Question For Seasoned Pilots
#1
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Joined APC: Jan 2008
Posts: 50
Question For Seasoned Pilots
hello everyone,
i have a question for the "older" airline pilots out there, specifically pilots who have been in the industry for a good number of years...
I know the industry is cyclyical. it has its ups and downs. But is this recent downturn in the industry something you have seen before, or is it much bigger? is it as bad as all the "younger" pilots say it is?
The reason why i ask is because i feel like the aviation industry is very much in trouble with no hope for the future, and for a guy in flight school this is very disheartening. i talked to a united pilot the other day who has been flying for a very long time. he said he has been through many hard times (furloughs and bankruptcies etc) but that this recent turn of events is just the usual biz. i remember after 9-11 everybody thought it was game over for the aviation industry...but it bounced back up and became stronger...i just wanna know what the experienced pilots think of it all?
thanks a ton! p.s sorry for the spelling...it's late and i am too tired to use spell check haha
i have a question for the "older" airline pilots out there, specifically pilots who have been in the industry for a good number of years...
I know the industry is cyclyical. it has its ups and downs. But is this recent downturn in the industry something you have seen before, or is it much bigger? is it as bad as all the "younger" pilots say it is?
The reason why i ask is because i feel like the aviation industry is very much in trouble with no hope for the future, and for a guy in flight school this is very disheartening. i talked to a united pilot the other day who has been flying for a very long time. he said he has been through many hard times (furloughs and bankruptcies etc) but that this recent turn of events is just the usual biz. i remember after 9-11 everybody thought it was game over for the aviation industry...but it bounced back up and became stronger...i just wanna know what the experienced pilots think of it all?
thanks a ton! p.s sorry for the spelling...it's late and i am too tired to use spell check haha
#5
#8
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: May 2006
Posts: 1,024
The airlines have been a very cyclical industry, but their history is actually very short overall. The oil age may be coming to an end in the near future and that will have a huge impact on aviation- bigger than any of the cycles it has already gone through. I love flying and bet my career on a pilots life, but things are definitely getting very spooky. There will continue to be airplanes, but nobody knows what the jobs will be or how many of them there will be as things change. There is no such thing as a hybrid or plug-in jet. The high prices we are paying now will surely advance research for other fuel options at a much quicker rate than before, but it isn't going to happen fast enough for the airlines to not have a massive overhaul if oil doesn't come down quickly. Even in the cycles we have seen many mighty legacies that went away. This job has always been a gamble, but the odds are just getting worse and worse for the players now. The highest pay that was more worth the risk to try to attain is now gone. Now you are risking your time and money on a career with a lower ceiling and most likely less positions in the near term even with the lower ceiling. Maybe pay will go up again if some new technology brings the price to propel the aircraft way down so that the profits are high enough for the pilots to demand a higher chunk, but right now the opposite is happening and I doubt we'll be seeing a new, significantly cheaper fuel in the next 5 to 10 years. I sure hope I'm wrong about most of this. Good luck in this crazy profession.
#9
don't forget age 65. that's a first and we have 4 1/2 years left until people have to start retiring again. with furloughs it could mean that much longer on the street because growth is what will be the driving force in recalls.
#10
Dude, the older I get the more I realize how I dont want to be that pair of guys at the table next to mine talking yada yada yada, about boring business stuff. If flying makes you happy then jump in and be happy doing it, but dont expect it will be a cakewalk either. Keeps your ears (and contacts) open for lateral or upwards moves in the business. Good advice to keep a side skill to augment or fall back upon for income. Love the one your with!
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