Originally Posted by
Blackhawk
A year can be a big deal but much of that depends on your age. If you are in your late 40's that year is a really big deal. In your mid 20's, not so much.
Still, I do usually recommend one of the AAL feeders as well, though I tell pilots not to rely on the flow and to get apps out, just use it as a backup.
Yeah, I do think Inc pilots will start to see their fast upgrades slowing down. The fact that CC and other Inc management expressed concerns about XJT pilot attrition was telling.
But any pilot in this industry should view what happened here as a wakeup call not to get comfortable until the logo on your paycheck matches the logo on the tail.
Yeah and even if the Paycheck/Tail Logo is the same, you still aren't out of the woods. Look at Eastern, Pan Am, TWA & Braniff, et. al..
I was on a United JS Recently with two distinguished old Gentleman & they had a pretty funny conversation (black humor) about how many times that they had been furloughed in their Careers at various Airlines AND at United.
This ain't a Career for Sissies. You're gonna get hit hard a few times with something or other, be it Airline Bankruptcy, up to and including full Dissolution of your Airline, Medical Issues, Divorce, or simply having to choose between a (non) Life of either Commuting, or uprooting the Family every few years as Domiciles come and go. I would argue that this is not a good Family oriented Career as well, hence the high divorce and Family break up rate.
Probably best for People, Gay or Straight, that decide to not have a Family, or pets and maybe their Partner/Significant Other is also at the Airline and they can bid together. Those People might have a good go of it, or maybe you just get lucky and it's all Sunshine & Unicorns.