busdriver12

Apparently it is a place where everybody loves their jobs and nobody cares about "stuff". They spend their flights gazing out the window at the beauty of it all, are always happy, there is nothing to vent about, and there are no liars or fools. It's a place where people don't kill themselves when they find out they are going to lose their pensions in four years (seriously, one knows exactly why a person killed themselves? Wonder why he didn't wait the four years?) It's a place where they have no union, nobody works over Christmas, and they actually need to learn how to be skilled pilots (unlike the rest of us, apparently), and they are waaay cooler than fighter pilots.

Sounds kind of fictional, doesn't it? Maybe it's the flying Buddhist monk brigade.

tomgoodman

He left some clues: the thread title...hmmm...and it's "more vibrant"...hmmm...

I have it! He's flying a traffic watch helicopter in Sweden!

ShyGuy

Is the OP's airline US Airways?

likenotomorow

I went the corporate route, first for a really big name that moved us out to the west coast. Then five years later I was lured away to work for an individual, back in the southeast.

It ain't group hugs all the time, but my department is small with 2 airplanes and 5 guys. We all like each other. My boss is a decent and genteel man with a nice family. He's a workaholic. We fly a busy schedule mostly domestic, some international.

I had taken a leave back in the mid-90's to manage a corporate flight department and had really enjoyed it and when it came time to make a change, I had some idea what I was getting into.

This work here is varied and it certainly isn't for everyone. There's a whole lot to be said for the showing up, flying the trip and the going directly home aspect of an airline pilot. On the worst days I get a little sentimental for those days. For example, one day I could be cleaning the office commodes, the next helping to install a garlock Carbon seal on an engine accessory drive pad, the next, meeting with sales and technical people from an OEM to spec our new plane. Arranging charters for extra lift. And oh yeah, flying trips, meeting with vendors, paying my contract people, shopping for supplies, meeting with payroll once a month. On and on.

But I haven't worked a Christmas or Thanksgiving, Fourth of July or wedding anniversary for the last ten years. We are paid a salary and have no work rules. We are not scrutinized very much by the FAA as a Part 91 operator. Obviously that is a liability if you're stupid, a blessing if you're not.

If the scales on this site are correct, I earn more than a 10 year Delta wide body commander, have no contribution obligation to our family medical plan, and as the song goes, "I don't pay no union dues." (Is that a "crapload"?) There's horrible corporate jobs out there, just like there's horrible airlines. There's great ones, too. I don't have much stuff, own neither a boat or light airplane. I run so my investment for stuff tends toward running shoes, earphones and cold weather gear.

Diring the 2007-2009 economic troubles, I paid a guy $25K down in South Georgia to requalify me for spraying. That was an interesting reboot. I didn't have to play that card, but I would have if things kept heading the way they were going. Pretty sure I would have been happy. The young guys were infinitely amused.

When asked by some of those young people which aviation path they should take I would usually ask them if they wanted to be "a guy" or did they want to be "the guy"? No wrong answer, and it depends on one's own constitution and disposition. But it's a simple enough thing to ask and answer; always surprised how little it gets asked.

Albief15

Nice story. It did suck for a lot of guys the last two decades. It was going bad when 9/11 pushed the industry off the ledge.

Security doesnt come with a job. Airlines furlough. The military RIFs people or passes them over. Guard units get BRAC'd. Corporations cut or sell off aviation departments. Generous part 91 owners die or sometimes hit financial skids and make cuts. On an individual level, pilots lose medicals... 15 years of preping pilots...Ive heard these and dozens more...

I cringe when I hear new hires or wannabes project their earnings if hired at airline x at age y. But I also cringe when I see a guy who was brave enough to fly combat or land on a ship at night so afraid of losing a job he will stay on a miserable place for 8 more years that he doesn't like.

Build a foundation. Have a network. Develop skills that can be used away from the cockpit. Save and invest...hard year 1 or 2 but no excuses after that. Always be ready to answer the question "what would I do in 5 years if my airline was gone?" Be good at your craft. Have another skill set or two you could use if required, however.

Some people will do okay. I got to fly fighters for 20 years, and am now a lazy 767 captain who enjoys 5 star hotels and good food around Asia. Currently on a two week 1.5 pay trip. Not trying to brag, just pointing out that while it may have sucked at times there are good times in the industry too. I will savor it, but wont spend all of it either...just in case... There have been hard parts of even a great career, and to quote Sturgil Simpson "..it aint all flowers..." But it isnt all thorns either. But you are correct that you don't go to work seeking praise or validation. I got that from a previous job and a side business. For me, I enjoy being a tiny part of the borg, so that it thrives even if I am off doing something else Id rather do that day. Having been "indespensible" or "the only guy for the job" in the Air Force always seemed to be a ticket to a ****ty TDY somewhere, so just being one of 4500 works very well now in my life.

And those mean ALPA thugs didnt take your pension. They may have made mistakes, but they were about the only folks fighting for you 95% of the time. I can guarantee nobody else cared...

likenotomorow

The union thing. Instead of being one of our many rock throwers, I actually volunteered, did informational picketing, performed committee work and edited the union magazine. But at the end of it, I found myself pretty much detesting most of the people on our negotiating comittees, the MEC chairmen, and most of the reps. I dealt with. There were notable exceptions, of course, but the majority were men who fancied themselves ersatz executives, never flew a complete line of time and claimed FPL with members' money while treating themselves and their families to lavish vacation "conferences" to discuss "business".
I saw that up close and it sickened me.
One notable exception was a renegade F/O rep who had been recalled twice for breaking confidentiality agreements when he felt necessary information was being suppressed or the pilots were being misled. He was one of the final parts of my decision to leave when he verified our no-furlough clause was going to be overridden by a force majure claim and that the union already knew it, but were telling pilots if they agreed to a very onerous side letter of concessions, all would be safe.

And after I made my career change, those guys indemnified themselves, signed non-disclosures with the company, lied to the pilots and terminated their pensions after specifically and unconditionally telling the them the opposite. That, and some other spectacular failures to represent got them tossed off the property.

So I'm with Eric Hoffer. He said that every great cause begins with a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket. My dad had helped organize ALPA on the property in 1954 and served as the first copilot rep. in DCA. There were no work rules, duty limits or retirement plan. He helped change that and when he retired with 40 years of uninterrupted service, he reaped the benefits and knew the value of his efforts. I came on a year later, and the new generation seemed to know the cost of everything and the value of nothing. The good times were going to last forever, and if not, seniority was a shield to be used to protect the lifestyles of the senior. While I am aware that unions have set the standard of pay and scope for tradesmen since the era of Samuel Gompers, I am also aware humans and their nature are fallible, and greed, and avarice and stupidity thrive unless great care is taken.

Molon Labe

Great post!

busdriver12

So you rely upon the largesse and health of your employer to keep your job, and for him to continue to treat you kindly. I hope he provides a healthy pension for you, as it sounds like you are one heartbeat (his) away from losing your employment. From all appearances, it sounds like you have found what is right for you, though with the lack of security and non flying related duties, it's not for everyone. I got my fill of being the bosses administrative assistant in the military, all we wanted to do was to go fly....to anywhere. It is fortunate there are many types of jobs out there, something for everyone. And with your contempt for unions, it's probably best you are not represented by one.

likenotomorow

Easy now! Largesse? Heartbeat? No sir, I represented myself and we signed an employment agreement that was satisfactory to both of us. You're kidding yourself if you think you have more security than anyone else, especially if you have been standing in a painted circle on a factory floor pulling the same lever for a couple of decades. Factories burn down, market forces change and I bet the folks who made buggy whips thought they were in it for the long haul.

But in addition to cleaning the crapper I have attended industry trade shows, safety conferences, and delivered new airplanes. Wrote and implemented the FOM for a Fortune 10 flight department, and subjected myself and my department to the scrutiny of an internationally recognized industry association for review. And passed. Took guys out in big fast corporate jets and qualified them to fly 'em. Then took them around the world. And did all the flight planning. My wife and I prepare a monthly budget and I sign everyone's check, including my own. Pay the vendors and contractors.

My job is to get that guy to his next meeting, safely and on time. Not only do I depend on that, so do the scores of other fools in the corporation who depend on the "largesse".

So really I will take the Pepsi Challenge with anyone if it comes to it. And yes, it's a nice feeling to know my security lies within my competence and experience, not in the promises of anyone, whether it's a union rep or a corporate sugar daddy. The ability for me to replace or improve my income after a job change is way better than when...I was like every other swingin'...

Qotsaautopilot

Who wants to do all that. Sounds exhausting.