Originally Posted by
contrails
So JungleBus,
Is the consensus at Compass that a NWA furlough is likely? I've got a class date coming up with Compass and I'm at another regional right now with 500 people below me. We have money problems and are inevitably going to park 30-70 planes in the next year but the place treats the employees pretty well overall. Also, we're tied to a financially strong legacy compared to some of the ones that people think are going to go under. I need to make a decision pretty soon about Compass; things changed for the better a little at my current company just as I interviewed.
What think you? Any other CPZ pilot on here have an opinion?
I'm a pessimist on this one. Unless oil undergoes a dramatic correction, my feeling is that NW will furlough enough pilots to put me on the street within a year (Sept 07 hire). That's what I'm basing my plans on. I really hope SuperPilot is right and nobody (NW or CP) gets furloughed... but I'm not horribly optimistic given everything else going on in the industry. It wouldn't take a very big furlough at all to put us on the street (300 would do it).
I had to make a somewhat similar call to you, having come from another "quality" regional facing stagnation (Horizon). Since I left they've announced they're parking all their CRJ700s, shrinking the fleet by ~25%. Glad I left even if I do get furloughed. ExpressJet has much smarter/more aggressive management than Horizon, though.