Originally Posted by Sailor

Attrition, does anyone know what it is for this year?

Originally Posted by dundem

I have tried to stay silent on this, but finally I have yielded.

Based on what I saw while I was still flying the line at NK and what I’ve seen over the past few months of following this thread, I believe that NK management has absolutely nothing to worry about. They can and will do as they please as they will have people already on the inside and some on the outside lining up for the abuse and perpetually declining compensation and working conditions.

I realized that, as a pilot group, we had little chance of unity from the time the talk of furlough first came up last year. I repeatedly flew with guys that picked up as much open time as they were legal for and accepted frequent JM assignments even though they knew that other pilots would soon be on the street. Their excuse for those months were that they need to fly as much now so that when the furloughs happen they would have saved enough to avoid flying anything other than their assigned lines. However, as we all know, these perpetuators have not been able to stop themselves.

I am usually the last person to judge others as everyone’s situation is unique, but there are so many occasions that I flew with guys who have played right into management’s hands. I will not name anyone here, but I am sure others flew with them as well:

-There’s the senior captain that, to show his gratitude for having five more years of earning potential (that he hadn’t planned on before), he decided to upgrade his motorcycle and so he needed to fly overtime.

-Another guy I flew with explained to me that he flies overtime because it is his contractual right to do so. He continued my enlightenment by giving details of his recent acquisition of his third piece of real estate- a condo on the beach. In order to meet his obligations every month, he needed to fly ≥ ninety hours per month.

-Last example- an F/O was on track for upgrade and starts to live on that Captain’s pay that he would soon be making. Upgrade didn’t come when expected, but he could not endure lowering his family’s standard of living. So he maxed out all lines of credit and was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy for a while. In the end, the upgrade came but he continued to live paycheck to paycheck. Last I flew with him he was telling me about the family vacation in the Caribbean that he was paying for by flying overtime. Clearly, the family needed that vacation and he needs all the flying he can get.

Does anyone believe that the company is worried about losing these guys or others like them? As a poster said earlier, if it ever gets to a strike, there will be so many that will cross the line it will be astounding. And there-in lies a huge problem- since the company is not worried about a strike, the employees have lost a huge bargaining/posturing tool. Negotiations can be quite similar to high-stakes poker; you must have the ability to bluff if you ever want to end in the money. We cannot attempt a bluff as the company has already seen our cards.

For the guys on furlough who are still unemployed, the time has long past for you to explore other options. To sit and wait optimistically thinking that recall is on the horizon will only cause you ruin. Stop hoping that those that still have a job are doing everything that they can to rally round you; they are not. They will fly as much as suits their needs and help to keep you on the street longer.

I fully appreciate the current state of the world economy and I recognize that there are not that many jobs out there, but there are still some. I appreciate that it is an enormously personal choice where and what type of employment an individual may accept, but think of those twenty plus (?) who bypassed recall- what did they decide to do? I know a few and some went the international route and others stayed within the US, but they all found something else to do. I know for a fact that there were Airbus jobs that required only an ATP, an A320 type and 250 hrs on type that left you with approximately $7,000 tax free per month. Yeah, you had to leave the US, but it beats unemployment, pays the bills (and then some) and keeps you current. Stop hoping that things at NK will get better, the evidence emphatically suggests otherwise. At this point, the only tool we have left is to choose not to line up for more abuse.

Originally Posted by dundem

jsled,

Thanks for the laugh. I actually LOL (as they say).

How cheerless, dismal and despondent must your life be for you to remember something I said well over a year ago? Not only do you remember it, but now you attempt to revel in the misfortunes of not just me, but the entire Spirit pilot group and indirectly the entire airline industry itself.

Like I said, you made me smile today and I feel better than I already did before reading your post. I am still smiling because I realize that I will never be a dejected, wretched troll as some have allowed themselves to become.

As for moving on, I have. I saw the writing on the wall at Spirit and leaped before I was pushed. However, please feel free to continue spewing your belated, unsolicited and (no doubt) insincere recommendations.