This is my first post so here goes … I have been furloughed three times in my airline career. The first one was for thirty days. The second one was for seven months. I don’t know how long the third one was for because I got a new job in the interim. Each time I was notified by a “Mailgram”, and each Mailgram I received gave me exactly two weeks notice. That was the advantage of the Mailgram; the company knew what day it would be delivered.
Each time I was furloughed, I moved back into my old bedroom, my mother started cooking for me again and I drove my parent’s cars. I was very lucky. I was also young with no wife, no kids, no mortgage, and I never gave health insurance any thought.
A much different picture could be painted today of the pilots on the south end of our seniority list. I doubt the vast majority are interested in extending their adolescence like I did. They have wives, kids, mortgages, etc. They have had their parents move back in with them rather than vice versa.
They are also an extremely qualified bunch. I have flown with several of them. There are Chief Flight Instructors, Chief Pilots, Squadron Leaders, Platoon Leaders, lots of hours and lots of airlines. There might even be a Space Shuttle landing. A few have already gone and others are thinking about going back on active duty. They are also our friends and colleagues.
There are some advantages of having a reduced amount of flying each month. The schedules are generally better, especially for commuters. More time with the wife and kids, more time to visit my parents. Now, I do the cooking because my mother really can’t do much anymore, and she used to be a great cook. I keep getting health insurance, vacation time, catering. My son is really excited about learning to fix our old cars, and I have more time to visit my daughter who is out of state in college.
FedEx, UPS, and e-mail pretty much rendered the Mailgram obsolete and it was discontinued by Western Union a couple of years ago. I don’t think I will really miss them though.