L-16B
Well-Known Member
I do love me some quailHe was making a bad joke about “quails”.
I do love me some quailHe was making a bad joke about “quails”.
ahh I see it, and agree with your assessment!He was making a bad joke about “quails”.
It always made me laugh. The über-senior, baby B-scalers always bragged about how dangerous international was and how special you had to be to fly international (sure some airports are tricky), but needing a special qual to go to Cancun? Give me a break.Excuse me, WHAT? Almost as confusing as 'A' and 'B'...
That's where the ETOPS seat lock is the monkey wrench. The luckiest guy in the company is the guy who gets something east of Vegas a month before the first junior Captain's seat lock expires. (Assuming that's possible)
Well, that escalated quickly. According to the latest vacancy projection my class is eligible for OAK Captain on the July bid. I’ve been here 8.5 years. Lots to consider.
Pros:
Cons:
- Be in the left seat before any more black swan events or the increase to age 67
- Sick time / disability pays at Captain rates
- Bump in 401K contributions, profit sharing etc.
- Career goals. Not getting any younger. I turn 49 in Oct.
Big question is where do I want to be if the music stops today, junior left seat or senior right seat? And will I have regrets if I choose to bypass, and then the music stops due to age 67, recession, another pandemic, a merger….?
- 3-4 hour commute over several time zones
- Lose control over schedule - back to weekend reserve
- Lose at least one day off per week to commuting
- Cost of commuter hotels, Uber etc
- Lost seniority for vacation bidding
- 6 months ETOPS domicile lock (OAK, LAX, LAS)
- Away from home during son’s last two years of high school
What does your wife say in conversations that you've had regarding this topic? Also both ALPA and the APA both came strongly out against age 67/68. Without major unions supporting it, does that make it DOA?
What good is the left seat if you’ll just get displaced in a black swan? Being a junior commuter to reserve sounds miserable. You can just pickup a few trips a year and makeup the pay difference, right?Well, that escalated quickly. According to the latest vacancy projection my class is eligible for OAK Captain on the July bid. I’ve been here 8.5 years. Lots to consider.
Pros:
Cons:
- Be in the left seat before any more black swan events or the increase to age 67
- Sick time / disability pays at Captain rates
- Bump in 401K contributions, profit sharing etc.
- Career goals. Not getting any younger. I turn 49 in Oct.
Big question is where do I want to be if the music stops today, junior left seat or senior right seat? And will I have regrets if I choose to bypass, and then the music stops due to age 67, recession, another pandemic, a merger….?
- 3-4 hour commute over several time zones
- Lose control over schedule - back to weekend reserve
- Lose at least one day off per week to commuting
- Cost of commuter hotels, Uber etc
- Lost seniority for vacation bidding
- 6 months ETOPS domicile lock (OAK, LAX, LAS)
- Away from home during son’s last two years of high school
I freely admit it isn’t a pay issue, it’s ego. I’ve been an FO for 26 years. (I don’t count “co-Captain” flying corporate) and I’m admittedly anxious to jump the trash bag.What good is the left seat if you’ll just get displaced in a black swan? Being a junior commuter to reserve sounds miserable. You can just pickup a few trips a year and makeup the pay difference, right?
"Oh, there's a problem? Sounds serious, someone should definitely do something. *returns to newspaper*"
They're going to have to drag me back over the pedestal kicking and screaming.
Pros:
Cons:
- Be in the left seat before any more black swan events or the increase to age 67
- Sick time / disability pays at Captain rates
- Bump in 401K contributions, profit sharing etc.
- Career goals. Not getting any younger. I turn 49 in Oct.
- 3-4 hour commute over several time zones
- Lose control over schedule - back to weekend reserve
- Lose at least one day off per week to commuting
- Cost of commuter hotels, Uber etc
- Lost seniority for vacation bidding
- 6 months ETOPS domicile lock (OAK, LAX, LAS)
- Away from home during son’s last two years of high school
One question since I'm too lazy to look, how far off on the projections of LAX junior captain are you? Could you bid OAK then transfer to LAX during training on the August vacancy? Goes without saying that LA is way easier than OAK to commute, and with more upgrades and hiring planned you should be able to start making your way east thorough the ETOPS bases.Well, that escalated quickly. According to the latest vacancy projection my class is eligible for OAK Captain on the July bid. I’ve been here 8.5 years. Lots to consider.
Pros:
Cons:
- Be in the left seat before any more black swan events or the increase to age 67
- Sick time / disability pays at Captain rates
- Bump in 401K contributions, profit sharing etc.
- Career goals. Not getting any younger. I turn 49 in Oct.
Big question is where do I want to be if the music stops today, junior left seat or senior right seat? And will I have regrets if I choose to bypass, and then the music stops due to age 67, recession, another pandemic, a merger….?
- 3-4 hour commute over several time zones
- Lose control over schedule - back to weekend reserve
- Lose at least one day off per week to commuting
- Cost of commuter hotels, Uber etc
- Lost seniority for vacation bidding
- 6 months ETOPS domicile lock (OAK, LAX, LAS)
- Away from home during son’s last two years of high school
One question since I'm too lazy to look, how far off on the projections of LAX junior captain are you? Could you bid OAK then transfer to LAX during training on the August vacancy? Goes without saying that LA is way easier than OAK to commute, and with more upgrades and hiring planned you should be able to start making your way east thorough the ETOPS bases.
I think age 67 is a no go for at least a few years yet with ALPA being against it. My own useless friends and coworkers polling says everyone that I've asked has said "no" to the SWAPA internal poll as well. Time will tell how scientific that is...
Losing vacation seniority is going to sting for sure though. I've finally cracked into the top half in DEN and should maybe hold a good summer week next year.
Does SW really have many 64 year olds right now? Even if retirement was extended I would think SW would be one of the least effected.I freely admit it isn’t a pay issue, it’s ego. I’ve been an FO for 26 years. (I don’t count “co-Captain” flying corporate) and I’m admittedly anxious to jump the trash bag.
I freely admit it isn’t a pay issue, it’s ego. I’ve been an FO for 26 years. (I don’t count “co-Captain” flying corporate) and I’m admittedly anxious to jump the trash bag.
That does sound really close and would lessen the pain a lot. Sounds like a good plan.Interestingly DEN is projected to go junior to LAX this time around. Still 200 numbers senior to OAK though.
200 doesn't sound like that many until the music stops... then it's a whole lot!
Well, that escalated quickly. According to the latest vacancy projection my class is eligible for OAK Captain on the July bid. I’ve been here 8.5 years. Lots to consider.
Pros:
Cons:
- Be in the left seat before any more black swan events or the increase to age 67
- Sick time / disability pays at Captain rates
- Bump in 401K contributions, profit sharing etc.
- Career goals. Not getting any younger. I turn 49 in Oct.
Big question is where do I want to be if the music stops today, junior left seat or senior right seat? And will I have regrets if I choose to bypass, and then the music stops due to age 67, recession, another pandemic, a merger….?
- 3-4 hour commute over several time zones
- Lose control over schedule - back to weekend reserve
- Lose at least one day off per week to commuting
- Cost of commuter hotels, Uber etc
- Lost seniority for vacation bidding
- 6 months ETOPS domicile lock (OAK, LAX, LAS)
- Away from home during son’s last two years of high school
Being a CA is definitely nice. Most of the people I fly with are great, but those occasional trips with a weirdo definitely made me want to upgrade after chilling out in the right seat for several years. I can’t even imagine being a chameleon for 26 years.
Out of curiosity, what’s the crashpad situation like in OAK for you guys? I will be doing reserve out there next fall, and am tempted to just do hotels unless there are some really nice crashpads. I’m absolutely not doing the regional pilot bunk bed crap again.
Is HKG FDA permanently closed?