Originally Posted by
Timbo
ACL, I agree, and the only good thing to come out of our Bankruptcy was, with the loss of our DB plan, we are no longer handcuffed to Delta for the rest or our careers. If I get a better offer somewhere else, I'm gone.
For a guy like you, it is about a wash. For most junior to you, the decision becomes more cloudy. For anyone in my seniority bracket, many things need to happen for DAL to offer the career advancement that will, 1) attract pilots, and 2) keep pilots for the long haul.
I would not mind the Expat life, and nor would my wife. All of the talk as of late got me doing research on all of the gigs out there, and frankly I was floored at the money, and benefits offered. We enjoy the life we have, but fighting your way to make 100-130K a year for the next ten years, having 12 or so days off, is not the way to do it. Something will have to give wrt to our PWA. (You can get 12 or more days off a month with better pay and benefits a lot of other places)
I got lucky last year with my earnings. Because of the cutbacks, I will take a 50K paycut this year. That is no fun at all. (Never flew a GS and only flew to ALV+15) You could say it beats the street, and it does. I have had many pilots contact me asking how long of leave I thought they could get because they found a gig that can make 50-100% more than they are here. That is the sad commentary of the day.
The industry is upside down. International contracts should not pay so much better that pilots are seriously considering leaving a legacy job for them, but they are.