Originally Posted by
NuGuy
Late sixties, during the last "pilot shortage", all the majors were advertising in magazines for very low time pilots, and in some small windows, even private pilots got hired, with the condition that they get their CMEL/IA.
Every one of those pilots were furloughed in the early 70's when the gas crunch hit. Some of those furloughs were LONG, like 6-10 years.
Yes, Timbo is right, it can turn a dime.
Save money, kids, it's a short ride.
It’s hard to even compare past generations to this generation because of the mass exodus of retirements and industry consolidation. This is just the front of the wave coming. I’m not saying the next 20-30 years won’t have hiccups. They will. But the past never had 50% of all the industries major airlines retiring in a decade. The industry will never be the same as the past. It could work out better, it could be the same or worse. We should have had furloughs during Covid, but industry consolidation and pressure for Washington to avoid unemployment may set a precedent for every next recession.
It’s really hard to say but the past pains this industry went through probably won’t be anything like the future pains this industry will have.