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

[Catmando]

Yuz payz yuz monies, and yuz takes yuz chances!

I think a guy in about his 15th year or more has already made his decision, and ought to live with it, for better or worse.

I know some guys who did 20, then got hired by the likes of FedEx and did far better than guys that bailed more than a decade earlier as JOs, went through several airline failures, ending up at a marginal one with less pay/benefits/schedules than the 20 yr. guy.

Of course then there was the UA 747 FE I once met as a jumpseater. The captain was a cold, little blonde and her FO looked like her younger sister just out of high school. This FE was a grizzled, former Marine F-4 squadron CO if I recall. Seemed like a great guy. As I sat on the jumpseat, he nodded to the two blondes, rolled his eyes, and said he never had more miserable. I could certainly understand!

 

[HAL Pilot]

Yeah I agree 15 years is probably the last decision point.

 

[HackerF15E]

The captain was a cold, little blonde and her FO looked like her younger sister just out of high school.

Sounds like the recipe for a fun trip. What's the problem?

 

[A4sForever]

Because at 20 Uncle will pay me ~40k a year to go away....

Well, this is good. This is very good.

At least you've established the price for your services ....

 

[A4sForever]

.... Is boredom just the price you pay for the fabulous prizes, or what?

I gotta tell you ... in 25K hours spent in the air (most of it international TRANSPAC) ... I cannot, for the life of me, remember any 'boring' hours.

If it's 'boring' ... you're missing a lot and/or not doing something right.

That's just me ... with the exception of 'down times' (a combat nap in the seat or a scheduled break/sleep in the bunkroom on an augmented crew) ... I've NEVER been 'bored' in the air.

Believe it.

 

[bert]

Well, this is good. This is very good.

At least you've established the price for your services ....

I have indeed, and "minus 50% of my base pay to not fly" can't clear the bar. I will have been lucky enough to do 18 of my 20 in the cockpit, but I have no illusions about my fate if I try to hang on - I've pushed my luck enough in that regard and I don't think I need to actually try being in charge of putting cover sheets on TPS reports to decide I won't like it.

On a side note, anybody with 9th grade math skills and access to the google can figure out whether or not doing 20 makes financial sense for them. What is a little trickier is being honest with yourself about what your skills are worth on the outside. Even harder is figuring out the emotional cost of Big Navy's b.s. That number is different for everybody.

 

[Catmando]

I gotta tell you ... in 25K hours spent in the air (most of it international TRANSPAC) ... I cannot, for the life of me, remember any 'boring' hours.

If it's 'boring' ... you're missing a lot and/or not doing something right.

That's just me ... with the exception of 'down times' (a combat nap in the seat or a scheduled break/sleep in the bunkroom on an augmented crew) ... I've NEVER been 'bored' in the air.

Believe it.

Bored? Me neither. That's why I always made sure out of JFK on a transcon that I had bought or pilfered at least a WSJ, a NYT, and a USA today to keep from getting bored.

Regardless of flying with even my best friends... sometimes you just run out of conversation on a really long flight.

And whenever I looked out the window of my excessively computerized flying craft –something I did often during the long hours of monitoring boring automatic systems and comfortably wide ATC separation – at our geography with all its various features, was always more interesting than monotonous water (unless over-water paid a lot more, which it did at most properties but not mine).

Of course whenever the Feds rode in the jumpseat, I eagerly gave them all my reading material out of my flight bag with a smile, and at my personal expense. Nevertheless I still looked out the window sometimes, but those were the most boring flights for both the Fed and us.

 

[phrogdriver]

If it's 'boring' ... you're missing a lot and/or not doing something right. [/B]

Maybe you just get task-saturated easily!:icon_wink

 

[Fallonflyr]

Bored? Me neither. That's why I always made sure out of JFK on a transcon that I had bought or pilfered at least a WSJ, a NYT, and a USA today to keep from getting bored.

Regardless of flying with even my best friends... sometimes you just run out of conversation on a really long flight.

And whenever I looked out the window of my excessively computerized flying craft –something I did often during the long hours of monitoring boring automatic systems and comfortably wide ATC separation – at our geography with all its various features, was always more interesting than monotonous water (unless over-water paid a lot more, which it did at most properties but not mine).

Of course whenever the Feds rode in the jumpseat, I eagerly gave them all my reading material out of my flight bag with a smile, and at my personal expense. Nevertheless I still looked out the window sometimes, but those were the most boring flights for both the Fed and us.

Everyone thinks Sully went all the way to the back of the plane after landing in the river to make sure everyone was off and safe, but real airline pilots know he was just looking for an USAtoday.

 

[Catmando]

Everyone thinks Sully went all the way to the back of the plane after landing in the river to make sure everyone was off and safe, but real airline pilots know he was just looking for an USAtoday.

For the most part, Capt Sullenberger's actions were admirable and should not be made light of. Indeed lives were saved.

However many who fly that model of Airbus within his airline believe he may have made a serious mistake that was not included in the NTSB report. We all make mistakes, especially under duress. But many are upset that he has so capitalized upon his success while he failed to fundamentally go "TOGO" power, ever.

 

[HAL Pilot]

Because at 20 Uncle will pay me ~40k a year to go away....

Well, this is good. This is very good.

At least you've established the price for your services ....

Gotta say it....you're a helo pilot. While not impossible it is a lot harder for you to go to a major airline without a pretty significant regional stop along the way (unless you're hiding a bunch of fixed wing time somewhee). So for you, probably a good choice.

 

[HAL Pilot]

Everyone thinks Sully went all the way to the back of the plane after landing in the river to make sure everyone was off and safe, but real airline pilots know he was just looking for an USAtoday.

For the most part, Capt Sullenberger's actions were admirable and should not be made light of. Indeed lives were saved.

However many who fly that model of Airbus within his airline believe he may have made a serious mistake that was not included in the NTSB report. We all make mistakes, especially under duress. But many are upset that he has so capitalized upon his success while he failed to fundamentally go "TOGO" power, ever.

The best thing Sully did that day was analyze the situation and make a decision. Any airline pilot should have the monkey skills to successfully ditch on a calm surface.

 

[A4sForever]

The best thing Sully did that day was analyze the situation and make a decision. Any airline pilot should have the monkey skills to successfully ditch on a calm surface.

Roger that; and it came w/ a HUGE helping of L-U-C-K ... LUCK: w/out which the day would have turned into a freakin' disaster.

 

[A4sForever]

Gotta say it....you're a helo pilot. While not impossible it is a lot harder for you to go to a major airline without a pretty significant regional stop along the way (unless you're hiding a bunch of fixed wing time somewhee). So for you, probably a good choice.

Yeah ... I wasn't gonna' say it 'cause I didn't want to hurt anyone's 'feelings', but it's time for some 'tough love' and a reality check, HAL.

It would seem on cursory examination of this thread that the airline nay-sayers are primarily guys who can't and don't qualify for 'The SHOW' ... they come from communities whose logbooks do not readily translate into the requirements for the major airlines, absent some extra intervention from God. No way, no how ...

So come'on, fellas ... l interviewed (and hired) new-hire candidates for 2 major airlines and I interviewed (and hired) rotor-heads for a big part 135 operation down on the Gulf. I know the score. So give us all a break and at the same time, quit foolin' yourselves on why you have 'no plans' for rushing the airlines ... it doesn't help anyone ... least of all -- you.

 

[BACONATOR]

Yeah ... I wasn't gonna' say it 'cause I didn't want to hurt anyone's 'feelings', but it's time for some 'tough love' and a reality check, HAL.

It would seem on cursory examination of this thread that the airline nay-sayers are primarily guys who can't and don't qualify for 'The SHOW' ... they come from communities whose logbooks do not readily translate into the requirements for the major airlines, absent some extra intervention from God. No way, no how ...

So come'on, fellas ... l interviewed (and hired) new-hire candidates for 2 major airlines and I interviewed (and hired) rotor-heads for a big part 135 operation down on the Gulf. I know the score. So give us all a break and at the same time, quit foolin' yourselves on why you have 'no plans' for rushing the airlines ... it doesn't help anyone ... least of all -- you.

I actually plan on preparing myself for at least a FEW options when my commitment is up, so I'm not just "settling because I have nothing else going on", one of the options including getting myself eligible for an airline job. I've read countless application pages, and it seems there are a few options for airlines (I vaguely remember possibly one of them being a major) which accepts Military Helo time as valuable, as long as you have the minimums for everything else.

Assuming I go out, and get my Multi add-on to my commercial cert. and get my MEI and instruct off and on and build up a couple hundred hours ME time, plus the 1500TT minimum, plus the hundreds of hours turbine PIC time (from helos, since some don't specify the turbine PIC time be FW), isn't it possible to go to a major? Do my chances increase if I go out and get an ATP and type-rating on top of all of the above using my GIB?