AirGuardianC141747

All very informative and interesting. So - furloughs, door plugs, wheels, engines, engine cover or something off a SWA 73 recently, further economy issues, Boeing issues and delays of certifying Max 10 and other production, etc. - quite a bit of areas need to get their s**t together. At least Brown will be hiring for those interested and a slight boost for them, but overall just a shift of business within the $ spending world we live. Hopefully things will climb back up for everyone next year s we hopefully get past this 2024 year of many impacts and distractions. Stay safe out there.

Side note: While UPS starts clamoring for bodies to fill said 300 or so - This puts FedEx in a higher pilot overage losing that contract. I will not speculate on here, but for any Purple Pilot with actual information what’s next? Will it be just a prolonged attrition thru retirements or any goodness on upcoming contracts (via Tricolor effort perhaps) to fill this void and bring back higher flying hours. Hopefully the later.

Hopefully Boeing stacks its house of cards quickly during/after these investigations are done so SWA and United (UA decreased hiring/ton of Max 10 orders unfulfilled and substantially less 9s and 8s delivered monthly) Delta slowed up a bit supposedly. Wonder if SWA has a batch of retirements coming while awaiting Max 10 certification…? *SWA being triple in size to UPS (which is hiring something like 300 for their USPS contract and probably some retirements) has perhaps 400 maybe 500 retiring 2024-25 so things could change for the good. **Hopeful for those interested and spitballing of course.

Hopefully they find it “service connected” and you receive what you deserve - well more than 10%. Definitely go and get it checked out several times with different physicians. I have disc trauma like many in my neck due to NVGs back in the day in the AF. During early Army time my lower back got messed up and shattered bone shards between the discs were causing immense pain. Had pain killers and eventually dumbed those down thankfully. I had documentation for the above and plenty more issues. Oddly enough I received ratings for a lot of other stuff and none of the above. Uncover anything you have/all of it!!! VA Director I met working at the Pentagon when I worked in D.C. said: “Throw everything at the VA Dart Board, they determine what sticks.” Unfortunately you must dig into your records and pull anything and everything doing your homework to ensure documentation is entered into the process. Pains me that many aren’t recognized for their ailments. It also pains me that at least half didn’t delve into the process with some effort to include their documentation. Wish the system had a way forward to do it for you - but You must take care of You! Still doesn’t work out for many.

ERJ be tight. Probably squeezed it right out of him like Taco Bell. 🤪

Doubtful if any mail for anyone was on board, but the passengers on a United 777 who left Frankfurt for San Francisco yesterday had to turn around for an interesting issue over the North Atlantic. United Airlines flight diverted after toilet overflows into cabin…

Definitely the same as us, unless it’s OE of course and I lose opportunities as it should be priority wise. Currency gets tight though when you keep getting paired up with the OE couples… back to back to back… Staying senior FO brings some very nice trip pairings, but the senior OE Capts can hold these as well, hence the high amount of First Officer Attendant duties. Unless the aircraft requires an autoland I enjoy being up front and it’s easy for the most part as many newer folks just don’t want to fly for some reason or another. It’s been a few years since I have ever used seniority to my advantage for good reason. Most of our Capts are great, but when I have heard bad rumors of an upcoming flight with one I will push to the third seat or fourth to verify. Being senior to more than half of our Capts has benefits and brings questions, but after seeing my schedule, other benefits, etc. they get it.

At our outfit it reads more like this: A High Minimums Captain has less than 100 hours PIC in aircraft type. The 100 hours PIC is not Company specific, but the 100 hours in type cannot include OE/ILC time. PIC time personally logged under 61.51 as a type-rated FO acting as PIC on augmented segments shall not be credited toward this 100 hour requirement. (Only because us FOs are type rated as Capts) We also sign in when Boss is sleeping - to get into more trouble/emphasize Capt isn’t sole owner of responsibility. I always knew this, but it does help to put more reality to those who are lackadaisical up front… You can also reduce the 100hr requirement for every landing by one hour not to exceed 50. A few weather related approach requirements such as adding 100ft to the MDA or DA to include 1/2 mile vis (2400ft). That’s why I when I fly with a high mins Capt they are doing every takeoff and landing… *It helps us not to pair a newbie or those on “watch” with high mins Capts which makes sense as first timers having had no PIC time at all…

Divert - First request Philly, then Pitts, but eventually ended up in Baltimore supposedly. Voice change hence aircraft control and radio swap over perhaps. Tower seemed on it.

Oh man, was on a Delta 76 Delta One ride JFK-HNL beginning of the month going to pickup a jet and they mentioned WiFi was inop. Had in-flight entertainment so I didn’t care sleeping half the time, but people were steaming. Recalling plastic horseshoe headsets with projector screens blurred with cigarette smoke (not your choice of two or three movies shown) keeps me from complaining. Always can be worse.

Totally agree! ORD is my base only for the variety of flying outbound rarely to return and that’s it. Fortunately it’s 10 min to the Doubletree Misery (Good Hotel but inferior to our OCONUS digs), our own dedicated heavy ramps N/S, direct drop to your 3 flights of stairs plus one workout and secure your own aircraft. Departing for the Pacific, Asia, Europe, Australia always makes me smile putting these run down cities behind the tail. *The outlier areas are awesome I agree. Miss my former driveable HSV base. It was such a hassle free area - Make traffic call, Click the lights, call Memphis and depart or land and close it up if the tower went home. Good times.

Sounds familiar, be like JFK is what you’re saying. I’ll take the monotone, self- critiquing, slower ORD, unless it's the JFK “follow the 76 Widget in front of you - your number 29” conga line that’s easy enough. Sad we can’t be like Korea. “Eksit KiRo foRRow da gureenz…” slight language barrier here and there, but so much simpler…

O’Hare is painful at times. Especially when you’re at SE Cargo and you find out you need to get your bird to the NE Cargo ramp to load before departure. Somebody messed up and we paid the over an hour taxi movement fee. Still better than Shanghai, especially when the home teams are up and running as you always take a back seat.

Agree wholeheartedly. Remember when our own system was only a 100 above that as the commercial requirement and we all ran around on those puddle jumpers. I think even Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had more hours as well and flew in his own uniform.

Down to my last pair of issued tan flight boots/bricks and based on the weight no wonder they were free. Lucky to have received so much overage before you had to buy them yourselves. Still use a decades old LBE from early army training when plinking targets on my neighbors farm. Current tac belt is nice, but the LBE just works when strolling around extra pellets. Very few items I still use like the waffle shirt after retirement as the rest was unleashed to a local Army/Navy store or dumpster many years ago. *Not a scarf or were they called neckerchief to be seen.😜

As long as those smaller birds don’t fly to Hawaii. Good thing they can’t make the JFK to HNL. So much better on a 76 Delta One.

Dang, just got booted from the employee parking due to SWA making BNA a base vs satellite or whatever location. Guess I deserve it overall as I never ask my company to book with SWA… If there were more comfortable seating, service classes and big pond crossings it would be a consideration as well as being partnering with outfits that capitalize on comfortable travel and other accoutrements. Honestly I blame BNA for once again poor financial/capacity planning. Went from $25 per month to $75, then $120 and $150 for 2025. It adds some parking tactics and seems it will work out not paying for several months in which I don’t fly out, but it was convenient.

SWA joins the non-hiring ranks of some cargo outfits, but to totally different circumstances. Never know what lies ahead in this industry. Some obvious setbacks while others not so much.

Good times to be had no doubt and that’s less than 2hrs from my base. Definitely less dragging around than AMS (depending on your hotel location)and as I mentioned before, Hunter B obviously has had no trouble thriving within the confines of the domestic fishbowl. Plenty of fun to be had at less dense areas and I bid for those for quiet times every so often - Half of our folks prefer hanging out downtown Sydney understandably while I chill on the beach balcony with a stogie. Currently in HKG having just flown in with a new hire just 27yrs on the planet. Hysterical watching folks broaden their horizons. Can’t imagine where he’s run off too especially during the Lunar New Year. May never see him again and I wish him well.🤣

First rule of mil flight club: You do not talk about Mil Flight Club…… You do NOT talk about Mil Flight Club. I kid of course and your answer is true. There was a time and my mil non-flyer starter years things were out of control, not a bad thing. That Navy leak tamped things down a bit… Like College but with beer $, no retribution, no hard rules, handbooks and no video footage from strangers.🤪

Doh, that’s good “hookers and blow”… ya’ll need to get to Europe, AMS specifically or some crazy areas in Asia where a few of our hounds are relentless - yowza. I still find myself cleaning the deck with our huge wipes after these past few years due to the pandemic. Tell you the truth, it never really was for the pandemic. *Definitely not saying overseas is the best ticket as it seems Hunter has proven to be very happy within his own backyard. 🤣

Oooops, I myself missed my specific point of those within our industry which I need to correct. To make it whole, it’s the folks within the FAA specifically or any other non-up front metal manipulator. Basically non-pilots as they have the schtick on this pass or no pass at this time. We have little power or zero in this as you know. Could care less statement was initially backed by retirement by 60 wishful thinking and the 62 more probable. The only real dog in the fight for myself was having the option and really having a medical issue extended timeframe so I will change a bit and say - now I care for it, but it’s not an entitlement. If it happens then OK, but I myself am not entitled to it and less than 10 years from the current max at this time. If it does put the squeeze on the correct parts of the industry and move thing up to be against it, okie dokie. Yup, everything is politics, power, pure greed, jealousy, etc. Terrible stuff.

Jealous Much? Top end/senior folks earning top pay for an additional two years turns quite a few others within our industry green… Hug is correct, the data has been around for many years with other countries. Personally could care less, but I’d be lying if having that option wouldn’t help possibly when turning 65 for some reason or another. Closer look medicals sure, a few additional hurdles whatever - just stay as fit as possible as being able to do the job to 67 isn’t an absolute given. Plenty of folks in their fifties looking pretty rode hard and put up wet and should hang it up… Wish to retire at 60, 62 seems more like it. Feeling pretty dang good now, but life has a way of shutting sh*t down without your consent so the the best positive for the limit for myself is being medically disqualified and on long term disability for the additional timeframe. *Understand the upward mobility implications, but this is nothing new since the previous 60 to 65 move as many were delayed for quite awhile. 10yrs to the left or more was a thing, but not right now. Don’t count on anything until your there and even then be cautious.

HR is where those embryos originated and created their own safer space. For now.

You must be right, hence the 12,000 mentioned were hyper focused on managers in their statement. I wouldn’t feel too safe as a manager at large corporations right now. Heck, I “manage” to show up effortlessly to work and hope HR doesn’t hyper focus on me. HR, now there’s a group that needs some downsizing. Dang handbook is a lot thicker now.