FTv3

Well, covid changed a lot but in a nutshell I became more senior and then changed fleets to align myself with they type of flying I find more palatable. The seniority brought the better schedules, more opportunities for displacements, and better conflicting abilities - all of which helped. Increasing longevity also brought an additional week of vacation which sounds insignificant but you can do a lot with a week’s vacation around here.

All that being said, the schedules I was referring to are still out there. If my seniority had remained stagnant and/or I couldn’t change fleets then I’d have probably looked into reserve or different types of schedules that would require a crashpad and car in Louisville. Easy enough but that’s still several hundred out of pocket every month just to work and then excess downtime in Louisville which I personally don’t care for. Absolute worst case would have been moving to a domicile or within driving distance of one. Or cutting my losses and jumping ship for a legacy...

Recliner

Thank you for your reply that was really helpful. I'm guessing seniority stagnation isn't something that will occur for the foreseeable future?

767pilot

It's always right around the corner. This company has maintained that they would never have more than 3500 pilots. We've never gotten there and so much of this hiring is just to meet up with those exiting. Someone else can put up numbers on net gains each year.

whalesurfer

Probably. Still receiving new airplanes so your guess seems plausible.
..but no one knows. It all depends on our new ceo.

C2078

Seniority stagnation should not be an issue with so many current and upcoming retirements. However, fleet growth is pretty much done for now (only a few airplanes remaining to be delivered).

767pilot

Guys getting on now will most likely be good but be careful with phrases like "for now". Hopefully you're signing on for 30 years. Things move in cycles and being in the wrong spot at the wrong time can sting.

whalesurfer

Sorry, disagree with you here. Retirements mean nothing. It’s all about the company’s future plans.

Amen.

All ‘06 and ‘07 guys and gals thought they’re fine because of the many early retirements back then. “Early” retirements in those days meant people were retiring around 58, ~2 years prior to the mandatory retirement of 60. Many things happened back and yes, things are very different now, but...

To be clear - I think all present newhires will be just fine. I do NOT foresee a stagnation, furlough, etc.. NOT at all.

I’m just saying don’t focus on how many people are retiring. ..because that’s totally irrelevant. Instead focus on how our stock is doing and on what our new CEO wants to do with the company.

Grease

Retirements factor into company plans, no?

BoilerUP

Year--Hired--Growth
2021 147 68 (YTD)
2020 227 90
2019 246 132
2018 220 79
2017 301 152

tnkrdrvr

Thanks BoilerUp for the numbers. It would be awesome if we came close to that 3500 number. My personal opinion is that we could keep that many guys gainfully busy with the jets already on property plus what’s on order. In my expert (pilot) opinion, we are not really sweating the assets for maximum profit due to a shortage of bodies to keep things moving.