Bar Harbor/ Eastern Express: I didn't work on Friday, but was told to report as scheduled Saturday. Came to MIA to an empty terminal. I took the bus to the commuter terminal and got laughed at by the AE pilots. Of course, our area was stripped bare.

Northeast Express: Got a call to retrun to BOS with 19 folks in the back. We told them we wouldn't turn arround unless they told us why. Ops said we were shutting down. Returned to BOS and kicked the folks out. We waited for an hour and were asked if we would fly the plane to MHT. We aggreed since our cars were parked there. At the hangar, I met with the other union folks and told all the crews to keep there badges. The airline president told us that we'd be back in the air in a week or two. Never happened.

Here's my suggestions if you ever find yourself in this position:

Keep your ID badge: Many airlines and pilots will allow you to continue jumpseating, even after your airline goes belly up. With CASS, don't expect to ride in the cockpit but you may be able to still ride in the back. It will help when it comes time for interviews.

Know your rights: File for unemployment right away. There is a waiting period. Look into job training programs. There is Federal money floating arround. The states run the programs, so benefits vary. Some folks were able to get type ratings and others used the money to go into other fields. A couple of guys started training in anew field until they were able to get another job.

Network: Civilian guys are terrible at this. Learn from the military guys on this one (It may be the only thing worth learning from some military pilots). Keep in touch. Find out who's hiring. We had so many Bar Harbor guys working the loop, that we had an airline even fly their interviewers to us. It saved guys big bucks.