Originally Posted by
HeyHairWoYaGoin
It seems to me that the company (at least the ABX part) is kinda on the way out. Losing flying left and right, very little if any ETOPS flying left
That’s right - it’s all over but the crying. The writing is on the wall, and it says, “THE END”. So everybody lift your voices as you lament your life choices and wail in unison, “THEY’RE GONNA SHUT US DOWN!”
Just like it was THE END when the ANA contract ended.
Just like it was THE END when the TNT contract ended.
Just like it was THE END when the Aeromex contract ended.
Just like it was THE END when the SAS contract ended.
Just like it was THE END when the Gitmo flying ended.
Just like it was THE END when the Ramstein-Cairo flying ended.
In each of these cases, ABX was summarily SHUT DOWN and its ashes were scattered to the four winds, never to be mentioned again.
It is now THE END because some (extra, always temporary) trans-Atlantic flying has ended. There simply is no more cargo flying business to be had. SHUT DOWN. Ashes. Winds.
It is so much THE END that they’re continuing to hire “for attrition” when we are heavily overstaffed and they could easily right-size the pilot group for the amount of flying we’re currently doing by not hiring for at least another three to four months.
…tons of people leaving - including new hires whose training is very expensive and many of whom leave in the first year.
That is the state of the industry everywhere, not just at ABX. There is even movement at some of the the big names as ladder climbers take the first offer they get while waiting for the one they really wanted (or in some cases, apparently, when the first offer isn’t everything they ever hoped it would be). When your goal is to get a seat at Big Name Airline and in a business where seniority is everything, you do whatever you have to do to get the experience needed to get the call, and then you take that number when it’s offered to you. That means that ABX Air, and every other airline not named Delta, American or United, is churning through people at insane rates.
No upgrades anywhere in sight with no company communication regarding this…
You mean the 18-month upgrades are over and some people might have to wait five years to upgrade like they do in the rest of the industry where they fly widebodies? What a travesty!
Not to mention a huge slew of passenger airlines paying more than ABX does at ‘minimum guarantee’.
A 4th year united/delta captain will pay as much if not significantly more than a 12-year Abx captain. 4 year vs 12 year. When taking into account minimum guarantee hours (65 at Abx vs 70+ at delta/united), hourly rate and especially retirement and 401k which is significantly, significantly better at mainline airline.
I don’t know of anyone anywhere in the history of ever who has made the claim that a career at ABX Air would be as lucrative as a career at one of the legacy passenger carriers.
ACMI is not a segment of the industry that most people aspire to join on a long-term basis. Its appeal is limited to a fairly small number of people whose career goals do not include doing the airline terminal bag drag, those who can laugh at their passenger-carrier friends who complain about “long” four-day trips, and those who don’t spend their time fretting about whether they’re going to be the highest paid on the ramp on any given day. Those who do stay for the long term do more than OK.
Unless there is some other information out there that the company is still processing… I’m not sure what the future is at abx.
The future is that this is ACMI. Change is the only constant. Learn to love it, embrace it, lest your career, and your life by extension, become absolutely miserable.