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HELP! SWA or Current gig?

Old 12-12-2017, 07:03 AM
  #31  
Furloughed Again?!
 
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Originally Posted by nkbux View Post
has NEVER furloughed a Pilot!

And that means they never will? No. Seriously. I’ve worked for companies that have never furloughed - until they did. I’ve worked for places that said, “This is the last uniform you’ll ever wear! You won the lottery!” and then I was furloughed again. “In 5 years you’ll be a captain!”Nope, furloughed again.

It is a business. If they don’t need bodies to fly the airplanes, they’ll furlough too. The advantage at the airlines is that you know the rules to the game.

Let me give you an example.

If you fly for Galactic Airways, and they furlough you, and you don’t touch an airplane for ten years... you’re making French fries at Sonic... when they finally recall, they will make you a pilot again.

If you fly for Walton’s Widget Corp, and they furlough you, and you don’t touch an an airplane for ten years... you’re making French fries at Sonic... you might be done flying airplanes.

Furthermore, as an airline guy you can always look at the seniority list and see how many people you are away from furlough or recall. It’s strictly numbers.

As a corporate pilot, when you find out the department is going to lay off, you have to wonder... “does she Chief pilot remember when I complained about that hotel expense report he denied 3 years ago?”

That said...

Corporate flying was MUCH more gentlemanly flying. I fly airplanes that were generations more advanced than the 737. I flew one or two legs a day. I took mid day naps at he FBO. The FBO lady made me warm cookies. Used clean bathrooms at the FBO. Had lunch on an expense account. Got to go to Osh Kosh on the company dime.

Would I go back? Not a chance. The ability to bid a schedule around all of the important events in my family’s life is invaluable.

Good luck with your decision! It isn’t an easy one! My advice is get a job offer. Until you have a job offer there is no decision to make.


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Old 12-12-2017, 07:06 AM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by TiredSoul View Post
. . . Unless you’re flying for Walmart or Target or Coca-Cola.
Or GE, Pfizer, General Motors, General Mills, Kellogg's . . .
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Old 12-12-2017, 08:33 AM
  #33  
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When you are flying under a Collective Bargaining Agreement your work life is laid out in black and white. Furloughs will only happen in seniority order. You have guaranteed seniority order in bidding for everything. There are rules governing mergers and acquisitions. ETC. ETC. ETC.

If you worried at all about job security over the long term go to SWA. $300,000 is a huge salary by almost any yardstick but if there is a chance of the flight department folding or being furloughed out of seniority order with no right of recall, then that salary is no longer a factor.

Could Southwest fold all together or furlough.....of course they could. But, the balance sheet is the strongest in the industry and a furlough would only touch a small portion of the seniority list with right of recall at the end.

Nothing is a certainty in this industry but if I had to put my eggs in one basket or the other, it seems that the airline basket (not just SWA), is the much safer choice in the long run.
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Old 12-12-2017, 08:46 AM
  #34  
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Thank you. I do have a class date at SWA for 1/9/18. I'm not wiling to move so I would commute for 20 years. I hear that the morning flights from MHT (NH) are full of commuters. This would make getting to work stressful. There is so much opportunity in corporate right now due to lack of experienced captains. This is really giving me pause.
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Old 12-12-2017, 08:52 AM
  #35  
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Huge regrets in some ways. I was hired at 26 and would've retired #4 in the company. Post 9/11 I was furloughed for 25 months, came back to 50% paycut, no retirement, no vacation and commuting to reserve in a crash pad 20 days every month. The straw that broke the camel's back for me was a voicemail from 2-year old daughter, distraught that i was not answering her (LOL she thought the recording was me). I thought to myself that in the next 6 years I would be gone for 4 of them from her. What kind of dad would be by doing that? At the time no one would hire an airline pilot that still had a seniority number so, I resigned and went to work for LMG. I should've lied and kept my number but, hindsight is always 20/20. I made the best decision i could at the time.
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Old 12-12-2017, 09:08 AM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by sherpster View Post
Have you actually seen a swa pilots schedule? Working lots of weekends is what I saw. I thought my acmi cargo FO gig was better since I at least got 2 weekends off a month. My understanding is the lines are non commutable on 1 end.

I’d talk to some people who left swa first. 300k is a lot of cash, I cant imagine your gig is that bad.

Go ahead swa guys, flame me with your typical “couldnt get hired comments”. Hired this past summer and decided to not go.

LOL.... You saw one weekend line and assumed that was all we have?

I haven't involuntarily flown a weekend trip in over a decade.
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Old 12-12-2017, 09:14 AM
  #37  
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Originally Posted by BB818 View Post
I hear that the morning flights from MHT (NH) are full of commuters. This would make getting to work stressful.
Commuting is never easy but the commuter policy is fairly liberal. If you are listed on a SWA flight scheduled to arrive one hour prior to show time you are covered. Any combination of two flights scheduled to land prior to show time is also acceptable.

COMMUTER RULES The following sets forth the rules concerning a pilot who lives in a city other than his domicile:
  1. A pilot who chooses to designate himself as a “commuter” must designate a city as a point of commuter origination.
  2. A pilot must attempt to commute on a minimum of two (2) consecutive scheduled flights on Southwest or off-line from the designated city. If, because of flight cancellations, delays, lack of available seating (cabin or jumpseat), or delays beyond the commuter’s control (diversion, etc.), the pilot will be unable to arrive prior to the scheduled report time, the Company will be notified immediately. Alternatively, the second scheduled flight is not required if the primary flight on Southwest is scheduled to arrive in domicile at least one (1) hour prior to check-in.
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Old 12-12-2017, 09:18 AM
  #38  
Furloughed Again?!
 
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Originally Posted by BB818 View Post
Huge regrets in some ways. I was hired at 26 and would've retired #4 in the company. Post 9/11 I was furloughed for 25 months, came back to 50% paycut, no retirement, no vacation and commuting to reserve in a crash pad 20 days every month. The straw that broke the camel's back for me was a voicemail from 2-year old daughter, distraught that i was not answering her (LOL she thought the recording was me). I thought to myself that in the next 6 years I would be gone for 4 of them from her. What kind of dad would be by doing that? At the time no one would hire an airline pilot that still had a seniority number so, I resigned and went to work for LMG. I should've lied and kept my number but, hindsight is always 20/20. I made the best decision i could at the time.

Been there my friend. I was hired at 26 and then furloughed for about 7 years after 9/11. When they finally recalled, the major was still bankrupt and had closed one of the largest domiciles. The contract was a shadow of what it had been pre 9/11. Taking a recall would have meant a paycut and a challenging commute to the Northeast. So I turned them down. Who would’ve guessed that after a mega merger the job would have been entirely different a decade later.

I left corporate in 2013 when things started looking bleak at the department I was working for. I couldn’t plan any life events with my family, and I was getting sideways with my boss frequently enough that I worried about my longevity.

Commuting from MHT shouldn’t be too bad. Between MDW and BWI you have a variety of options. Nobody says that you have to commute on line either. If MHT isn’t looking good, there are 15 flights from BOS to BWI on weekdays on a variety of carriers. Plus Amtrak if you get in a pinch.

The commuter policy only requires one flight attempt on line though. If you make it great. If not, so be it. Don’t sweat it!


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Old 12-12-2017, 09:37 AM
  #39  
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Wow great insight from someone who's been in my situation. I'm 44. What do you think about starting over at SWA at my age and the current industry hiring scenario?
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Old 12-12-2017, 09:41 AM
  #40  
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Will your current gig give you a 20 year contract with COLA raises? What stops them from reducing the $ later once they have you trapped? What kind of loss of License plans do they have?


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