SkyHigh

Last summer at the beach my wife struck up a conversation with the family on the blanket next to us. It turns out that they also were an airline family that was originally from the area. Years prior the husband had been laid off from a legacy airline so they decided to take a temporary post with another airline in a foreign country. The idea was to enjoy an adventure abroad for a year before being called back to the stateside legacy airline. It had been nearly 9 long years and so far no recall was in sight. The once short term adventure had turned into a career. The new airline however did not pay very well. They could only afford to come back home to visit their friends and family once a year during the summer. That day was their last before heading back overseas. In addition they had decided that from that point on, they could only afford to return every other year. They missed their life with their friends and family and did not want to go back but had no other options. Their mood was understandably subdued.

It is a common story. We were in a similar situation when my airline shut down after the attacks on September 11, 2001. I was flying a Boeing 757 at the time and found myself on the street a year later without hope of being recalled. My options to stay in aviation were to take my family to a foreign country or take two steps back and work for a regional again for 18K per year. Neither of them were happy prospects however few other airlines were hiring. Up to that time my career had a slow but steady progression. I had started out as a flight instructor then moved into Alaskan bush flying, Forest Service contract work, jet charter, the regionals and then on to a low cost carrier. At 36 years of age my career momentum took a sudden turn. I had a wife two kids with one on the way, and no discernible means to support them as a pilot anymore.

The profession has changed. When I started out there were always hurdles to mount however once you made it to a big jet you usually were on your way. Today pilots need to cultivate a secondary career alongside flying if they are going to minimize their hardships. It is difficult to feel secure anywhere and aviation is not kind to those who have bad luck along the way. After my career hit the wall we packed up the house and put it on the market. We moved back home into a two bedroom apartment on $1300 a month of unemployment insurance and started over completely. It has been 8 years now and it is still a struggle but I am glad that we made that hard choice long ago. After surviving two decades of dangerous low wage flying jobs, college and flight training my aviation career wanted another pound of flesh that as a husband and father I could not afford to give. I still think about flying everyday but at this point there is little I can do about it. Hope for the best but plan for the worst and maybe luck will shine upon you.


Skyhigh