TeamSasquatch

Pilots are cheap....

But yes, just buy the tickets and enjoy it. Might even get bumped and a voucher.

Regularguy

Yes it is, and I will bet you won’t spend the same amount of years at UAL that I have.

The facts are retirees really don’t travel that much in the big picture of pass travel. Back I the day, with the exception of HNL, I rarely ran into retirees traveling on the same flight as I.

Just remember, “what goes around comes around” when you are old (already got the crotchety thing down) and those young whipper snappers want the good seats.

I might add that these days with over 4 decades of service at UAL my wife and I buy tickets because we actually want to get to where we are going. Passes basically aren’t a real benefit anymore.

JoePatroni

Amen. Pass riding’s days were numbered as soon as the airlines started selling tickets online, it’s now DOA.

JoePatroni

I will walk with forty years and I have no illusions of non-revving anywhere. FYI, there aren’t any “good” seats anymore...that ship has sailed.

Still don’t understand how ego has anything to do with years of service deciding priority for boarding. Just to be clear, you think someone hired in 1980, who worked at United for ten years, should board ahead of a current forty year employee? That’s absurd.

oldmako

You make excellent points. But not all have had the same cushy ride to retirement. You take two pilots age 65, Pilot A got lucky. He was hired at a young age and at the front in a wave at a healthy airline. Pilot B got bounced around a bit and was hired late and behind the curve. Pilot A probably earned 3 to 4 times what the other has over the same time span. Let that sink in a bit. That means the guy with the gravy spot was able to stuff LOTS of money into his 401K early while Pilot B spent nearly everything he made just buying a modest house, sending a kid or four to a decent college and keeping his old cars on the road. At retirement pilot B might not be in a spot to fork out 3 grand for two RT tickets to Maui, and rent a place for the week.

This can be a very lucrative career. It can also be just a semi-decent one.

TWA, Pan AM, Branniff, Eastern were the big dogs at one point. Yet many of their Captains sought work at commuters when their airlines went out of business.

Delta, Continental, United, American, USAir, Northwest, etc have all gone through bankruptcies. Pilots lost millions in pay and benefits. Retirement plans were trashed. Just because the grass is sweet and succulent today doesn't mean that it always will be.

JoePatroni

The grass around a cesspool is always green.

Saltshaker

No retired pilot should go ahead of an active one.
Sorry, but you have time now.

Regularguy

No you missed the point about the attitudes of those dissing on the retired men and women of this Corp. It, the retiree pass redaction, began after the merger and if you remember correctly the former CAL had even more ominous SA policies.

Essentially we dumped on the only gift given to anyone who retired from this outfit, all in the name of “me.” Because no one should have an unfair advantage over me. If that isn’t ego I don’t know what is.


But enough about boats, cars and airplanes let’s talk about me. Remember that old joke about male pilots?

For those interested in the current retiree boarding priority here it is from the FT web site.


“Your board date is a calculation of completed days, months and years of service to the company subtracted from your travel date. Retirees and early-out participants have a board date in a day, month and year format. If two retirees have the same board date, their Pass Riders are cleared for the flight based upon time of check in.”

“The calculation is based on the days, months and completed years of service to the company:

(Years of service x 365 days) + (Months x 30 days) + days = total number of days”

From the Q&A for pass travel and retirees.

Just about to purchase another discount ticket anyway.
Another pointless thread.

Floyd

But this is such a great career and the average American employee makes.... How could we dare ask for more. I cannot believe they give us crew meals.

Floyd

Here's a question. Does a pilot who retires at a manager level position maintain their positive space travel in retirement? Do they lose status or maintain?