Put the pipe down. Put it down.

 

There's a difference between "planning" to be lifers and "going" to be lifers.

I'd guess at least 1000 at SKW (voluntary + involuntary), unless the regional industry really gets turned on it's ear and becomes unrecognizable or non-existent.

 

This!
........

 

I know there are a fair number of senior CA's at PSA who live in/around Knoxville, so moving on to AA through the flow would mean spending the last 5 years or so of their career commuting. Yes the pay would go up considerably over time but for some you just can't beat living where you want to live and also being a short drive from your base.

 

Over time and through constant struggles, the urge not to upset ones quality of life treads deeper. I cannot find fault in anyone who chooses to stay a "lifer". All the best of luck to anyone who wishes to stay high on the seniority list. It's frankly not a bad place to be compared with many other jobs, aside from the threat of one's regional going under..... Everyone must follow their own path

 

Is Knoxville a senior base?

 

I am amazed, though, when I fly with certain mid-seniority CAs, and when I ask if they want to bail, they say "Heck yes, I can't stand this place." Then I ask them if they're updating their apps and/or are attending job fairs.

I've heard variations on the following reply so many times:

"Update my apps? Yeah, a couple years ago. Job fairs? Heck no. If they want me, they can call me."

There clearly are folks who want to move on but aren't putting in the effort...but can't bring themselves to admit that they're going to be at OO until they retire.

Which isn't a bad thing by any means. Everyone's priorities are different. If you live in base, are near the top of the seniority list, and have a side business or a spouse with solid income, it may not make sense to trade that for commuting to reserve at the bottom of a legacy's seniority list.

 

Which appears to be very much in line with some of the numbers once hears. Allegedly the legacies have somewhere between 10,000 and 12,000 apps on file of which 9,000 or so are current (updated etc.). Maybe 75% of those are regional pilots vs. what 19,000 total or so.... (Just a guess on my part)

So, yes, there are many folks who are not trying that hard for whatever reason - which is perfectly OK too.

 

Not overly so, but there's just a cluster of people who live there who are very senior on the list. I'm sure Dayton has some as well. There are people who live near CLT who also aren't going to flow, but the not wanting to commute excuse doesn't hold as much water since at mainline they could hold CLT at some point.

 

Sure it does. If you only had 5 or so years until you retire, why would you start commuting? Especially to CLT. Most of the guys I know that have flowed that were TYS based are in PHL anyways. And the really senior CA's in Knoxville are maxed out on pay, which would be a lot more than the 12 year cap. It would be a huge loss in qol for them to flow.