Originally Posted by
rickair7777
This is 100% incorrect info.
A guy of that age from DAL did not retire because he wanted to or because he didn't like his career.
He retired because a few years ago DAL was about to enter bankruptcy and liquidate (or severely reduce) their retirement plan. DAL pilots who retired before BK had the option of taking a defined benefit (pension) or lump sum. The pension would have been lost in BK, but if you retired before BK and took the lump sum, they had to pay up and that was yours to keep. For a 30-year CA, the lump sum could have been several million dollars...THAT's probably why he retired.
There are several ex-DAL CA's slinging gear at SKW...and they're all millionaires.
Whats incorrect? He retired because he was going to lose a ton of money if he didn't. He left the job because it was going downhill for him. That job (delta prior to BK ) is gone and the new one is not as good.
the OP can't get the job his captain used to have. All that is left is what his captain left.
The OP is already 28 with only 1200 hours. He is getting some great experience but certainly not ahead of the power curve by much. I just wanted him to think about options and not get stuck on being a 777 International pilot as the end all. How many guys even do that job in the
USA?
edit: I do think I could have worded it better about why he left.