Originally Posted by
FollowCompanyRJ
Keep in mind we are already extremely fat on pilots. You will sit reserve for over a year (and increasing) with little to no flying. You will not consolidate your ATP if you are first time 121. You will be commuting to NYC to do nothing but sit in a crashpad.
A couple issues with the original post. Given that, yes, we are fat on pilots right now, I'd like to make the following observations:
1) Spring 2018 hire here, NYC 900. If the movement rates for the next few months are at all similar to the movement rates from the past several months, I'll have a line after six months of reserve. This announcement may delay that a few months, we'll see.
2) I pick up a couple days of extra flying per month and average 40ish hours/month. It's not as much flying as I'd like, but it's hardly sitting in a crashpad doing nothing.
3) One does not consolidate one's ATP certificate, and consolidation of knowledge doesn't have anything to do with how many 121 jobs a pilot has held. Consolidation of knowledge is based on aircraft type and duty position.
(Follow-up: I've heard of guys having trouble consolidating, but there are provisions to allow guys who get close to fly more or get a short extension. I didn't have any trouble with consolidation, having picked up a few extra days of flying per month. Most--but not all--of my class members consolidated without needing an extension.)
4) The sky is not falling, as it were, and it's been a while since I've enjoyed a glass of koolaid. The sky may very well fall at some point in the future, for us, or any airline--and this may prove to be a precursor to that. Today's memo ought to get our attention, but not yet much more than that.