Originally Posted by
afterburn81
Hey everyone,
Just wanted to say that it is a bit confusing to me how the current status of the company as well as the industry is considered "starved" by a supposed pilot shortage. This confusion is caused by the fact that I have been sitting here on reserve without a call for over a week now. I have called scheduling and they say they have nothing. I know of several reserve guys that are flying on a regular basis. Some say they have to call scheduling just to see if there is anything. All this and I bet you somewhere out there a pilot is being worked to fatique and hasn't had a day off in 4-5 days. I think the real problem lies within a combination of a very small pilot shortage and a major scheduling efficiency problem. Not trying to put down any schedulers as I know they are just doing their jobs but the system could really use some work. Anybody else feel this or is it just me?
Airlines are VERY seasonal...summer's over so business is starting to drop off. If you're not getting called now, you'll probably get OCT and early NOV off too.
But by late NOV, holiday travel will be on and all the pilots who timed out will be sitting home by the fire...you might just get your wish then
An airline could easily appear to be overstaffed right now, but actually be understaffed for the holidays. Since they can't just hire pilots seasonally, they have to stock up in advance, especially if they overwork us early in the year and get time-outs.