That's nothing. I knew a guy at my old commuter who checked his e-mail in flight and saw his CJO from a legacy, flipped his FO the bird, opened the hatch, and parachuted out while grabbing his balls.

When I was flying Part 135 Cargo in turboprops, I got a class date for a pretty good Part 135 Jet Charter operator about a month away.

I had my resignation form filled out and signed, but wasn't going to give a day more than 14 days notice because this was still the kind of place that might 'fire' you on the spot instead of accepting your resignation...

Until about 17 days out, I got a phone call before the last leg of my run telling me that I was going to be staying at the next/last stop for the weekend instead of flying home in order to let another fresh pilot use my plane to recover a broken one on another run. While on the phone with dispatch, and being plenty cordial, I was prepping a fax of my resignation form to send in the second that I hung up the phone. I knew the fax machine was sitting next to the dispatcher that I was on the phone with, but my favorite part was that instead of calling ME back, the ACP called the FBO to make sure that I was still there and to see if it looked like I was planning on flying the next leg still. That was probably because a lot of people were quitting on the spot and leaving their charts and badge in the right seat at some random outstation.

Anyway. You have to be in the right mood to quit a job, and I was. They ended up being fine for the last two weeks, and my ACP called to congratulate me and thank me for giving at least 2 weeks notice because so many others weren't.

I was on a layover with an ex Mesa guy and we ran into another ex Mesa guy he knew.
The backslapper at the pool bar was the dude had "walked into the CP office handed in his company goods quit short notice and went home".

Supposedly scheduling kept calling him for a month and he kept getting paid for 3 months.

Believe it, or not?

Joe, this cracked me up. Excellent!

I had a pretty senior widebody captain on my flight from Chicago Midway to Guadalajara where he lived. He popped his head into the cockpit before departure to say hi. When we landed he came back to the cockpit and handed me his ID and said to give it to the MDW Chief Pilot when I went back to MDW the next day. Guy had several years left to fly before retirement. He said he was struck on the way down that he never wanted to go back and he had enough of "everything". I tried to talk him out of it and told him I would hold onto the ID for a few days so when he changed his mind he could have it back. Gave him my phone number so he could call me when he changed his mind. He told me he wouldn't. He never called. 7 days later I called the HQ and told them and sent his ID in to the office. As far as I know no one ever saw him again.

Legend has it his ex wife still waits at her mailbox for the alimony check….

Nothing will probably top the great weather and atc mass quitting event at southwest

This gave me a good chuckle haha

wait wait wait...a wide body Captain based out of Midway???

Heard a story about a Mad Dog capt in Atlanta taxied off the ramp one night with thunderstorms over the field and 40 lined up on the taxiway. Turned around, got a gate to return to, parked, shook the FOs hand and told him that he'd had it. Walked off. Don't have direct knowledge but this one had a ring of truth to it.

Could he have been at ATA? L-1011?

As related to me by a flight engineer, a PFE that I flew many trips with.

At his prior airline, he flew a pax charter DC-8. On this particular trip, they had been extended several times. No, not from 12 hours to 14, etc. This was along the lines of extending many days, many countries.

After the final leg of this ordeal, JFK-MIA, the Capt directs the doors to remain closed and all crew to the forward cabin. He then explains that they were directed to fly JFK to somewhere in Germany(Ramstein?). In any event, he called flight service and filed his own flight plan to everyone’s home base of MIA. He didn’t want the crew complicit, and told no one. He doubted he would be flying with them again, and bid adieu.

Perhaps it was Captain Happy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_HCZ1YBaQo

Trigger warning.....this is when ATL was racistly using the "taxiway Dixie: designation......

OMG!!! I don’t know if I can even watch that video now. what a racist taxiway!! Let me rant on Twitter!!!

Hey now. Taxiway Lives Matter!

Yes, he was married to a Mexican woman and was jump seating to his home in GDL. Which of our several L1011 bases was his I have no idea.

Had an FO on a PVG layover go to his room, never to be seen again. Next day, the hotel staff opened his room door when he didn't show up for report time and saw a note with his uniform on the bed. Note said, "*******U (Insert CP name)". Called the CP and told him the FO was missing, but a note was found. He was adement, "what does it say"? "Well, it's addressed to you, and it says, Go ******* yourself". There was silence, and then I was transferred to crew scheduling for a layover extension. In the end it was found that he had hoped a one-way flight back home and abandoned the jet in PVG.

Heard this story 20 years ago, except it was an Eastern 727 in MIA.

It's still pretty hard to beat Steven Slater grabbing a beer and popping the emergency slide on his way to a temporary parking lot liberation.

by far the best I quit story ever. It’s the way everyone wants to do it.

This is the readers digest version of my story.

In 1995 I I took a leave of absence from Continental and went to work for Tower Air as a 747-100/200 FO. Some good pilots that flew there and were really quality pilots - ex CAL (full term strikers and no scabs) Ex EAL (strikers), ex Braniff, Ex Pan Am. A lot of non skd pilots who had flown for many bottom feeders over the years. Some of the non skd pilots were just flat out weirdos and absolutely miserable to fly with.

I went 42 days without a day off. On day 42 coming home from Tel Aviv to JFK and finally supposed to have days off. I couldn’t sleep at all on my layover. I was totally stressed out being away from home for so many days. Also had been flying with a really bad CA and PFE (both non skd types) for several trips during this 42 day stretch. Flight left Tel Aviv for JFK at midnight arriving in JFK at 4 AM.

My leg, 12 hour flight to JFK. Old school three pilot flight deck so no crew rest like today on 3 & 4 man augmented flights. I could barely talk to both pilots because they were just total weirdos. A few hours out of TLV, I tell the CA I barely slept on layover. I was totally exhausted now, would he mind if I shut my eyes for a while. A common practice back in the day on three pilot un augmented long international flights.

He responded and said no. I said fine, I’m fatigued already and we have 9 hours to go to JFK so why don’t you just take the leg and fly the remainder of the flight. He responded no, your leg you fly. Not a word other then required communication said for remainder of the flight.

Fast forward to 9 hours later. A thunderstorm took out the ILS at JFK. We are flying a non precision approach. My head is bobbing forward uncontrollably and I can’t keep awake. Below 5000 feet I literally fall asleep three separate times. Each time they shake me and said wake up and start laughing like there getting a kick out of this. In my stupor, I managed to fly for a while and fall asleep a total of three times.

Somehow I barely keep awake and we land without incident. Now taxing in the FE tells me hey the company is extending you. Your DH’ing to the west coast in a few hours to fly a pacific trip for a week. I thought he was busting my balls and it was a joke, We block in and sure enough before one PAX gets off (500 paxs in cattle car configuration) someone comes up stairs to give me a ticket for my DH.

I walk into the chief pilot office, tell him I’m fatigued and going home. This is my two weeks notice and I’ll be back to fly the remainder of my two weeks when I’m fully rested several days later. He says hey I now we are short (only had 2.5 crews per airplane at the time and hiring for 4 crews per airplane). But soon you’ll be able to get your 12 days off per month. I say I’m going back to Continental to get my 15 to 18 days off I’m out of here.

True story.

I spent a year at ATI in 95/96 and can 100% verify this is exactly how it was there too. I’ve even had a similar experience to yours being so tired I couldn’t see straight. I also walked off a trip never to return.

Mine isn't nearly so dramatic, but... I quit less than 2 weeks after submitting paperwork on where the company could send my contract signing bonus. Got the bonus check too.

Is it bad that I'm actually seriously considering updating my logbook and refreshing applications at a couple of places that would almost 100% guarantee a 7-figure improvement in career pay?

QOL is everything, and SWA has negative QOL right now. So a 7 figure pay raise plus a QOL boost is looking real good right about now. I won't plan an I-quit scene until I have a training date though, because it's already pretty awful here.

im sure everyone feels sorry for you. Good luck with these terrible set of circumstances you’ve been cursed with.

I’m curious where you can get a seven figure pay raise over SWA. Unless you’re compiling salary over many years.

that's what thought. He did say over career pay. 1 milion over the career might be worth a move if everything else was as good o better but I wouldn't change just for that. Pick up a trip a month and make good decisions and you'll get that back.

I was on the Trump Shuttle when they had the contract ferrying USAF crews around the country during the first Gulf War. We landed at the Memphis Guard base late at night. Captain took a wrong turn and put the main gear in the mud. We all deplaned and stood around looking at the mess when the Captain showed up. He threw his hat in the mud in disgust and stomped off shouting "I quit!". We spent the night in a hanger while they found another Captain to fly the plane out.

Of course compiling career earnings.

A guy I know just got hired by United, got his first pick, then during training was offered 787. He has 2 years less than me remaining until age 65, 3.5 yrs less seniority there than I have at SWA, and he'll out-earn me by a large amount even though I can work 2 years longer than he can and I'll generally have more seniority. The CA upgrade time at SWA and no payscale options make a huge difference in career earnings. You can always argue quality of life or any other reason to pick a lower paying job over a higher paying one, but I'm comparing nothing but pay here. Plus, anyone at SWA now can tell you what a fun place this has become over the last year... Mandatory unscheduled overnights into days off and true JA assignments are out of control, and corporate just told us to fly sick or we're not doing our part. So while I'm clearly talking about compensation here, it's worth noting that the QOL arguments are less and less relevant.

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where did he get offered 787 fo? I was up front with a United guy at 5 yrs and couldn't hold 787 anywhere

We have a vacancy running right now and there are still unfilled 787 vacancies, though it's only a few days into the bid so that will change. So far captain is going right about 2 years system seniority and there are 136 unfilled 777 FO vacancies as well. The landscape has shifted a ton just in the last 6 months or so. I'm a little over two years at United and in June I barely got back to the 756. Now I have an opportunity to upgrade or hold the 787/777 in multiple bases if I choose. It's pretty unbelievable.

wonder how the unpaid leaves will change things

There weren’t that many exemptions granted. People with a legit medical inability to get the shot are in a bad spot, but I’m guessing that many of those who went out on religious exemptions have a revelation after a month or two without pay and get vaccinated. Those on leave will definitely be personally affected, but the airline will motor on without skipping a beat.

is that why they’re asking people to cancel vacations? time will tell I guess.

They’d be asking to cancel in certain categories with or without these people. They’re pretty short staffed and passing out premium trips like candy. A few people on leave won’t change much. Advertise a trip at 75% or 100% premium and it’s gone quickly. The senior pilots that live in base and can take advantage of these trips are making some bank. Still not a fan of mandates, but there just isn’t enough unvaccinated pilots to make any significant impact on the operation.

you may be right. United got ahead of it by paying/coercing peoples decisions. Like I said, time will tell.

that is crazy. Thanks for the explanation

Not that great a story, but I enjoyed it at the time.
Commuting for Great Lakes (lol) in the late 90s.

Decided to switch to Horizon for no commute. Interviewed on a Thursday and was offered an F-28 class Monday, or “a Dash class in a month or so…” Obviously, “See you Monday!” was my reply.

Felt a little bad about leaving Lakes with basically zero notice (lol again- this should have been considered an extra perk), so I called Tosty.
”Will you guys be able to get someone out here to cover my flying?”
Tosty, ****ed, “WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? YOU’RE QUITTING ANYWAY, AREN’T YOU??”
Me: “Ha! Good point!” and hung up on him.