Originally Posted by
FTFF
How's life? Relative to...DAL, UAL, AA, FX? It's comparable. We all have our pros and cons. Incidentally, I came out of OE at UPS holding a line and have held one since. That's great you are able to get home overnights, a no brainer if you have kids. Who cares if it's only a 50/50 for hitting gold. If it stays the same you are already winning. But that's you.
On Airborne express. UPS/FX are so much more than overnight delivery companies. There are still misconceptions on the actual business of FX/UPS vs ACMI and freight charters so here's another UPS example (FX has identical ones): Any given Japanese camera company-they make the camera and all the tech in Asia. The lenses are made in S. America. Everything is then sent in bulk to Louisville where a UPS supply chain solution subset company collects everything, packages it all together, warehouses it, and then manages global inventory of the final product on behalf of the manufacturer. This isn't the kind of business that changes hands overnight.
I'm also unfamiliar with a time Airborne ever gave either FX/UPS a run for their money much less a big run for their $$....
Why only use the majors when discussing QOL? Now if QOL to you is pay, well then, you have a point. I would overall make more at a major. But I'm not so sure about my QOL. Like you acknowledged above, I have it pretty good. Maybe not everyone is doing as well, but I am and many others are as well.
And my initial post is really addressed to those who keep saying, "leave that and go to the major player". And I'm arguing that not everyone really wants to or can. Some have found a nice spot and it's beyond irritating to read these threads and find a post by someone on the outside looking in telling us that our QOL is not as good as theirs when in fact it's entirely unsubstantiated, unless of course your talking about money. QOL is different to everyone.
I have no crash pad
I do not have to have an airport car
I do not have to move to my base in order to see my family
I catch the last flight out of my home to my base and begin work
I have never had to worry about a commute or spend all day trying to get to work.
I Trip trade into trips that overnight in my home
I find dead headers that will either fly my last or first flight into or out of base
I've been holding one of my top 10 choices of hard lines since day one
More than half of this pilot group is over 58 years old and will be retired soon, meaning that soon, those below me will also be better off.
This I've been doing since day one. I've gone almost a year and will break 6 figures in year 2 with a little extra work. And here's the real bottom line. Unless I want to sell two houses, a boat and get rid of 2 leased cars, I'm not going anywhere else for year one pay again. I had enough saved to do year one pay ONCE. Not twice.
So it would be nice sometimes for those of you who have your dream airline to just lay off the rest. We get it. You hit the big league. But I have no intention of ever having to risk commuting to ANC or moving to any southern landlocked territory.
Now as for your, " I'm also unfamiliar with a time Airborne ever gave either FX/UPS a run for their money much less a big run for their $$..." comment.
Just because you are unaware of something does not make it "unknown". It also isn't a door for me to become your history teacher. There are many resources out there that show the history of the company. Come to your own conclusions. If you agree with me not after said research is irrelevant and not my concern.