Last minute quitting...

fr8dog

New Member
Is anyone (airlines really) ever experienced pilots quitting on 1 hour, or couple hours at the best, notice....
There is a trend whenever regionals are hiring to see the most un-professional attitude in low time pilots which puzzles me.
It it frequent ? Does this type of behavior comes around ?
 
I believe it's not too wise to burn bridges in the quest for greener pastures. Plus, like you said, it's a matter of professional courtesy to provide a requisite amount of notice, a common standard being 2 weeks. Employees should know this, and prospective employers should understand this. You hire a guy like that, what's to say he won't do the same to you?

But you tend to see it more in the dog-eat-dog business of pilots trying to move up the career ladder. Sad.
 
Though i'm not as experienced as others, I would think that professional pilots(airline pilots) would not because of the time and money they've spent on what they love.
 
I know that when I worked at KSMO. Lots of guys would get hired to fly SIC on small business jets, then they would leave the owners and chief pilot hanging while they moved ,with little notice, to a regional gig. LOL, my PPL instructor did this exact thing.
 
I think he's referring to the recent exodus of AirNet pilots. I can understand wanting to work your way up, but is it really going to hurt you to wait an extra two weeks as a professional courtesy?
 
Never burn a bridge while moving up.

Because your employer has to obtain your training records from your previous employer as per the RIA (Records Improvement Act) and there are all sorts of things that they could "attach" onto your personnel file that you wouldn't want showing up at your new employer.

Sure you can sue them, but who's got money for a lawyer?
 
Right, but at the same time when your receive that job offer from say american eagle, when they say when will you be available, it's hard for some people to say anything except, "Whenever you need me". Especially when that's what you've been waiting on.
 
My best friend's instrument instructor was flying for a corporate outfit, and landed a job at SkyWest. He gave his two weeks, but the coporate place wanted him to wait like two months. During his training at Skywest, he was pulled aside and told he was being given a warning based on a reference from his previous employer. Turns out the corporate outfit attatched comments to his record stating that he called in sick all the time and constantly turned down trips. In reality, this guy was a flying machine. The only timed he refused to fly was the one time he wrote an a/c up for being unsafe (not sure what it was for). So, he discussed things with ALPA and AOPA, and decided to leave training so nothing would be on his record, at least until the situation was sorted out. Last I heard, he was back flying corporate citations.
 
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My best friend's instrument instructor was flying for a corporate outfit, and landed a job at SkyWest. He gave his two weeks, but the coporate place wanted him to wait like two months. During his training at Skywest, he was pulled aside and told he was being given a warning based on a reference from his previous employer. Turns out the corporate outfit attatched comments to his record stating that he called in sick all the time and constantly turned down trips. In reality, this guy was a flying machine. The only timed he refused to fly was the one time he wrote an a/c up for being unsafe (not sure what it was for). So, he discussed things with ALPA and AOPA, and decided to leave training so nothing would be on his record, at least until the situation was sorted out. Last I heard, he was back flying corporate citations.

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And that's a great example of the flip side of the coin, regards this thread.
 
Why is such a prestigous career so cut-throat? That's sad, his job should have been happy for him and used him as a reference for future pilots.
 
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Why is such a prestigous career so cut-throat?

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IMO the whole supply/demand. Big supply of pilots/few jobs available. Creates a backstab mentality.
 
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Why is such a prestigous career so cut-throat?

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Pilots are notoriously cutthroat. Probably because of the abundance of "Type A" personalities and way too many pilots for way too few jobs.

When I got hired by Delta, I'd say 50% of my associates were thrilled and the other 50% were extraordinarily bitter and said a lot of things out of 'anger' that they normally wouldn't say.

Even my chief pilot was like "Well, if you fail new hire school, you can't come back to Skyway".

"Gee, Johnny, thanks for the vote of confidence!"

Eight months later he wants me to forward a resume for him to Delta pilot selection....

Riiiiight.
 
I bet your not cut-throat Doug. I've met some of the best people and friends over the years and I would'nt cut their throat for anything, no, not even a move up in the food chain. I'd rather be a true friend and hey maybe someday they'll help me get to where they are.
 
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I bet your not cut-throat Doug. I've met some of the best people and friends over the years and I would'nt cut their throat for anything, no, not even a move up in the food chain. I'd rather be a true friend and hey maybe someday they'll help me get to where they are.

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Except the time when I found my resume that Doug said he'd walk-in lining the bottom of his bird cage!
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Kidding! I kid thou...
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When I left my CFI job to take my current corporate position, my employer was in a bit of a bind. They had to get me in and out of initial on the airplane by a certain date to satisfy the insurance company. This meant that two weeks' notice wasn't going to be possible. I went to my boss at the old job and explained the situation. He was very cooperative, and basically said give him whatever notice I could and make sure my students got handed off to other instructors. I wound up giving about five days' notice, and he was fine with it ... because we talked about it on a professional level.

Now some people are just SOBs no matter how you slice it, but I think if you approach it reasonably and treat your employers fairly, they'll do the same for you. I agree wholeheartedly with the idea that you never burn bridges in this business ...

FL270
 
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My best friend's instrument instructor was flying for a corporate outfit,

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Maybe I'm missing something here but if he came from a prt91 operation they don't have to supply any training records, in fact the only thing they should supply without prejudice is when employment started and ended and maybe verification of salary. The formentioned act is for part 135 / 121 operations. I'm not so sure he got good advice but then I am very limited in my knowledge of this law. Maybe some management types or lawyer types can shed truth to this.

When I gave notice at my last job the CP wanted to know how soon I could be gone ... he didn't want me around being asked why I was leaving, he was afraid I'd tell the truth and make him look bad. NOT my style, but it all worked out for the best.
 
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Right, but at the same time when your receive that job offer from say american eagle, when they say when will you be available, it's hard for some people to say anything except, "Whenever you need me". Especially when that's what you've been waiting on.

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But the hiring company ought to give some thought to people who would do this to their current employer. If they did it once, they'll do it again.
 
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Right, but at the same time when your receive that job offer from say american eagle, when they say when will you be available, it's hard for some people to say anything except, "Whenever you need me". Especially when that's what you've been waiting on.

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American Eagle and any other regional will understand when a prospective hire tells them that they will need to give proper notice to their current employer.
 
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