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Originally Posted by ShoeClerkMadeMe
Curious to get some opinions or thoughts. This is not a question I would have thought to find myself asking, but now I've got a choice and I'm going to ask the internet for some perspective (hopefully with minimal regrets).
Here's my situation. I'm newly employed by a ULCC, and I also have a CJO from American. At the ULCC I have about a 1.5-2.0 hour drive to work. I see myself being really happy here if it were the last place I worked for, however I do have ambitions to do widebody flying in my career, and that's not an option where I'm currently at. If I take the CJO from American I would have a 4 hour driving commute, with an option to fly commute, but with lots of competition for the jumpseat. Other than having a better commute at my ULCC it seems like I'll be sacrificing schedule flexibility, at least in the short term until American gets a new contract. I also have some reservations regarding American's current finances, and I worry about how well American will fair when the economy inevitably sours. But the prospect of getting in early with all the retirements and the opportunity for widebody flying are big draws for me.
I've sat down with my family and had the discussion of pros and cons for both, but I'm curious what some of you with more experience in the Part 121 world have to say. Are American's financial woes blown out of proportion? Things seem to change frequently in this business, so is it really something to worry about? Will American's new contract really fix a lot of the QoL issues? I'll leave it here, as you probably get the gist. Thanks in advance for the advice.
The notion of retirement being the best way for seniority is half accurate. Not sure what ULCC you’re at, but assume Frontier or Spirit. Look at the confirmed orders on books, calculate the pilots, and see how many guys that would stack under you in those years....what percentage are you at? Now see how many years of retirements at AA it would take to reach that same level? Point is, bidding power comes from both sides.
And yes, “growth can end” and planes can be canceled but also AA can file BK again and more trouble woes too. I got hired at Spirit before the last airline order wave and to say I’m happy I didn’t think “oh Spirit is small, they could go out of business and airplanes canceled...”
Ask a SWA guy that started back when they were growing and see how those guys are on the seniority list. My only point is seniority comes from both ends.
if you want to fly heavies, that’s another thing. But you’ve gotten a taste of the ULCC gig and you know if it works for you. I wouldn’t leave; yet another AA or legacy guy will come on and say to leave because a legacy pilot might have a hard time understanding why anyone would want to make a career at a growing and profitable ULCC instead of a debt laden airline who is currently ranked last. Things can change, no doubt, but who is to say what “needs to get done” to fix the issues at AA.
The contracts between the two are an entirely different story.
Dont let the career define you. Find a place you can be happy at and make a good living. Enjoy your time home and find a way to do it as much as you can. Everything else is noise and can be gone tomorrow