This business is ripe with new hire geniuses that will retire early with 10M in their B-fund. (I was certainly one of them) Just look at the seniority progression reports.... ALL y'all will be WB captains in like xx years!! That 17% B/C fund pumping. And that's with NO GROWTH!! What could go wrong? Like Tyson said, everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. I'm not special, but I am typical of a guy who's been here 25+ years and managed to miss the furloughs. So I will post these fun facts as a history lesson for those of you who think all of the old guys are just idiots with poor financial planning skills.
My first 3 years at UAL. Avg annual pay $47K (about $88K in 2024 dollars) B-fund contribution was 1 or 2% as we were getting ESOP stock instead (later made worthless in the bankruptcy) But hey, we had a pension, so not bad!!
Contract 2000 money was eye watering. Plus the ESOP was over and we went back to a 9% B-fund contribution. YEE HAW. I avereraged $135K the next 3 years as a WB bunkie ($234K in 2024 dollars)
In 2001 United parked 2 fleets and announced the furlough of 22% of our pilots. The next few years were horrible. Furloughs, bankruptcies, mortgage defaults, divorces, and suicides.... not pretty.
Contract 2003 was the bankruptcy contract sporting a 28% decrease in payrates compounded by all the downgrade paycuts and shinkage.
I earned an average of $103K ($150k in 2024 dollars) for the next 9 years throwing gear in the guppy and the 757. That average includes 18 months as Guppy Captain at $130/hr ($198/hr in 2024 dollars) before being downgraded during the financial crisis and Age 65. And I was one of the lucky ones. No furloughs!
That's how the first 15 years of my career went.... ymmv. Good luck.
I finally made Captain (on reserve) in domicle in my 18th year. Been "feeding at the trough" since then I guess.
Disclamer: I do NOT advocate a change in the retirement age, I BACK THE PAC to the max and I'm VERY pleased with how ALPA has been able to hold this off as long as we have. It's just disgusting to read the comments from the know it all newbs. I get it, you've got the world by the balls... but the world can (and probably will) fight back. Know your history. Come talk to us at the end of your career.