Congratulations, you are one of the rare ones! I don't hold it against people waiting till 65 to retire, though I do roll my eyes when I hear about how someone claims they are retiring early....really they are. Okay, maybe. I also think it's going to get tougher for people to retire early. It was one thing when people were stretching to make their high five, but now when they are making much more money, to take the hit and go down to 130K would be tough. For the people who have managed to invest well/pay off debt, that's awesome, I hope to join them.

 

You know I thought that it would be tough going from well over $300K on the 777 to actually only about $100K. (Making a bit of a financial "donation" to an ex-wife.) But my home(s) are paid off and money is tucked away for my kid to finish college with. I'm actually living pretty comfortably on just over $6K (take-home) per month. I haven't even tapped into other investments, 401K and B-Plan (now rolled into an IRA). My health insurance premiums are being paid from the "good deal" VEBA fund. But if you can avoid shedding you spouse and the costs that go with it and pay down your debt, you'll be living in high cotton on the A-Plan alone. YMMV!

MG2

 

Yeah, I guess if you have everything paid off, even your house, and expenses are low, you can swing it. Taxes go way down. Otherwise, leaving your peak earning years and going down to 1/3-1/4 of your salary....painful. People don't want to have to cut back on their lifestyle massively when they retire, that's the time to travel and have fun. However, it would be good to retire while you are still healthy and stay active. It's a tough call, because you can't undo it. I wish the choice was clear.

Actually, this is pretty off topic, on a thread about hiring. Though I suppose retirement does relate, in some way. Someone should start a thread about retirement.....deciding when to retire as a FedEx pilot.

 

I took a 5 year Captain's pay hit from the age 65 change.

I listened to guys who had been wide body Captains for 20 years complain about how they "lost seniority" because they didn't get to pick the really great trips every month. Cry me a river.

When I explained to them that I would gladly trade their schedules for the $500,000 pay hit I took, they said I would get my 5 years back by working to 65. I pointed out that they had a choice to retire at 60, and because I lost half a million bucks, I would have to work to 65.

So, put me down as working until 65, and any FO who complains to me about that can go screw themselves.

Oh, and for all the junior guys on the board, if you had voted "no" on the contract, and demanded an increased A plan and a COLA, a heck of a lot more guys like me wouldn't have stayed until 65. Since you didn't support the increased A plan, don't complain when we stay until the bitter end. You voted for it, you own it.

 

There were only two blocks where a majority voted against the contract. None of them were senior blocks.

 

Yep, we are way off topic...but one more comment and I'll let the thread creep back to the the subject of getting hired as opposed to bailing out the other end.

I have NO regrets about having left with 2 years left on the table. NOT being perpetually tired has been a wonderful thing. NOT setting an alarm clock, ditto. NOT stressing about recurrent training, the latest procedure (we can do it in the sim but not the jet), same-o. Do I miss flying, sure. If Fred gave me the jet for a couple of hours and a credit card to pay for the gas, I'd love to go for a spin. But as I read this forum and I see the games the Company plays with the new contract are the same as the old contract, I'm happy to be out the door. I've got my health and more than enough money to live a comfortable lifestyle. For me, the decision to go at 63 was the right decision.

MG2

 

You certainly have a point about not being perpetually tired, MacGuy. That's got to feel good. Seems as you get older, even flying good trips, it gets harder and harder to recover. But I don't think its's specific to flying freight (except for night flying), I doubt those flying pax day in/day out are feeling any better. Living out of a suitcase, hotel life, long days, irregular hours....I won't miss that. Coming home, I just empty out the dirty clothes and don't even bother to unpack.

 

Pretty much every 777 line is international, since that's all we fly. Guys hired now into the 777 will probably be in the junior lineholder/secondary lineholder territory in the 3-year ballpark. Progression will be slow and steady compared to faster movement on the domestic fleets - but seniority will improve.

Upgrade? As in 777 Captain? That's probably still in the 10 year ballpark for a new hire now unless we start buying a lot more of those (which is a rumor floating around). Upgrades on other airplanes are widely scattered. 757s are going to guys with just a few years on the property. Other WB captain slots are probably 5-10 years as a guess.

 

Three years till a 777 secondary? Nope, I looked at September bid awards and saw probationary 777 FO's with secondary lines, and long international trips on them.

 

Long international trips aren't that difficult to get, especially FO trips. That's kind of the bread and butter. The trips in demand are RFO trips (long or short) that average 8-9 CH per day.

I was trying to be a little conservative, but that's an encouraging data point for new hires. However, getting a junior secondary with a long trip because there happens to be a body shortage can be a fleeting event. Being able to count on getting flying trips every month vs. secondary line reserve is probably not happening to first years folks quite yet.