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

[MIDNJAC]

Definitely seems like a lot of guys keep their feet in the Reserves at least until they're well and truly established in the majors, furlough-proof lifeboat among other reasons. My last CO (O-6) was also a fairly senior captain with one of the big boys (UAL, I think?) and was fond of saying at drill weekends, "Doing that job allows me to do this job." For a long while the VAW SAU was a FedEx flying club.

It is, without doubt, a huge benefit when it comes to junior life at an airline. You'll still put food on the table if the music stops. There is probably some scenario where the music stops in both places (COVID actually came close, since it affected most of our airline folks equally, and there are only so many long orders that can be funded), but it's a lot better than nothing.

 

[Griz882]

Hold my beer….

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2023/03/22/how-hard-is-it-land-plane/

 

[ChuckMK23]

Tsunami ⚡

https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/19/business/pilot-shortage-retirement-tsunami/index.html

 

[Griz882]

Tsunami ⚡

https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/19/business/pilot-shortage-retirement-tsunami/index.html

???….wait…I have my own ?

 

[zippy]

Tsunami ⚡

https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/19/business/pilot-shortage-retirement-tsunami/index.html

Don’t believe anything from the RAA, they are staffed by Regional Airline management with a goal to bring pilot wages back to $17/hr.

 

[Anthony2000]

Don’t believe anything from the RAA, they are staffed by Regional Airline management with a goal to bring pilot wages back to $17/hr.

Lol my dad is an airline captain… he made 17/hr back in the 90s. Some trips now he can pull $600+ an hour. Racked in $3500 PHX to JFK the other night.

 

[ChuckMK23]

So apparently Delta Airlines maintains a fleet of Porsche Cayenne and Panamera vehicles to drive gate-to-gate and gate to FBO certain high value customers - pic was taken by my former boss who is a new hire FO at Widget Airlines. Pretty cool.

 

[MIDNJAC]

Not at all related, other than the location, but my shop has a number of locations where the crew van is "air side", i.e. at a gate inside the security line. First time I had this was after a redeye deadhead to TPA, at 0330, after I had walked out through baggage claim and the driver dispatch kept telling me in incomprehensible English that "van is air side". I had no brain cells left that were functioning, just "what does that mean?????" Actually pretty cool, had I been aware.

 

[GroundPounder]

So apparently Delta Airlines maintains a fleet of Porsche Cayenne and Panamera vehicles to drive gate-to-gate and gate to FBO certain high value customers - pic was taken by my former boss who is a new hire FO at Widget Airlines. Pretty cool.

View attachment 38059

I think that has something to do with the Porsche North American HQ being on the edge of KATL. They also have an integrated driving experience there.

 

[SynixMan]

So apparently Delta Airlines maintains a fleet of Porsche Cayenne and Panamera vehicles to drive gate-to-gate and gate to FBO certain high value customers - pic was taken by my former boss who is a new hire FO at Widget Airlines. Pretty cool.

View attachment 38059

They’ll do air side plane transfers for high end customers as well.

 

[insanebikerboy]

So apparently Delta Airlines maintains a fleet of Porsche Cayenne and Panamera vehicles to drive gate-to-gate and gate to FBO certain high value customers - pic was taken by my former boss who is a new hire FO at Widget Airlines. Pretty cool.

View attachment 38059

Saw something similar at LA driving between gates.

 

[phrogdriver]

Saw something similar at LA driving between gates.

I was travelling with an AA Concierge Key and we got a black Suburban from gate to gate at LaGuardia.

 

[zipmartin]

I was travelling with an AA Concierge Key and we got a black Suburban from gate to gate at LaGuardia.

Back before Houston Hobby got renovated, SWA had gates in the A & C concourses. On occassion, when we had pulled into one of the concourses and had an unscheduled a/c swap and had to get to the other concourse quickly, rather than go out through security at the one concourse and then go through security again at the other concourse, we'd hop in the back of a beat-up maintenance panel van with no seats, and they'd drive us over. Wasn't classy.....but it was expeditious. But that was also back in the '90's when we had scheduled 15-20 minute turns.

 

[cfam]

They’ll do air side plane transfers for high end customers as well.

Yep, they try to do it for anyone who has hit Delta 360 status. https://thepointsguy.com/guide/delta-360-status/amp/

 

[zippy]

So apparently Delta Airlines maintains a fleet of Porsche Cayenne and Panamera vehicles to drive gate-to-gate and gate to FBO certain high value customers - pic was taken by my former boss who is a new hire FO at Widget Airlines. Pretty cool.

View attachment 38059

AA usually uses Cadillac Escalades and UAL is making the switch from Mercedes to all electric Jaguars.