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The SHOW: Airlines still a "good gig"??

sevenhelmet

Low calorie attack from the Heartland
pilot
What statistic is that? Genuinely curious.

There's an old adage among pilots that retired FedEx guys tend to croak 2-3 years after retirement. I'm sure someone has a source, but a cursory Google search will yield some anecdotal evidence, and seemingly little in the way of concrete studies. If I remember correctly, 60 minutes did a piece on this a while back.
 

phrogdriver

More humble than you would understand
pilot
Super Moderator
Is that bc they go hog wild in their first year of retirement or what?

I’ve been told anecdotally that the night schedules of cargo operators take huge tolls on pilot health.

As for the 1 year thing…I think pilots identify themselves as their jobs much more than others. Just like in the military, losing that has a huge negative effect on well-bring. At 42, most people can physically handle that distress. At 65 or 67, probably much less so, I’d wager.
 
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zipmartin

Never been better
pilot
Contributor
…I think pilots identify themselves as their jobs much more than others. Just like in the military, losing that has a huge negative effect on well-bring. At 42, most people can physically handle that distress. At 65 or 67, probably much less so, I’d wager.
Agree with the first part. All I've ever wanted to do since I was in grade school was fly. I was blessed to be able to do that. I retired from the Navy in '94 (forced early retirement after 18 years - BRAC, budget cuts, etc.), went to the show in '95, and retired at 65 in 2016. To me, the forced early retirement from the Navy was much harder than the show. I was living my dream in the Navy. The show was a job. Yes, I enjoyed it and I did identify with it. But I soon realized that even though I never thought of it as stressful, my overall health improved considerably. I stayed busy and engaged. Much of it is mental. I moved on. I still miss it, but I'm not going to let that bring me down. You can choose to be happy or...........the alternative.
 

insanebikerboy

Internet killed the television star
pilot
None
Contributor
I’ve been told anecdotally that the night schedules of cargo operators take huge tolls on pilot health.
Spent the last 2.5 years flying in EUCOM where the majority of our flights had between a 2300-0400 show time. I’m 40 and it took a toll, it was physically tough and hard on the body doing that day in and day out.

For dudes in their 60s, I fully believe that a vampire schedule could significantly impact life expectancy.
 

ChuckMK23

FERS and TSP contributor!
pilot
I met a dude who flies for Atlas - all back side of clock flying and 15+ day trips straight and he says it ages the f*ck out of him, weight gain, etc. Not an easy life - certainly can't imagine doing that until mid 60's...
 

HuggyU2

Well-Known Member
None
I avoid backside-of-the-clock flying and big time zone jumps like the plague.
Some guys say they have no issue with it. They are lucky.

I'll take less efficient trips and mitigate fatigue instead.
 

webmaster

The Grass is Greener!
pilot
Site Admin
Contributor
I avoid backside-of-the-clock flying and big time zone jumps like the plague.
Some guys say they have no issue with it. They are lucky.

I'll take less efficient trips and mitigate fatigue instead.
I bid bankers hours. Predominantly turns. But two days to nice layovers. Max 2 legs per duty period. As much soft time as possible. I’m spoiled.
 

Hair Warrior

Well-Known Member
Contributor
 

Angry

NFO in Jax
None
Random question for all you single anchor types. I’m a financial advisor in post-Navy life, and seem to have great success with pilot clients. My firm doesn’t actively market to them - usually we are connected thru professional networks or for some reason other than their employment.

However, if we did want to put ourselves in front of the pilot community, any suggestions for how to do so? We are an independent RIA (no multi-million dollar marketing budgets) so looking for an efficient way to gain eyeballs. Any thoughts appreciated.
 

SynixMan

Mobilizer Extraordinaire
pilot
Contributor
Random question for all you single anchor types. I’m a financial advisor in post-Navy life, and seem to have great success with pilot clients. My firm doesn’t actively market to them - usually we are connected thru professional networks or for some reason other than their employment.

However, if we did want to put ourselves in front of the pilot community, any suggestions for how to do so? We are an independent RIA (no multi-million dollar marketing budgets) so looking for an efficient way to gain eyeballs. Any thoughts appreciated.

Seems the routes I've seen are word of mouth, flyers around a training center, and private group message board recommendations. At my airline at least, the 401k is through Fidelity that provides advisement services after a certain portfolio threshold (400k) and Schwab advisors through the union. I've also seen sponsoring union events, airshows, social media advertising, but I can't speak to the effectiveness or price of that.

Also the desires of each person are different. I don't really want a lot of investment advice, more just maximizing my company contributions and being smart about taxes. Some folks want the full monty advisor with the associated costs.
 
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