Originally Posted by
NeverFlexTO
A few questions to those who were furloughed in the past (I realize the environment has changed but curious what the mindset and thinking should be). Seeing how everyone in the industry is feeling the same pain, just planning for Plan B and Plan C.
1. Was finding another flying job a challenge? Did anyone consider going back to flying RJs or freight?
2. Is it more beneficial to look at jobs, apply before furlough, and potentially take a voluntary to be on the front side of the wave to get another flying job?
3. Theoretical Question...Does or will ALPA work on agreements with our RJ partners to hire pilots from DL?
4. if you didn’t go back to a flying job during furlough, what did you do?
5. If you take a voluntary furlough, can you comeback when your seniority # is called or do you wait until all the involuntary furloughs are back?
TIA
I'm not a previous furloughed pilot, but this deserves some attention, so here's my 2 cents while we wait for the experts. I went through a substantial corporate downsizing in the 2000s as the tech bubble burst. It was a product development / marketing job, not a flying job. I let my boss know early in the restructuring that I preferred a severance package over a relocation offer. Oddly enough, I left a desk job and moved to another state for a flying job in the ANG.
Those who left early had first crack at jobs with other employers. Some ended up in similar positions at previous competitors, others went to different industries. The ones who turned out the lights had longer to look for employment, but many of the good jobs were taken already. There are lots of qualified pilots looking for work, there will be even more in a few months. If you can take a LOA now and secure employment in advance of an expected furlough, you will beat the rush.
If you leave voluntarily via LOA, you could return with the necessary notice provided your seniority still holds a job at Delta. I'm not sure if there is a requirement in the current LOA offer to have new hire classes for you to return. If you are out on a LOA and furloughs go above your seniority, you are now furloughed. At that point, it doesn't matter that you left voluntarily, you are now furloughed and will get recalled in seniority order. If you want to stay at your current job, you have the option to bypass the recall. The fact that you left voluntarily before mandatory recall does not change your recall order.
Corporate and charter jobs may be a place to start looking. Rich people with meetings and vacations have even more incentive to avoid the unwashed masses now.