anyone with 5 brain cells could see furloughs coming the moment they grounded flights last month.

Or that uncle SAM security blanket!

Okay guys this is the time to remain calm and stop spreading panic around. Nobody wants furloughs and if you keep bringing it up, it means you’re senior enough in this company to keep your job in case it happens. Have a little more compassion for those junior to you that will be much more affected with young families and single income half wingers.
For the last seven years when times were good, all I heard in the cockpit is buying sport cars, boats, Bikes, all kind of toys, girlfriends in HKG and South America, Panama brothel. Rare were the guys who talked about having a reserve of cash, or being able to put a year worth of mortgage away in anticipation of hard times. This is the time to step up and be a true leader, comfort those around that will be much more affected than you, have a positive attitude, if a door slams shut somewhere it means another will get open, when you fly take time to wipe down the cockpit because it shows you care about not getting your crew sick. Be the one that brings LIGHT instead of darkness.

^^^^ it’s much more *fun* for people to spread misery. Pretty much the textbook definition of trolling. Why do you think that almost everyone posting doom and gloom is a new account?

APC is terrible about this even in good times. It’s to the point that I’m just here for the United drinking thread, and I’m not even a United pilot. ;)

Personally think they could just ground everything for a month or two since that would allow them to be more ready to return to normal on the other end.

Before someone says no way will that happen!

go look. SAS, Alitalia, Austrian and Norwegian to name a few already have done it.

I disagree with accepting ANY pay cuts. Full pay to the last day. We are out own worst enemies.

Joe

I agree, I started the China routes cancelled thread in part to see if anyone else had a sense of foreboding. I didn’t use the F word because I didn’t want to be Doom and Gloom but I recognized the feeling. It was the same one I had the previous two times I was shown the door. I was sincerely hoping I was wrong. It is much worse than I had anticipated. Different in some ways because I think the company was in much better shape going into this. Having said that, I still can’t believe the did the stock buybacks with such aggression, squandering the company’s liquidity.

Let us take care of ourselves, our families, and hope for the best. Prepare but hope. Nothing else to be done.

this is the most sound, intelligent and compassionate post I’ve ever seen in this forum. Hats off

You know how this works right?

1) Voluntary pay cuts to save the company (pilots take a larger % since we're leaders) in exchange for a promise (no involuntary furloughs I suppose),
2) Promises will be broken and furloughs will begin anyway,
3) Mgmt will come back asking for more cuts (all employee groups will claim the pilots are bankrupting the company) claiming that we may have to liquidate in XX days,
4) Maybe a BK filing if financials dire enough or strategic value of reducing labor costs outweigh risk of BK (unlikely IMO unless we previously agreed to trade $ for UAL stock),
5) Economy improves and profits return to UAL,
6) Shareholders see big gains and Mgmt rewards themselves for saving the company,
7) Mgmt reminds labor groups that "A contract is a contract".

Ask me how i know...

There are 2 things that are as certain as sunrise and death. First, Pilots can NOT save this company even if we worked for free. Second, any voluntary reduction in compensation only lowers the starting point for the eventual INvoluntary reductions.

For now I will trust my union and pay close attention to their communications.

I forgot 1 addition thing that I know for sure. This pilot group will do everything we can to take care of EVERY United pilot. Good luck to us all!

What he said. ^^^^