Originally Posted by
kaputt
To the guys that have done this for a long time, do the bubbas that flock to this job during down turns stick around once the good times come back to the airlines, or are they the first to go once the hiring comes back?
Just curious as someone who is interested in this job besides just a safe place to ride out the down times in aviation.
I can't think of many furloughed airline pilots that work for us and I have been here 20 + years. Our hiring process is so long and slow (it is improving) that people don't really come here as a job to fill in while furloughed. The majority of pilots here that were former airline guys came here with no intention of returning to airlines (most from regionals however).
When I first started at AMO prior to 9/11, all the old AMO (Customs) pilots said I should go to the airlines. A couple years later I was glad I didn't (9/11). This current situation is the third major setback for the airlines since I have worked for CBP. I guess that staying was the right choice. Many pilots left for the airlines in the last few years, many are probably wishing they had not now.
We are pilots, the grass is always greener on the other side, somebody always is getting a better deal than us.
Being a pilot for AMO is very different than an airline pilot. Both have good and bad points. Financial stability is probably CBP's best point.