The new airline thread

[Buddy Spike]

2 hours ago, Sneedro said:

if you can't face to face tell your airline's chief pilot what exactly you are dropping MLOA for and then allow him/her to call your reserve CC to confirm, don't do it.  They have your CC's number so they can call anytime they want with or without your knowledge. 

 

While I agree with just about everything else you said, this is a hard no.  USERRA has no such requirement and no one should be expected to do this.  

From the USERRA website:

Documents that satisfy the requirements of USERRA include the following:

DD214 - Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty;

Copy of duty orders prepared by the facility where the orders were fulfilled and carrying an endorsement indicating completion of the described service;

Letter from the commanding officer of a Personnel Support Activity or someone of comparable authority;

Certificate of completion from military training school;

Discharge certificate showing character of service;

Copy of extracts from payroll documents showing periods of service.

 

Nowhere does it say that you should/shall allow him/her to call your reserve CC to confirm or that they should have your CC's number.  That is an overreach and we do other military bros a disservice by allowing the company to do that.  

Do mil when you're on mil.  Provide the documents to satisfy the law and nothing more.  It's not that complicated. 

[RTB]

2 hours ago, Buddy Spike said:

While I agree with just about everything else you said, this is a hard no. 

Pretty sure he's not suggesting you SHOULD do that, he's saying you shouldn't be worried about what would happen if it did.  If you know you're cheating and a conversation between the airline and the unit would expose said cheating, you probably shouldn't be doing it.

[Sneedro]

4 hours ago, Buddy Spike said:

While I agree with just about everything else you said, this is a hard no.  USERRA has no such requirement and no one should be expected to do this.  

 

 

Let me clarify, if you can't theoretically look your chief pilot in the face and tell him/her what you are taking your MIL leave for and offer to call your CC, you probably shouldn't be taking the leave.  No, you should not actually do this...do only what is required by law.  Don't let them force anything more.  It isn't in your or any other reservist's best interest as nothing good can come from it only bad.

[Buddy Spike]

10 hours ago, RTB said:

Pretty sure he's not suggesting you SHOULD do that, he's saying you shouldn't be worried about what would happen if it did.  If you know you're cheating and a conversation between the airline and the unit would expose said cheating, you probably shouldn't be doing it.

I agree.  But some new guys may read that and think it's okay for a company to demand that.  It's a slippery slope when it comes to setting precedents.  

If you're still in the military and flying for the airlines, it's just as important to know USERRA law and comply with it as it is to know your contract and fly it.  Deviating based on company demands for either can screw your fellow pilots.

This is the easiest job in the world.  Don't make it harder than it needs to be.  

[Gazmo]

Nope, but they can take 160 hours of leave for the month to do indoc and/or initial training then return to the ART world until IOE or the leave runs out.  I also know SQ/CC’s are a carve out in the ART/mil leave rules.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Not sure this is legit. Supervisor would at least need to approve this stunt.

[matmacwc]

Seen it done!

[SocialD]

52 minutes ago, matmacwc said:

Seen it done!

In Fresno?  

[matmacwc]

19 hours ago, SocialD said:

In Fresno?  

Good one, but no.  If you have the leave time I don’t see the problem.

[RTB]

9 minutes ago, matmacwc said:

Good one, but no.  If you have the leave time I don’t see the problem.

You're talking about a dude with a full time ART job taking an airline job with no intention of leaving the full time ART job?

[matmacwc]

Every intention of leaving it, but stringing the job along until after training.

[RTB]

21 minutes ago, matmacwc said:

Every intention of leaving it, but stringing the job along until after training.

Gotcha

[Gazmo]

Gotcha

Well your supervisor has to approve your leave for 30 days. If your supervisor approves the leave for 30 days and you're upfront and honest and tell them that you're getting an airline job and you're going to resign your position after indoc and your supervisor is good with that then I guess it's legal. However, with as many technician vacancies as there are in some of these units good luck finding a supervisor that is not going to want to get that job on the street as soon as you decide to leave to greener grasses. They can't post a vacancy on USAJobs until you resign.

 

I guess you'd be saving on federal income tax taking the leave rather than selling it back.

[pcola]

Do most airlines have any term life insurance options as part of their benefits packages and if so are they any better or worse than open market options?
I’m 2 years from AF retirement and trying to decide if I should lock in a substantial AAFMA term policy since the VGLI looks terrible.

[HossHarris]

Delta gives you about $900k for free*

[nunya]

Here's a term you might as well learn now if you aren't already civilian payroll smart.

https://www.patriotsoftware.com/payroll/training/blog/a-closer-look-at-imputed-income/

[MooseAg03]

Do most airlines have any term life insurance options as part of their benefits packages and if so are they any better or worse than open market options?
I’m 2 years from AF retirement and trying to decide if I should lock in a substantial AAFMA term policy since the VGLI looks terrible.

I have $600K through AAFMAA for around $25 per month. I have no plans to drop it after I separate even if I can get a good rate at the airline.

[HuggyU2]

On 4/19/2018 at 3:44 PM, Sneedro said:

Granted there's an overall ... airline pilot shortage...

Just to be clear, there is no shortage in the US majors. Plenty of applicants still waiting for the call.

And for the Regionals, there’s only a shortage of pilots willing to work for their salaries/benefits. 

[Sneedro]

1 hour ago, HuggyU2 said:

Just to be clear, there is no shortage in the US majors. Plenty of applicants still waiting for the call.

And for the Regionals, there’s only a shortage of pilots willing to work for their salaries/benefits. 

Agreed...much better said than I.

[sputnik]

9 hours ago, pcola said:

Do most airlines have any term life insurance options as part of their benefits packages and if so are they any better or worse than open market options?
I’m 2 years from AF retirement and trying to decide if I should lock in a substantial AAFMA term policy since the VGLI looks terrible.

Delta is pretty good on that.  As Hoss said, you get almost 900k for "free" (have to pay tax on imputed income) and I think can get up to 1.5M for a pretty decent rate.  

As I was getting ready to retire I looked at getting a 1M policy from Navy Federal. I  opted not to once I realized what Delta offered.

A couple years in....kinda wish I had.    Not that I think I need more, nor do I expect to leave Delta anytime soon.  However, I don't like having all my insurance tied to my employer.

Can't speak to the other majors but I expect they have similar insurance options.  Only you can decide how much you need, and if you want it all tied to your employer.

[pcola]

Thanks guys. Gonna do 800k with AAFMA for a 15 year term I think. I’ll be 58 in 15 years. By that point the goal is to have a net worth such that we can consider ourselves “self-insured”. In other words no longer need a policy to cover my loss of income for my family’s standard of living. I guess an airline’s policy will be a “bonus.” Also planning to skip the SSB by the same logic

[Champ Kind]

8 hours ago, pcola said:

Thanks guys. Gonna do 800k with AAFMA for a 15 year term I think. I’ll be 58 in 15 years. By that point the goal is to have a net worth such that we can consider ourselves “self-insured”. In other words no longer need a policy to cover my loss of income for my family’s standard of living. I guess an airline’s policy will be a “bonus.” Also planning to skip the SSB by the same logic

I've had the same policy with AAFMAA for about 7 years now.  It was a very simple process and the low monthly premium is worth every penny.  I think every service member should take advantage of this coverage to make sure your family is taken care of should the unthinkable occur.

Edited May 9, 2018 by Champ Kind
added hyperlink

[17D_guy]

5 hours ago, Champ Kind said:

I've had the same policy with AAFMAA for about 7 years now.  It was a very simple process and the low monthly premium is worth every penny.  I think every service member should take advantage of this coverage to make sure your family is taken care of should the unthinkable occur.

Perhaps I should break this into it's own thread, but is there a notable difference between USAA and AAFMAA?  USAA's always seemed extremely competitive to me.

[F-15E WSO]

1 hour ago, 17D_guy said:

Perhaps I should break this into it's own thread, but is there a notable difference between USAA and AAFMAA?  USAA's always seemed extremely competitive to me.

In my experience, yes there is a notable difference.  In my research, USAA asked something along the lines of "Do you fly often?" If so, their rates went up quite a bit.  AAFMAA didn't have a flying occupation penalty, and specifically noted that they cover people who fly for a living.

[nsplayr]

AAFMAA was significantly cheaper for much more coverage for me as an average dude, non-smoker in decent shape. YMMV.

[FourFans]

11 hours ago, nsplayr said:

AAFMAA was significantly cheaper for much more coverage for me as an average dude, non-smoker in decent shape. YMMV.

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