Now if you're going to say such things then at least be truthful so that all of your 'converts' that are reading this thread and hanging on every word are given an accurate picture.
I have always agreed with much of your message, disagreed with most of your presentation, and have NEVER attacked you personally. It you wanted to be most accurate, your descriptions that could applied to me have been most insulting. You've chosen descriptions in the past that called me an automaton, indentured servant, and criticized me for being gone from family and friends in the course of both my present and past duties.
I think that we've come to the understanding that we will more than likely agree to disagree on many items on the forum, but that last shot from the top rope was new for you.

USMCFLYR

 

USMCFLYR,

Honestly I just want you to be a friend and am sorry to disappoint you. You have never attacked me directly but you do criticize my style and my style is essentially me. In addition I never have directed any of my professional evaluations at you at all. You are one of the smart ones.

Early on you wisely picked a career in the military and stuck with it. After you retired you again avoided the trap by going to work for the FAA over the airlines. The only thing I have in regards to you is that you really have never had to endure what a full time civilian pilot has to. To try and live on what they earn and to live the life of an abused pilot in a corrupt system that's main purpose is to manipulate the worker.

You have no common experience at all with what the essence of this forum is about. You fly planes but that is about all. Good for you. I however stand by all the heart that I put into my writing because I lived it. It is just as miserable and hopeless as I portray but to your credit you would not know that.

Skyhigh

 

I did 20 years in the military, now I'm a civilian working for Delta. Do I qualify to post on this forum based on your arbitrary rules? I think USMCFLYR has plenty of reasons to post, and his posts are thoughtful. Likewise gov't jobs aren't the security they once were, reference the 3-week FAA shutdown and the national political push to downsize gov't. Just because your life sucks (or sucked) doesn't mean it sucks for everyone else. Take people at their face value.

 

I happily take people at face value. USMCFLR is the one who does not.

Skyhigh

 

Projected hiring at the legacy airlines that is based upon retirements assumes that the companies are going to stay the same or grow over the next 20 years. Thus far it seems that all they have done is to merge and shrink.

Most of the projections that Boeing has made regarding the future seems based upon a sunny economic future full of cheap aviation fuel. It is not far fetched to consider the possibility of a future of continued contraction at the majors.

Those who have been reading the news lately might share my concerns. I hope it will be growth though.

Skyhigh

 

The federal DOT disagrees with your assessment. Traffic will almost double in the US over the next 20 years.

FAA predicts steady growth for airline industry - USATODAY.com

WASHINGTON – The embattled airline industry will see solid long-term growth over the next 20 years with yearly passenger totals climbing from 713 million to nearly 1.3 billion, the government predicted today.

That growth will add huge new pressures on the aviation system, requiring technological improvements to ensure that it can handle the additional traffic, said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

"We need to invest in aviation today to make sure America's economy remains competitive," LaHood said.

The annual Federal Aviation Administration aviation forecast projects small increases in airline flights and passengers this year compared to 2010. Overall, the amount of flights will decrease slightly this year due to continuing decreases in private aircraft flights, the FAA says.

After a decade in which the airlines lost a collective $60 billion, the FAA says the industry turned a profit last year of $9.5 billion as the U.S. economy rebounded from recession and airfares rose.

Domestic airline passengers are expected to increase by 3% this year over last and then climb by an average of 2.5% annually for the remainder of the next 20 years. International traffic is forecast to surge this year by 7.8% and continue growing by 4.3%, the FAA says.

Some airline industry experts see the government's forecast as overly rosy, given the past decade of massive upheaval in the industry.

"We've got some turbulence ahead of us, there is no doubt about that," says Darryl Jenkins, an airline consultant. "And it's going to be turbulent for another four or five years."

Stung by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, high fuel prices and a sour economy, the airline industry has responded by slashing capacity. Given the huge debt that the industry carries from years of losses, Jenkins says he does not see a significant expansion any time soon.

"It's a very optimistic long-term outlook in an industry where optimism usually kills you," he says of the FAA's forecast.

Airline delays have fallen significantly since airlines, facing high fuel costs and heavy losses, began reducing flights in 2008. However, officials warn that strained airports in New York, Atlanta and other cities could once again face gridlock if traffic increases to previous levels.

"Only a modernized air transportation system will be able to keep up with our forecasted demand," says FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt.

 

Ya, and it's gonna rain in louisville next wednesday and snow on friday.

 

It does that in Minnesota all the time!

 

Tell me how
Because I disagree with you?

You'll have to provide the post where I ever said that I know the trials and tribulations of a civilian only pilot's odessy to the life of a legacy airline pilot. I've never claimed such. Your rants have not only targeted airline pilots in the past but all of aviation and I have enough experience to speak against those generalizations; in addition to the numerous legacy airlines who alos disagree with your wide sweeping views.

If you don't think I have a right to post on this forum then I would suggest that since you never made it either that you should no longer post your thoughts and opinoins on the validity of a legacy airline career. Of course both suggestions are wrong.

USMCFLYR

 

Another threat to legacy airline pilots jobs is continued outsourcing to code share partners and to contracted companies. Over the last ten years the legacy airlines have effectively sold their domestic business to the regionals.

Based upon past performance it seems a possibility that over the next decade the overseas routes could be sold out to companies with lower costs. Others have also suggested the same. The legacy carriers would effectively become travel agencies holding out to the lowest bidder over having to deal with constrictive and lengthy employee contracts.

My point is that no know one really knows what is going to happen. If you were to predict in 2000 what the industry looks like today it would have been dismissed as heresy. Lets all hope it is better. It could but what "better" is needs to also be defined. In the future there will most likely still be jets in the sky but who will be flying them and for how much?

Ten years ago top legacy airline pilots were bumping up against 300K.

Skyhigh