Young Airline Pilots

Not really, I'd say most airline pilots have never been furloughed

......HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!!!! Whew, that's rich.

I needed a good laugh man, thanks :)

I'm flying with a captain that has been furloughed twice, and will get kicked back to the right seat here in about 2 months.

It could be you too!
 
Most of the Captains I fly with have been furloughed at least once or twice. I've been lucky so far. Eight years, and still no furlough. Just barely hanging on by a thread right now, though.
 
There was a kid at my company that was 19 when he was hired. There's also a 23 year old Captain at my company who takes online classes trying to get his degree, and he's pretty burnt out on the whole work and trying to take classes deal.

Lemme see, when I was 19 I was in college at a Playboy rated party school with my earliest class beginning at noon. After the 5 year college plan I moved out to Vail and spend 2 seasons as a ski bum. I think I skied/rode close to 200 days over 2 seasons. Then I moved back to Chicago about a mile from Wrigley and started teaching and spent my summers working a few days a week as a bike messenger and the other days down at the beach or at a Cubs game. And that's the Reader's Digest version.

I wouldn't change a thing.
 
I was 21 when I got my first airline job (Jetstream copilot). I was 24 when I was hired by US Airways.

Then, on the way back down <laugh> I was hired by PSA at 27, Comair at 29, and my current employer at 31.

It's been quite a roller coaster.
sucks things didnt wotk out for you zap. you would have been pretty close to number one at retirement.
 
sucks things didnt wotk out for you zap. you would have been pretty close to number one at retirement.

Don't feel TOO bad for Zap. He got taken to the gingerbreadman on an overnight with one of the most famous CHQ captains ever....

No, he left waaayyyy before I was CA.
 
I did? I was based in Johnstown. I LIVED in the Gingerbread Man. (One of the gate agents, Wendy, worked there).

I wish I remembered the trip you're talking about though... maybe the fact that I don't means I had a good time.

That being said, I THINK he meant at US Airways. And yes, I would have been #1 for about 3 months if I remember correctly. (if all things remained the same, age 65 never happened, the merger never happened, etc.)
 
Ok, so i'm still in my hotel in Orlando with nothing to do, so I figured it was time for a funny story.

It's 1996 and i'm based in Johnstown Pennsylvania which, in the post industrial steel belt is quite possibly the sphincter in the butthole of the planet earth.

I'm 21 years old and living in a crashpad (because where else did I have to go?)

We have a row-house in a bad area of downtown J-town (was there a good area?). In this row house the two senior pilots each have their own room. Another guy sleeps on the couch on the first floor, and me and a Captain share the attic with two air-mattresses.

Now this Captain (whose name I won't mention) and I didn't get along. He was pretty high maintenance. The guy must have had about 10 personalities and every trip he came up with something new that I was doing wrong. It made going to work tough...and going home to sleep next to the guy even tougher.

Add to the fact that this "house" should have been condemned (there was some orange stuff growing on the wall that we couldn't figure out how to kill -- bleach just made it mad) and I was not happy.

Well, there was also a dog living in this house. A Golden Retriever named "Please". One day after work this Captain and I go to Sheetz for the commuter pilot dinner -- hot dog, chips, and a coke for $1.99.

When we get home the Captain decides it would be funny to feed the pickles to the dog. Dog eats them.

A little while later we go to bed. The light goes out. the guy climbs into bed. and a moment later JUMPS out of bed screaming, "My Bed is Wet!!"
"Someone PEED in it!!!"

The dog (we presume) peed in his bed in retaliation for the pickles?

Well, naturally we all blamed each other but to this day I wonder... did the dog do it?

I know I didn't... but I sure wish I had.

the end. (It this didn't seem funny, guess you had to be there)
 
I was thinking your first J31 trip, as relayed to me by BC, MP, and JJ.

Something about a setup with BC goading JJ, and MP having you raise concerns if you really wanna sit that close to JJ.

Ring a bell?

Oh, I got some good Mike M. stories to catch you up on. Next time we're in MCO at the same time....
 
I was thinking your first J31 trip, as relayed to me by BC, MP, and JJ.

OOOOhhh my illustrious best man Mike P... yes, while I was on a 3 day trip with good ol' Jimmy John he somehow persuaded me to believe that Jimmy -- who was married with three attractive young daughters -- was gay.

I asked Jimmy during taxi-out in PIT on day 3... and he started yelling profanity. Even with the roar of the garrets i'm certain the pax could hear him.

Good ol' MP. One of these days i'm gonna get him back.

I'm in Orlando until Sunday. Not sure when i'll be back. This is only the 2nd or 3rd time i've been here since I started with this company. I'd love to hear your Mike M. stories though...

Ever hear about how we drew pictures of Bob's Big Boy dressed as an airline Captain holding his hat...and photocopied a few hundred of them with Mike M.'s name on them and spread them around the system. He was pretty torqued off. -- but hey, if you LOOK like Bob's Big Boy.... you gotta expect that sort of thing!
 
Actually at my outfit we have a couple guys who flew in the Air Force Special Missions squadron. We've also had a couple SR-71 pukes and numerous guys who flew VIP squadrons for all branches of the service.
 
So...yeah I missed the old school by like 10 mos appearantly.

Yeah, my initial ERJ class was awesome we had Chiapet and Mikey. They fought like little old ladies at Bingo night.

It kicked so much ass.

If we ever bring the whale to XNA...I'll call you up...:rolleyes:
 
Don't laugh. People bring 747s into XNA all the time. I think there's a paint shop or an interior shop or something there.
 
"Not really, I'd say most airline pilots have never been furloughed"

I would disagree. I was furloughed once and "between jobs" a few other times. I'll take that back to 19 years of 121. You might be able to take a poll of ASA Capts and find that the majority of them haven't been furloughed, but if you venture outside that, you might find the results interesting...
 
i got my first fo job at 19, been to two different airlines, and possibly looking at being just above a furlough. trying to take leave as long as possible so hopefully things can make a turn towards the better
 
There are AF spec ops guys all over the place and they have different career aspirations like anyone else. One of our best check airman is an AF One guy. We have a U2 guy or two as well along with various other test pilots etc. Those guys retire and go get an airline job like everyone else.

As for me, first airline job at 23, hired at CAL when I was 28 (didn't go), hired at Cathay at 29 and went to training at 30. Along the way did lots of other stuff and side businesses. Had I been on the faster track to a Major I may have gotten too comfortable to do the other things that I enjoy and make me more money. Enjoy the journey because you will miss some aspects of it.
 
At SkyWest most of my crews looked at me like I was the oldest person they had ever seen, at 30. 6 months later, Southernjets flight attendants all crowded around to pinch my cheek and ask if I'd seen "The Graduate". I guess youth is in the eye of the beholder.
 
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