Originally Posted by rollndadice

This industry is just a shade of what it was when I started this trip, 20 years ago. It will never regain the earning potential or respect that the profession enjoyed.

Originally Posted by Whistlin' Dan

I used to have a good friend who said that one of the most important qualities one could possess in life was "knowing when to leave"...when to leave a social engagement, a marriage, a business relationship, or an industry. Many of my former peers have come to the conclusion that now is a good time to leave this industry, particularly the ACMI side of it. That's not to say that those who remain will "fail," only that with a few narrowly-defined exceptions, the odds are against them. Some of them will find success in whatever business they go into. Others have been to the one-and-only circus they'll ever see, and are hereafter destined to a life of toil and mundacity.

My friend certainly knew when to leave...when to stop the surgeries and the chemo, and say her goodbyes. I miss her...

Originally Posted by Undaunted

My situation: CVG based and I live close enough to CVG to easily pull reserve for the rest of my career here. I am junior enough to be included in any furlough the company puts out right now. Average pilot age here is mid-50's so advancement will come soon. Will we be bought by another carrier? Who knows!

Any Legacy carrier means I will commute. CLE (Unical) is a 4 hour drive. Delta will likely close the CVG domicile at some point (probably soomer than later), so that means a commute to ATL or MSP or DTW. Sure, a 4 hour drive to DTW is not bad, but that doesn't beat a short drive to CVG that is well within the 2-hour reserve callout I must comply with now. Right now, I have no crash pad. No call from scheduling = free day off.



So, what do you think? Stay at ABX with no commute and the hope of advancing, or make the jump to Delta, Unical or American with a commute?

Originally Posted by Whistlin' Dan

I used to have a good friend who said that one of the most important qualities one could possess in life was "knowing when to leave"...when to leave a social engagement, a marriage, a business relationship, or an industry. Many of my former peers have come to the conclusion that now is a good time to leave this industry, particularly the ACMI side of it. That's not to say that those who remain will "fail," only that with a few narrowly-defined exceptions, the odds are against them. Some of them will find success in whatever business they go into. Others have been to the one-and-only circus they'll ever see, and are hereafter destined to a life of toil and mundacity.

Originally Posted by Full pull

I think the advice I was given 30+ years ago still applies, get on with the biggest airline you can.