Originally Posted by
AYLflyer
Really good post, but I will counter.
I want nothing but good things for this company, because that means good things for us. That said, we as employees of an airline with a seniority based system don't have the luxury to just sit around and wait. Every month we wait is another X amount of seniority numbers we lose somewhere else. We've been fed 5 years of bad news. This isn't just a few quarters, this has been a downhill ride during a time when everyone else was booming. If I feel like this company can't turn it around, at what point do I as the employee say "It's been a good run, but leaving now for a legacy will be better than waiting 2 more years" due to to loss of seniority. That's the challenge I and I think many of us are facing.
Starting over in this industry is a huge gamble and flat out sucks. It's also quicker to just rip off the bandaid sometimes and get it over with. I've said it before in posts, I'm just a dumb line pilot and don't know what I'm talking about, however that goes for others as well. The past 5 years here guys keep saying to me how you'd be crazy to leave, or "you don't want to be on the bottom of a list right now" and other typical pilot advice, and the reality is, I now regret not leaving during the 2021-2022 hiring wave, Those who have punched out are seeing better career progression and better job security than many of us ever will here.
I agree and fully understand that concept. However, you personally have to make that decision of when you've had enough. At the same time, it doesn't mean the plan officially failed one year in, since it has not run it's full course. It only means you no longer have faith that it will work. And as the time flies, more and more people will come to that conclusion IF the bottom line doesn't get better(myself included). I just have a lengthier tolerance and there are other things I need to see first before making that choice or personally think it won't work. And yes, I know very well that it can come at a cost of seniority at another airline and $$. And that's the decide I just have to live with.
This tolerance I speak of reminds me of the stock market. Everyone has their own risk tolerance and pull that lever at different times. If you decide to pull the lever 1 year in (the 3 year plan) then that's ok. But the plan is still chugging along. It doesnt mean you were wrong to leave early either.
I remembered the NK merger stock thing when a guy pulled his lever early and sold all his stock. Others said he was crazy and got cold feet. Now look at it, who's crazy? I would not call anyone crazy for leaving, but as of now, it's too early to say the plan failed.
Retirement will tell us. 20/20