written and get an ATP, at a minimum. If you can couple that with a type rating great, but you need something recent on your resume IMO, plus you have to get the conversion anyway. Odds are you will have to do it on your own anyway as well.

After all that, your best bet is probably a regional to get current/recent and get back in the game.

JMHO.

gloopy

What a ridiculous thing to say.

While I understand the frustrations of the AT pilots, comparing their SLI/JCBA to being left stranded on the side of the road by a closed carrier is some of the lamest hyperbole you'll ever see on these boards.

Dude. Really?

galaxy flyer

Then, all the beotching I've heard from merged airline guys is just so much hyperbole? You can look at dozens of mergers that completely bollocked up careers. I know three of them from the TW/AA merger alone. I didn't say "were", as in "the same thing"; just "can" as in "in some cases". Yes, you still have a job, but not the one you expected or planned for.

Really, dude?

GF

gloopy

In the context you put it, yes, that's exactly what it is and that's all it is.

You're admitting you're wrong, and then sticking to your mistake.

Under no case, ever, is a still employed merged pilot in anywhere near the same situation as a pilot at a never to exist again liquidated carrier. Ever. Not even remotely close.

Any AT pilot that thinks they might as well have ended up on the street with no job and no seniority number anywhere because they lost their CA seat for a while is orders of magnitude wrong, as is your statement to the same effect. I don't know if you were one of them or not, but I've heard plenty of complaining from lots of AT pilots and have never heard anything close to what you are saying directly from any of them. Yes many of them are upset at what happened, but none of them that I have ever met or talked to has ever equated it with liquidating and being on the street and that is just asinine to attempt to make that comparison just because you heard some "beyotching".

BTW, career expectations is always a moving target and not only does how we envision such a thing change, it changes a lot and it changes often. Not only from mergers, which are a long standing fact of life in the industry, but from a million other things even when no merger happens.

EricJ320

This has to be one of the most ridiculous comments for me personally reading in my time on APC. I have a very real and personal perspective on this, as I have a very good friend who was an AT pilot, and I lost my job of 17 years last year.

He lost his left seat on the 717 and now is a SWA copilot, and will likely be that for many years. His pay is roughly the same now, maybe slightly less. He lost his base and now commutes much further than he did to ATL, and has higher expenses associated with hotels because of his commute. He hates his job and has lots of animosity about going to work. For his sake, I hope that eases over time.

My company ceased operations and terminated all employees in January of 2013. I lost my left seat on the A330 and was on the street for 4 months. I had a mortgage, a wife, 2 kids including a 2 year old with Cystic Fibrosis, with no health insurance. Yes, if your company ceases to exist and the health plan no longer exists, you don't have the option of COBRA. I depleted my savings, and have had to dip into my retirement savings just to make sure my family eats, has a roof over their heads, and gets the medical care they need.

I'm not trying to marginalize what the AT pilots have gone through, or seek sympathy for what I went through. They are both realities of this business. I was fortunate to end up at Spirit, and life's been pretty good. Knowing a quick upgrade is coming has certainly eased the blow and gives a light at the end of the tunnel, but starting over on terms that were not mine has been devastating. We've managed to get by, and we will continue to do so no matter what comes around the corner next. But, for you to suggest these two events are even remotely comparable would even have my AT buddy saying....dude, really?

ovrtake92

Spirit has done an awesome job of getting guys off the street including myself. I hope you heavy cargo guys stick around and keep the experienced talent here at a high level. I also hope we don't get bought or fold up in the next 35 years, but I don't like the track record of the Legacies on these things either so I just show up to work and hope for the best. If working at a Legacy was the magic bullet for a long perfect career, Id be lined up for a shot at working at one of them in a heart beat. I dont think anybody is dense enough to actually think that is the case though so lets all roll the dice and wish each other the best career possible.

LeineLodge

Great post. I like where the next few years appear to be going. However 20-30 years from now is anyone's guess.

Our future will be dramatically impacted by the Emirates and NAI's of the world. There's no telling how it will all play out, but it probably won't look anything like it does today.

Start saving now, and save often. You'll thank yourself down the line whether the worst happens or not.

Eric,
Glad to hear you've landed on your feet. Thanks for sharing a dose of reality with us all. Best of luck to you over at Spirit!