fcrx

I gave lanyards to 2 of the last 4 Captains I flew with… still PLENTY of company lovers in need of an education… who knows if it sinks in

at6d

Yep—gave several out during the Meltdown LOL.

ZapBrannigan

One thing that hasn’t really been mentioned too much that I think the company is going to have to come to grips with, is that the younger generation seems (anecdotally I admit) to be more interested in experiences and quality of life than they are in money. It’s not that they don’t like money, or want to make as much as they can. Rather they value it less than time off with the family, time off on the overnights, interesting overnights long enough to do something.

I was talking with a pilot who spends a lot of time going to recruiting events around the country and questions asked weigh heavily on reserve quality of life, commuter quality of life, with many pilots dismissive of jobs where they might have to either commute and/or sit reserve. He said it’s tougher and tougher to get young people interested in a career in aviation because they’re NOT willing to sacrifice weekends, holidays, long stretches of time away. His group is grappling with how to reach a group that isn’t buying what they’re selling,

We see it too, When kids visit the cockpit nowadays are they really interested? Or are they just shoved up there for a photo opportunity by Mom or Dad and then hustled off to their seats? They rarely ask questions and are more interested than their iPad than the cockpit. Look around the cabin next time you ride in back. Some people don’t even open the window shade for takeoff or landing - the spectacle of aviation is no longer intriguing to anyone other than the most dedicated Avgeeks.

If those anecdotes prove true, the bigger problem for WN is that this company was BUILT on greed. They rely on pilots who are willing to do literally anything for a few minutes of premium. Or who become addicted to a TFP total sometimes even at the expense of time with family. Think about it, the industry leading flexibility is designed to add MORE flying, but there are few opportunities to drop down to less flying, What is there to draw pilots like those to a place like this? Other than the occasional NYC downtown overnight, or 20 hours in Cancun, there isn’t a whole lot to offer the experience junkie, and commuting at an airline that doesn’t build dedicated lines for commuters only exacerbates the problem.

I think it’s a change in how young people view the profession that will require a change in the way the airline views the pilot experience in order to attract candidates in the future. It takes a long time to turn the titanic though. There’s a whole lot of cultural inertia to overcome.

flyguy81

Like it or not….it’s the instant gratification generation. They grew up on social media and getting “likes”. They don’t want to spend time working in the trenches for something when someone else is offering the same pay to make TilTok videos at work.

You’ll still commute to rsv and have a whole new host of problems….but if you can get hired and immediately be a 767 CA at the Evil Widget….why not? They’ll slap your baby face on some promo material with your body half out the jet somewhere exotic…kid will get his 15 min of fame and then be cast aside to roam Kew Gardens when he’s converted to short call and is never home. 🤷🏼‍♂️

Mozam

The head of crew scheduling feels that pilots just want to stay at home and play video games.,That is how out of touch HQ is with the front lime .


It has also been recommended to him by management and SWAPA that if you would let the pilots who picked up open time to go home after they’re done their trip ,more pilots would be willing to pick up. ( make them golden). His responses is that when I have a pilot at work I want to have all my options available to keep using them .


This place cannot help itself in trying to fail.

bobble

I think you hit the mark in the first part of the comment… instant gratification. You kinda went boomer captain in the second part.

if a person applying at one airline could get hired by any airline, why would they commute? Ask the next new hire you see how many places he applied and interviewed at. Most making a QOL decision are going to choose on domicile alone.

ZapBrannigan

He’s probably not far off on the first one, at least with regard to many of the young, single new guys.

As for the second, guess he’ll have to just continue to wonder why nobody wants to pick up extra within 72 hours of a holiday, regardless of what it pays. It’s a mystery. 🫤🙄

arbalist1

Haha, yeah must be 'kids these days!'

Or, maybe there's a generation that's been through a couple different 'once in a generation' black swan events and we've realized how fast everything can suddenly fall apart. Sure you can work your fingers to the bone and build up a nice nest egg. But then they watch all these pilots die at age 66, or net worth evaporate. I know I've bumped into a couple of the lonely ghosts of the training center.

How about instead, we provide enough, then spend the rest of our time making memories with our family and people we love? Absurd, isn't it?!

Sorry. Sometimes I get tired of people complaining about "lazy" generations. There are some lazy people, but probably no more than every other generation has seen. We've just seen a shift in what we find value in.

at6d

They [Young People] have exalted notions, because they have not been humbled by life or learned its necessary limitations; moreover, their hopeful disposition makes them think themselves equal to great things -- and that means having exalted notions. They would always rather do noble deeds than useful ones: Their lives are regulated more by moral feeling than by reasoning -- all their mistakes are in the direction of doing things excessively and vehemently. They overdo everything -- they love too much, hate too much, and the same with everything else.

—Aristotle

'The children now love luxury; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are tyrants, not servants of the households. They no longer rise when their elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize over their teachers.'

—Socrates

Palmtree Pilot

Which one is that? Boomers have seen all of them that I have as a gen Xer since I got in the airline business in 2000 and more from the 80s and 90s. I hope millennials and whatever is after that don't think they are special in what they have had to endure in this crappy industry.

I do understand what your saying about change in view of what’s important, and thank it’s a great thing. My views have changed over the last 23 years when I was commuting in my first airline job on TWA, where you could sit in FC and have a cocktail as a non rev. After 14 years of being home based, I decided I would never commute long term for an airline or move for another aviation job. Here I am in base and its working out great, EXCEPT I don’t want to have to pick up premium or work extra days to make the wages a professional pilot should be making in this day and age.