USAir Furlough Recall: My Decision

[U 737 PILOT]

You are not alone in your decision Furloughedagain. Myself and many of my classmates from '89 have decided not to return to the USAir nightmare. QOL with your family is so much more important than going back to USAir and hoping things will get better there. They simply won't ! I enjoyed my time there, but now it's time to move on.

 

[Phoenix]

Airline crews have always had some really serious lifestyle deficiencies which are intrinsic in the type of work we do. ..

Now, the downside factors of the career have increased in scope and intensity, while the counterbalancing pluses are gone....

Except for Beebe, Butckovic, Woerth, Prater.. :huh:

Regardless of where the cause resides, you have summed it up perfectly.

The only thing that makes resigning a difficult decision is having to come to grips with the reallity that now is. The ticket (seniority number) on the "gravy train" (that a pilot has worked for years to get) is indeed still a real bona fide ticket, however the "gravy train" is no longer pointed to the land of plenty. It has slowly been steering toward the gullog.

 

[songbirdstew]

I too think you are making a wise decision and wanted to wish you much luck. This industry is not what it used to be and it never will be. I was just talking to another F/A about how when we started 21 years ago, the passengers respected the flight crews, management saw our value and this was a totally different career.
I too plan on moving on and have been in school for the last few years...almost done and have my quit date chosen. It's only a matter of time.... there is just too much grief in this company these days. Best wishes to you as you move forward with your life away from USAirways. May God bless you and your family....if you came back here, you'd most likely miss your little boys first steps....I'm glad you won't be letting that happen.

 

[PHL]

Several AWA pilots have made the jump to VA or are about to. There's a good reason why the airline execs wanted to keep Branson out of America and it's simply because he's so da#n good at running a business.

I am a huge admirer of Richard Branson, and enjoyed reading his autobiography "Losing my Virginity". But there are a few things that should be pointed out...

First, Virgin America is a complete, standalone carrier and they had to go to great lengths to show that the airline would not have any significant amount of UK/Richard Branson ownership/management. Does that mean he's not going to be "the man behind the curtain"? Probably not completely. VA has a complete management team that is isolated from Virgin Atlantic.

Second, there is no more difficult, cutthroat business environment than operating an airline in the United States. VS has been a great success in the UK since its launch in 1984 because it was a direct competitor to the only choice that the Brits really had - BA. And a lot of them absolutely couldn't stand the practices of BA, so VS was a very refreshing change. Back home here in the US, VA isn't going against just one behemoth. It's going to have to really fight a lot of barriers to entry that they've never had to deal with. The absence of any real partnership/alliance will also hurt potential passengers, too.

So, while I would love to see VA succeed, I'm skeptical just based on the past history of other startups. If I was a UA or AA elite, I doubt I would switch over to them on those initial routes (LAX/SFO/JFK). Will those onboard services be enough to keep passengers coming back, and allow VA to keep fares at a decent level to continue to operate? Maybe. But let's not all start jumping to the conclusion that VA is the white knight that will revolutionize US Air travel.

 

[nycbusdriver]

First, Virgin America is a complete, standalone carrier and they had to go to great lengths to show that the airline would not have any significant amount of UK/Richard Branson ownership/management. Does that mean he's not going to be "the man behind the curtain"? Probably not completely. VA has a complete management team that is isolated from Virgin Atlantic.

I didn't read Branson's book, but from what I know about him his real expertise is coming up with a great idea and then finding the exactly correct, highly competent people to develop and run the show for him. He's not an airline manager; he's the quinessential entrepreneur. No doubt he had a lot of say in who is running the show at VA, and then felt comfortable backing away.

He is hedging his bet with VA. Right now the airline's only real connection with Branson is the brand. But Sir Richard is confident that the globalization of the world economy will soon see many of the barriers to foreign control of airline in the US fall by the wayside. With VA as a going concern, he already has his virtual hand in the game.

 

[FLYLOW22]

Good luck to all, and thank you. The experience I gained flying by your sides has made me the pilot that I am today. I will not forget the lessons learned.

All my best,
FurloughedAgain
Furloughed March 02

Dude man...

No worries. Life happens. We set out goals, we attained them at young ages. The industry gave up on us, not vise versa. We have both followed the money to new positions in different sectors of aviation. To go back (for us) to US now... in this environment would be to push a bad situation to worse.

The best thing that happened for us in aviation was not being hired by US Airways but being furloughed from it... just didn't seem that way at the time.

In indoc back in 1999 Gibson should have said, "Welcome to US Airways, where the most junior are better off because the decision will be easier."

 

[Furloughedagain]

Flylow,

I was thinking about it after we got off done chatting last night & it would have broken my heart to be sitting there where you were having dinner -- where we all spent countless nights 6 years ago -- and looking across the street at the ol' La Quinta'.

You're a tougher fella than me.

 

[wmjb2002]

You are not alone in your decision Furloughedagain. Myself and many of my classmates from '89 have decided not to return to the USAir nightmare. QOL with your family is so much more important than going back to USAir and hoping things will get better there. They simply won't ! I enjoyed my time there, but now it's time to move on.

Do you have a flying job?

 

[ganesha]

Forgive me if you've read this post on another message board. I wanted to post it here as well since so many of you have helped me to come to my decision. If anyone would care to stay in touch with me, please PM me and I will give you my email address. Regards, Mike

My fellow pilots,

The November bid includes 165 recalls. With a roughly 10% recall rate anticipated, this bid should exhaust the furlough list and generate meaningful hiring for US Airways.

I have been told to expect the "take it or leave it" letter within the next two weeks, and that classdates will be scheduled in September and October.

Over the last several months I have labored over this decision. I have spent countless hours on the internet on this forum and many others. I have spent hours more on the telephone with former co-workers, other furloughees, family and friends deliberating over the decision.

5 years is a long time. Honestly I can barely remember what the job was like at US Airways. Over the last 5 years i've worked for 2 regionals before ending up at a corporate flight department. I've moved twice. Our son was born and may take his first steps any day.

I wonder whether i'm the same man I was years ago. Honestly I doubt it. When I started my first job as a Jetstream 31 first officer with Chautauqua I never imagined that I would spend the next decade working for 3 regionals, 1 lcc, 1 major only to end up flying a 7 passenger corporate jet. The airline pilot lifestyle was all I ever wanted. I remember looking at that Jetstream as though it were the finest airplane in the sky. I was proud of the aircraft, proud of the uniform, and proud of the job. I polished my shoes, wore my hat, and dreamed of the day that I would make the inevitable leap to the cockpit of a Boeing.

When that day came in 1999 and US Airways began hiring 100 pilots each month after my date of hire, I thought I had won the lottery. The job was almost everything I dreamed of. Most of my frustrations were with the association. I honestly felt as though ALPA was damaging my career far more then they were helping it. At every turn they seemed intent upon building new barriers to prevent the company from competing in the airline industry. The contract was amazing, and I appreciated everything it offered, but as I became more involved and attended ALPA meetings I realized that I completely misunderstood ALPA's mission. To me the union's motto should have been "ALPA: Job security is Job #1". But it wasn't. ALPA protected its most senior members at the expense of it's most junior. It robbed from the poor, to give to the rich.

Later, with thousands of pilots on furlough, ALPA would continue to shield it's most senior members by allowing the company to raise pay-caps, by continuing to allow the outsourcing of an armada of regional jets, by failing its most junior members.

The national union leadership could clearly see that a nationwide whipsaw was in effect couldn't they? How could they successfully represent both the US Airways pilots who had lost their jobs and the regional jet pilots who were reaping the benefit?

Over the last 5 years the airline pilot profession has changed. Compensation, lifestyle, work-rules, duty rigs, and retirement have all suffered. Narrowbody jets with as many as 95 passenger seats are flown by outsourced feeders at a fraction of the pay and benefits that such positions should command... and pilots line up for those positions. Pilots spend countless nights away from their families in pursuit of a lifestyle that no longer exists. Except for those rare few who work for FedEx or UPS, the dream is dead.

The profession does not protect experience. If US Airways were to disappear tomorrow its pilots, should they choose to continue in their profession, would start over. Just as the 1800+ furloughees were forced to find employment as commuter first officers, charter pilots, expatriots (yes, they left their COUNTRY to achieve some measure of success in exchange for their sacrifice)... so too would those who found themselves unemployed due to the destruction of the airline. Who is at fault? Managers who lack the ability to control pricing? ALPA who is incapable of putting a premium on experience and creating a national seniority list to prevent pilots from becoming handcuffed to a single operator?

I'm rambling.

So I made an extensive list of pros and cons. I carried the list with me for weeks and added to it whenever a thought came to me. I stared at that list time and time again trying to see a clear answer. Accept the recall, or abandon the dream in favor of my new life.

I emphasize how much time I put into this because I want the young pilots who read this thread to understand how much time and effort had been put into achieving that major airline position -- and that giving it up has been no easy decision.

But that is the decision I made.

I'm going to remain with the corporate flight department where I am currently employed. It is by no means perfect, but it offers me a lifestyle that could only be enjoyed by the most senior airline pilots. As I write this I sit in a hotel on one of the very rare overnights we are scheduled for. My son's photograph is the wallpaper on my laptop and I can't help but wonder what he is doing right now. Every day he does something that he has never done before and watching him discover the world is just amazing to me. I miss my wife and son after less than 24 hours away. How could I even consider commuting to sit in a Philadelphia crash-pad for days at a time missing out on all of that?

Make no mistake. This has not been easy. I've wanted to be an airline pilot for as long as I can remember. I was that kid -- the one who had no other hobbies, no other interests. I was singularly focused on that airline career.

So thank you everyone for all of the advice, the insider information, the emails and PMs, the phone calls, and the friendship you have provided to help me make this choice. I wish all of the US Airways pilots -- east and west -- the very best. There is something about that airline. Something more than airplanes, tugs, and people. It will survive and prosper in spite of itself. East and West pilots need to come together and take back ALPA.

No more meetings at high priced resorts. Hold your meetings where pilots can attend -- airport hotels at the domiciles. Spend your membership dollars as if they were your own. No more meals at 4 star restaurants. Protect your junior pilots. They are the foundation upon which the profession is being built. Defend their jobs as if they were your own...failure to do so will cause more and more pilots to "look out for #1"... The result of that practice is apparent. G0-Jets, SkyBus, Virgin America...

Good luck to all, and thank you. The experience I gained flying by your sides has made me the pilot that I am today. I will not forget the lessons learned.

All my best,
FurloughedAgain
Furloughed March 02