Originally Posted by biigD

My wife is a doctor

Originally Posted by Al Czervik

Que Pasa money bags!

Originally Posted by biigD

She's still a resident, so I have to hold down the fort juuust a little while longer.

But it's been interesting being around folks in the medical industry. It's not necessarily a picnic over there either - they work a hell of a lot harder than we do!

Originally Posted by OldBiff

Sure you can. You sound like the exact kind of guy that thinks his military “Leadership” skills are just what companies are looking for… Military to airline isn’t exactly real world job experience, which shows tremendously in the rest of your “I’ll tell you how to run your multi-billion dollar company in a way I bet you never thought of” post. Only SEALs can military grift at that level, but feel free to pitch your coffee/T-Shirt/supplement company business plan. We’re all ears.

Originally Posted by Twin Wasp

Well, in the article American says it’s a shortage at their vendors and I don’t think Aa contracts their flying. And the article says the problem is their pilots aren’t current so not really a shortage.

Originally Posted by Happyflyer

It is misleading. AA is not issuing cash refunds to thousands of passengers on hundreds of flights.

They stated right after the first big COVID schedule pull down in April 2020, it is more lucrative to sell, sell, sell and cancel what doesn’t.

Cherry picking the canceled flights for relief is just a tactic and does not represent lost revenue vs restricting selling to what can be fulfilled.

With computers they can tell the difference between a canceled flight that requires full refunds, vs rebooking with inconvenience and retaining full revenue.

They are never going to admit they are overselling there fleet wide inventory, and they’ll never tell sales team to slow down. It’s easier to just let every other department play catch up. If it’s real sustainable demand they’ll eventually catch up, if it isn’t then they catch up even faster and then pump the brakes.

Originally Posted by Speed Select

Meh. I can make $200K+ and be home every night doing another job that is a lot more stable than airline pilot.

I also don't care for the way pilots are treated. I'm not looking to be put on a pedestal by any means, but after years of flying in the military, at a regional, and now at a major, I would appreciate some professional actualization. Airline pilot lacks any real professional respect. A lot of that is our fault. We're treated and portrayed more like a bunch of Glenn Quagmires than we are Chesley Sullenbergers. Maybe airline pilot just isn't for me. Frankly, with the high level of automation, brutal 4-5 leg/day 4-days, the complete lack of influence pilots have on the operation (other than failing to show up ready to fly), groveling every time you do make a decision, having to chasedown down pay questions/disputes, the physical and psychological wall between the cockpit and the cabin, and "sprint-to-the-bottom" civility, airline pilots have been reduced to glorified button pushers. EU countries seem to have pretty good success putting pilots in the cockpit of wide bodies with just a few hundred hours of flight time, and at much lower wages. Is their safety record much different from US carriers?

Mainline wages are going to keep falling behind inflation. The purchasing power of our salaries will continue to diminish. $300K+ salaries will become more and more rare, especially in the post-CV contract negotiations. Will we see bankruptcies? More instability? I wouldn't spend a dime on civilian training to become an airline pilot. That money can be much better spent on other more-stable and equally (or near equally) lucrative careers. I certainly wouldn't leave a six-figure career to start at the bottom of a regional seniority list. We're just another pandemic, terrorist attack, war, or recession from experiencing another lost decade. Lots of risk with diminishing reward.

Yes, I have a pretty good seniority.

Anyway, pilot shortage.

Originally Posted by biigD

She's still a resident, so I have to hold down the fort juuust a little while longer.

But it's been interesting being around folks in the medical industry. It's not necessarily a picnic over there either - they work a hell of a lot harder than we do!

Originally Posted by Bergman

There’s a difference between a $100k office job with 3% annual raise potential while working 40-60 hours a week , versus an FO making $250k after 5 years, working 12 days a month, with a potential $100k/yr raise when they upgrade.