ZapBrannigan
If it ain’t a Boeing, I’m not going. No choice.
I had a long talk on the phone last night with a good friend who flew with me at the commuters years ago. Like me he flew for the airlines for many years and ended up after a few furloughs flying for a corporate flight department.
He says that his flight department is stable (as stable as any corporate flight department). He does a considerable number of overnights and has little control over his schedule. That said, he drives to work doesn't have to worry about commuting, TSA, or any of the other minor inconveniences of Part 121 flying. Even with that, he says that he misses the "airline lifestyle" and is thinking of applying at JetBlue. He was calling to find out what I thought.
Well, JetBlue seems to be a good company with some staying power. The Airbus is a nice machine and they seem to have a considerable amount of scheduling flexibility even on reserve. The only problem that I could see is compensation. He says that with base pay, bonus, stock, and other tangible benefits at his flight department he makes around $130K. JetBlue's starting pay is in the 40s and it would be many years before he is able to get back to what he makes now. He would add to that loss by the expense of commuting to JFK or BOS (too expensive to live in those cities with a family), and the unknown number of days away from home that such a commute would detract from his lifestyle. There is also the inevitable impact to schedule. He'll be away Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc on reserve where as a corporate pilot he is nearly always home on those days.
He is concerned that if the department is eliminated or he is laid off when he's 40+ or 50+ years old he won't be able to find work. I told him that's no difference than pilots at Braniff, Eastern, or TWA having the rug pulled out from under them. An airline doesn't guarantee security. But I could see his point. There is comfort in a seniority number.
Politics at a corporate flight department are magnified as well and he is worried that personality conflicts may someday impact job security.
He's not locked on JetBlue only. He says he'll apply at Alaska as well. He tried SWA but didn't get an interview. He has no interest in the freighters. So although there are 1 or 2 airlines that would minimize the pay-loss, there aren't many. He could over the course of a career exceed $130K at most airlines... but how much of a loss will he take in the interim, and could that loss ever be paid back?
It seems like an un-winable scenario - a grand example of golden handcuffs. Is it possible to love airline flying so much that one would be willing to sacrifice everything he has just to get back to a "shiny jet"? (SJS is not lost on him - although he admits the appeal of a big comfortable cockpit, APU, etc.) I feel like he's just restless, or disappointed that our careers didn't go the way we thought they would and shooting at everything that moves. How do I tell him that he might be chasing his tail?
Or is he right? What are your thoughts? Is this a winnable scenario no matter what he chooses to do?
He says that his flight department is stable (as stable as any corporate flight department). He does a considerable number of overnights and has little control over his schedule. That said, he drives to work doesn't have to worry about commuting, TSA, or any of the other minor inconveniences of Part 121 flying. Even with that, he says that he misses the "airline lifestyle" and is thinking of applying at JetBlue. He was calling to find out what I thought.
Well, JetBlue seems to be a good company with some staying power. The Airbus is a nice machine and they seem to have a considerable amount of scheduling flexibility even on reserve. The only problem that I could see is compensation. He says that with base pay, bonus, stock, and other tangible benefits at his flight department he makes around $130K. JetBlue's starting pay is in the 40s and it would be many years before he is able to get back to what he makes now. He would add to that loss by the expense of commuting to JFK or BOS (too expensive to live in those cities with a family), and the unknown number of days away from home that such a commute would detract from his lifestyle. There is also the inevitable impact to schedule. He'll be away Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc on reserve where as a corporate pilot he is nearly always home on those days.
He is concerned that if the department is eliminated or he is laid off when he's 40+ or 50+ years old he won't be able to find work. I told him that's no difference than pilots at Braniff, Eastern, or TWA having the rug pulled out from under them. An airline doesn't guarantee security. But I could see his point. There is comfort in a seniority number.
Politics at a corporate flight department are magnified as well and he is worried that personality conflicts may someday impact job security.
He's not locked on JetBlue only. He says he'll apply at Alaska as well. He tried SWA but didn't get an interview. He has no interest in the freighters. So although there are 1 or 2 airlines that would minimize the pay-loss, there aren't many. He could over the course of a career exceed $130K at most airlines... but how much of a loss will he take in the interim, and could that loss ever be paid back?
It seems like an un-winable scenario - a grand example of golden handcuffs. Is it possible to love airline flying so much that one would be willing to sacrifice everything he has just to get back to a "shiny jet"? (SJS is not lost on him - although he admits the appeal of a big comfortable cockpit, APU, etc.) I feel like he's just restless, or disappointed that our careers didn't go the way we thought they would and shooting at everything that moves. How do I tell him that he might be chasing his tail?
Or is he right? What are your thoughts? Is this a winnable scenario no matter what he chooses to do?
