Saw this the other day, great analysis. It’s interesting how she includes the Max grounding and pretty much concludes it as a positive since we already turned the hiring flow down to compensate.

People are interesting. My flights this past week were mostly full. Few people wearing masks in the terminal. Yet I go to Costco and see people hoarding up on water, Clorox wipes, pasta, etc. The store even sold out of some of the essentials.

Read the book , “State of Fear”, by Michael Crichton. I will put it all in perspective.

Agreed, this crisis if you can call it that, will be relatively short lived in terms of an airline career.

However, last time, it took almost 3 years for airlines to recover from SARS to get back to where we were. Humanity as a species is not a logical creature...it will take more time to build the traffic back up again. People's habits change, and certainly this virus has the potential to change societal habits, like travel.

I just hope the airlines handle it better than last time. And so far I'm not optmistic. Cancelling the Mar 3rd NH class with 3 days notice was not cool. In the grand scheme of things, 1 class really won't make a difference either way to UAL, but it certainly makes a difference on a personal level.

No purple
 

What is the alternative.. hire, train , then lay them off in 2 months?


Look on the bright side....

The new Purple uniform will likely be sidelined for a year.

Edit. Having been through that myself more than once in my 40 year career, I can sympathize.

As a senior WB captain with less than a year I would consider leaving early if the company came up with a viable plan. However with all the political wrangling that goes on in ALPA, I’m doubtful they could get an agreement any time soon...especially with the contract open.

Well, yes, since they all quit or gave notice on their previous jobs. On the street with a number is better than on the street having to reinterivew in a year. And...since it's really too early to tell how bad it will be, there is always a chance we won't furlough.

Now that phrase has a new meaning doesn't it?

As much as I would like to see them all accommodated, it just isn’t realistic. Emotional maybe. At what point do you draw the line on classes you won’t cancel or postpone?

Management’s job one is fiduciary to the corporation’s stockholder and lenders, last on the list of responsibilities is potential new employees, after current employees and customers. No mid level manager is going to suggest the company hire and train pilots they don’t have a current need for and may have to furlough in the coming months. That’s right up there with stock buy backs.

I’m surprised this needs to be explained.

Something reasonable to ask is for the SVP of flight ops to send letters to the employer of each individual and ask them to continue their current/previous employment. And, if they are coming from a union job, ALPA should do the same to their individual MEC.

You really find that to be reasonable, as if it would be well-received and taken seriously?

DF
Nice to see the empathy you show to these guys and gals regarding the class cancelation. Your posts always reflect a decency and awareness of others.

They are indeed in a pickle....not to mention the emotional rollercoaster.
Since they willingly resigned from their previous job, they probably are not eligible for unemployment either.

Hopefully this calms down quickly and they are all in class in a month, but one never knows.

Absolutely. This is almost exactly what happened to me in 1980.I had given notice to my employer because I had a class date with Seaboard World Airways for. DC-8 class. With only 10 days notice, Seaboard cancelled all classes. The VP flight ops wrote a letter for me. The VP at my current employer was gracious and agreed to take me back. Unfortunately, we began furloughs almost immediately ourselves. My furlough lasted 3 years. Never did go to Seaboard and never held any ill will.