Originally Posted by
SkyHigh
Spooled asked the question "what happens to pilots after they get tossed out of their big time airline job". What happens to the 160K captain who suddenly finds himself on the street? Their whole life is built upon an income that is not easily replaceable.
In addition pilots who have enjoyed high seniority and have flown the same equipment for the last decade can not exactly jump into a part 135 Learjet operation and be able to adapt very easily.
When I was training to get my CFI there was a crazy old man who worked the fuel pumps at the FBO. He would mumble to himself about Eastern Airlines and occasionally spout off an obscenity. It turns out he was senior captain at Eastern who got tossed out when they shut down and was never able to retain another flying job.
My parents had a guy who did the laundry at their retirement villa who was an EX-TWA pilot. It is not easy to start over as a pilot. To have to do it when you were soft, comfortable and complacent must be near impossible.
SkyHigh
I believe that the pilots that enjoyed the late 50's, 60's 70's and early 80's never even imagined that some of them would end up on the streets. Why would they? This country was experiencing growth in all sectors of the economy. Sure, there were long gas lines in the 70's, however by & large, we were on a roll. The DJIA was growing, technology was exploding all over the place; social reform had taken place, etc. We had it all.
We, this country...its citizens, just became too complacent. When I fail to plan, I plan to fail. That's why when making the choice to become an airline pilot these days, all bases must be covered. I mean that's evident just from some of the posts that I've read here at APC. Sure, there will be unforseen circumstances over which we have no control. This calls for resiliency or making some difficult heart wrenching decisions
.
If I'm
blessed and lucky enough to enjoy a 15-18 year career as a regional pilot, I must put together a plan that will hopefully stand the test of time (being as constant as Polaris
) that will make the transition from the flight deck to whatever as seemless, painless and as financially secure as possible.
atp