The new airline thread

[SocialD]

5 hours ago, FourFans130 said:

Hold up, you're saying MEM-ANC is the worst leg in your system?  Must be a hell of a system!

 

0400 takeoff for a 7 hour block flight, with a 2-man crew...that does sound pretty bad.  This ain't Vietnam, there are rules and we're not barbarians!  Hell, I get upset when I get a flight over 1.5 hours in my current jet.  Nothing worse than seeing > 60 minutes to top of descent when I reach my cruise altitude of FL280 🤣.

 

Though I can't top Weeds story, I've ran across the same types.   One 330 Captain spent the entire trip to Rome, trying to convince me to go to Kiev with him to bang chicks.  I mean full court press, time share sales pitch, trying to convince me I should join him.  

 

Want to see more of this in action.  Watch dudes lose their minds when São Paulo or Singapore either leaves their fleet or gets cancelled all together.  Watched that happen when they moved São Paulo to a different base (same fleet).  Dudes lost their shit.  Of course they bid over to the new base on the next bid.  Their Brazil families must have been pissed for those few months lol.   

[HeloDude]

39 minutes ago, SocialD said:

Though I can't top Weeds story, I've ran across the same types.   One 330 Captain spent the entire trip to Rome, trying to convince me to go to Kiev with him to bang chicks.  I mean full court press, time share sales pitch, trying to convince me I should join him.

Ugh, that’s horrible.  So how was Kiev?

[HuggyU2]

Interesting...

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/jetblue-and-spirit-airlines-to-merge-in-deal-with-equity-value-of-38-billion-that-ends-3-way-merger-battle-with-frontier-2022-07-28?mod=home-page

[Springer]

On 7/24/2022 at 1:22 PM, SocialD said:

 

What serious said.  At DAL anyway, FO's can bid to avoid certain employee numbers.  I've never actually bid to avoid anyone because I'm not going to let one asshole take away any of my bidding power.  I have heard of Captains telling FO's to add him to their no-fly list lol.  

I'd love to know how many FO's there had my now retired bro-in-law on their list.  He never knows when to STFU and wears me out every time wife makes me visit them.

[JeremiahWeed]

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but like I said, I've got a few..........

Okay – quick one from way back at United in early 2001.

757/767 Captain at United with whom I’m flying a 4-day trip.  The guy doesn’t wear an undershirt, has brought one shirt for the whole trip and by day 2 he reeks.  At one point, we’re turning between flights and waiting for the pax to start boarding.  One of the F/As standing in the flight deck doorway says, “Oh my, we may need to get this lav serviced before we go, it stinks”.  I look at her while doing the sideways eyes toward the flight deck and tell her, “It ain’t the bathroom”.  I finally have to ask him to use the hotel laundry service before the next day.

Max altitude on a 767 is 43,100 (WTF?  I dunno – ask Boeing)

We’re light and cruising on the last hour of our BOS-SFO transcon at FL400.  Captain Stinky decides he wants to explore the edges of the envelope since he’s never been above our current altitude.  “Hey, see if center will give us a block altitude from FL410-430.  I want to see how this thing handles the max altitude.”

“Really?  I’m pretty sure it’s gonna be just like it is here at FL400”  (Let’s not do dumb things – K?)

“Yeah, go ahead and ask them”

Of course, I gotta put in a little dig just to make sure everyone else knows this is stupid……

“Center, United 123, the captain would like a block altitude from FL410 to FL430.”

“United 123, unable”

Oh, that’s too bad.  Would have been so much fun. 🙄

On another turn, he pulls out a no-shit photo album with real pictures that had to be developed from film in an old-fashioned camera.  More shit for some of you to google when you’re done learning about Jim Croce.  In the magic photo album, he has a bunch of nudes that he’s apparently taken over the years.  Tasteful, playboy nudes (no Hustler baloney spread shots) but still pretty weird.  Again, not one to turn down a porn (sort of) invite, I take a look.  I wasn’t sure I wanted to know who these women were or why they had agreed to this, so I just left that question unasked.  But this album is the most important part of the story because it plays another part the next day.  This is pre-9-11 and one of the reasonably young, fairly hot F/As comes up to visit for a while during cruise.  We’re just shooting the shit when the Captain’s SA low light comes on and he reaches for “the book”.  He swings it out of his pubs kit into view and my heart stops.  Slow motion…..”Nooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!”  😧

In horror, I’m thinking “Please God no……… I like my new job………you clown, WTF are you doing.”

I’m giving him the “cut” sign across my neck and wishing I was somewhere else when actually starts opening it up while saying……

“Hey, I’ve got a photo album with some nudes that I’ve shot, do you want to take a look?”

Now, I can’t say that part of me wasn’t curious to see if she’d be into it.  I guess that was the part of me that wasn’t worried about my multi-million-dollar airline career crumbling to dust at my feet.  Maybe this is how the book started in the first place back when he was flying DC-8s, FAs were stewardesses and all hot, everyone dressed up to fly and meals were served on fine china.  🤷‍♂️

Luckily, she just gives a little smile and says, “Oh, that’s okay – probably not something that I’d be too interested in, thanks anyway.”  

But that was her cue to leave, never to return.  Thanks, dumbass.

Edited July 29, 2022 by JeremiahWeed

[Springer]

1 hour ago, JeremiahWeed said:

Okay – quick one from way back at United in early 2001.

 

 

Great stories that I can relate, porn in the cockpit and an idiot going to max altitude in a 727.  I thought you flew for FEDEX?   

[AirGuardianC141747]

On 7/27/2022 at 11:03 PM, FourFans130 said:

Hold up, you're saying MEM-ANC is the worst leg in your system?  Must be a hell of a system!

Different perspectives all around, but I actually do agree aside from sort flying. My friends based in MEM on the Atlas side sometimes get stuck on 6, 8, 10, legs on FedEx timelines driving a whale with a 2 Fool Crew. Totally bites. Groundhog Day for a full pattern is absolutely obnoxious. My pattern blew up (normal) a couple of months ago from several international jumps to just four overnights initially doing ORD-ANC, then ANC-ORD, wash rinse repeat (still not as mind numbing as our FedEx time table turns) before I begged scheduling to get me out of the country to a decent layover which they kindly obliged and off to NRT thankfully for my 32/7… 

Edited July 29, 2022 by AirGuardianC141747

[JeremiahWeed]

7 hours ago, Springer said:

Great stories that I can relate, porn in the cockpit and an idiot going to max altitude in a 727.  I thought you flew for FEDEX?   

Furloughed in 2003, never to return.  Best thing that could have happened in hindsight.

[JeremiahWeed]

First flight at United (for me) after the 9-11 halt to flying.  Being a local living in base, I’m on reserve hoping to get some paid days off.  The tradeoff is reserve makes it more likely I’ll get stuck with a scab since guys sick out of their trips when they know they’re flying with one.  How do they know?  We all got issued a book by ALPA with every scab’s name, employee #, DOH, birth date.  Normally one only speaks to them when necessary and for checklist responses.  Unfortunately, the 1985 strike puts many of their seniority numbers in the left seat of the 757/767.  Bottom line is I wasn’t surprised that my first trip back after the attack was with scab.  Yayyyy 🙄.  On a related subject, while we were grounded, UAL bought a bunch of tasers  and planned on equipping the flight deck of each aircraft with two of them.  We received a day of training on their use, cockpit self-defense and overall security, etc.  The general consensus of the experts was use of maneuvering tactics or depressurization was not valid for a variety of reasons.  That was communicated to all pilots and FAs during the training.  BTW, the taser thing never came to pass.  

I get to ops and as usual, the scab has already signed the flight plan and gone to the airplane.  They hate hanging ops with the normal pilots since they are quickly identified and publicly shamed.  Usually by someone (or multiples) using “clickers” like the pit bosses in Vegas calling the cocktail waitresses.  As soon as a scab walks into ops, the “popping” from the clickers starts as the guy does the walk of shame to the flight plan desk.  So, I head to the aircraft, do the walk around and find Napoleon sitting in his seat getting ready.  5 foot – nothing, tubby little former Thud driver with a “slick tie” (no ALPA pin).

He's spun up because we have one flight to MSP, very short layover and an early go the next morning for a long day.  He want’s a later van time in the morning so we don’t have to wake up as early.  Whatever.  He makes multiple calls to scheduling and eventually decides to take care of it at the hotel.  It’s an airport hotel because of the short night so we’re on the shuttle that runs every half hour.  WTF was gonna change about that hot-shot?  Based on our departure time, we either get to the airport 1:15 prior (too early) or :45 prior and rush a little.  “Let’s get the later 05:30 shuttle” he says as he slam-clicks and we head to bed.

Next morning I’m in the lobby at 05:20. No sign of fearless leader.  05:30 and I’m holding a full van of hotel guests while I check with the front desk.  “Oh, he already checked out and took the 05:00 shuttle”.

YGBSM!

Yup, I get to the jet and he’s already in his seat again. 

“05:30 shuttle?  Did I misunderstand?”

“Ah, I just decided to get out here early.”  Says the clown who spent at least 30 minutes on multiple calls the day before trying not to get to the airport early.  You’re never surprised by the shit the scabs pull.  Never.

Now we start with a flight to DEN and we’re turning to somewhere else.  After arrival in DEN, I come up from doing the walkaround and he’s standing in first class, trying to see over the tops of the seats and brief the new batch of FAs we picked up in DEN.  Since I’ve haven’t gotten to the aircraft with him and been part of this briefing yet, I stick around to listen in.  Within a few minutes he begins to describe how, in the event of another 9-11 style takeover attempt, he will be depressurizing the aircraft and maneuvering it as required to “make it tough on the attackers”.

The senior FA raises her hand and say, “They told us you guys weren’t going to do that.”

“Oh, well it’s happening on this plane, honey.  But honestly, if it gets to that point, I don’t think you’ll care because you’ll probably be dead.”

My eyes get big. 😲 Holy Shit!  That’s gonna go over like a fart in church.

She grabs her bag, spins around and says, “Ok, I’m out of here” and heads to the phone on the jet bridge to tell scheduling she’s not flying with this clown.  Little Hitler heads back up to the flight deck.  All the other FAs file off the aircraft, never to be seen again.

I go up, sit down and let him know – “All the FAs are gone.” 😒

“That’s their call, I really don’t care.”

Great…. Long day is gonna get longer.  I’m pretty pissed about his plan, so I start with:  “You managed to arrive at the aircraft before me on our first two legs and brief the flight attendants without me.  We’re about to fly for the third time and I’m just now finding out about this.  Do you think it might have been a good idea to inform your FO that your plan was to depressurize and maneuver the aircraft contrary to all the guidance we’ve been given?”

“Oh, yeah…..well, I would have told you if it came to that.” 

As I’m thinking, when?  When we were in a “4G-negative dive” (Mav?) sucking rubber with a cabin altitude in the 30s?  You’re an idiot and I can’t wait for this trip to end.

A little while later, a shadow appears in the doorway of the flight deck and I turn around to see a guy in a suit, with a UAL pilot ID on his lanyard.  “Hi, I’m Captain Somebody, I’m the Denver Chief Pilot.  I understand we have an issue with some flight attendants?”

I just point to the little guy and say, “You need to talk to him. “  Then I take a little initiative and suggest, “Maybe you two want to discuss this in private.”

The Chief Pilot says, “I think that’s a great idea” and I gladly excuse myself to let them sort it out.  In hindsight, it might have been fun to watch the discussion but at the time I was full.

They found us some new flight attendants and the trip continues reasonably uneventfully because nothing else comes to mind.  The scabs were always the ones you got completely unexpected shit from.  If someone did some off the wall shit and you hadn’t bothered to check so see if they were on the list, 99% of the time, they were there.

Edited August 1, 2022 by JeremiahWeed

[Day Man]

keep em coming, bro 🍻

[JeremiahWeed]

A few days later (after the Thud scab, still on reserve).  I get another call for a trip and it’s one of the “get to the airport as quick as you can” situations.  Trying to help the company out that’s on its ass after 9-11, I give it the college try.  They’re apparently out of FOs in DC, so I’m supposed to deadhead to IAD, layover and operate out the next morning.  As I scramble to pack my shit and get out of the house, my mindset is – no need to check the scab list, there’s no way I’m getting two in a row.  That’s never happened to me.

I make my way to IAD as a single.  The captain is IAD based, so we’ll meet at the airport the next morning.  The van is late in the morning and I get to the terminal at show time minus 15, :45 prior.  I’m in terminal C where our a/c is located and Ops is in terminal D.  At the time, the only way to get between terminals was a “people mover” otherwise known as a “mobile lounge”.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_lounge

So, I call over to ops and get the captain.  I suggest we meet at the airplane rather than me wasting time coming to him on the people mover.  He’s down with that and we meet up after my walk-around with about 20 minutes to go.  So, I’m in the soda straw and it’s a bit of a scramble to get going but we leave on time.

It’s a pretty quick flight to the NYC area, but we have a little time at cruise to shoot the shit before we get busy.  Since I just flew with Captain Napoleon on my last trip and had no speaking opportunities, I’m eager to hear some other opinions on security and how we might change things moving forward in this new airline world of higher threat terrorism, etc.  So, I make the following statement:

“Hey, I’m pretty curious to hear you views on security.  The last guy a flew with was a fucking scab, so we didn’t have any opportunities to talk about that.”

Now, when the words, “fucking scab” came out of my mouth, I noticed a stiffening of the spinal column on this guy that caught my attention.  It wasn’t an immediate “light bulb” moment, but I started to step back and expand my scan of the situation because it seemed notable.

The typical scab MO was to avoid ops, as I had mentioned previously. The normal UAL tradition at the time was to ID one’s self as an ALPA member with a pin on the tie.  Usually, guys would add an ALPA pin to their ID so if they were jump-seating, there was no question about their status.  So, some of the scabs liked to put some “chaff” (one-off wings from wherever, Navy or USAF wings, etc) on their tie hoping to make it look like an ALPA pin.  Absent that, they would just hang their “slick tie” on the opposite side of the cockpit and go tie-less for the flight hoping we wouldn’t notice.  So, after the “reaction” to my scab comment, I start looking around.  I notice the slick tie hanging with the ID lanyard off the window lock.  I also notice the lack of an ALPA pin on the ID.  Muthaf……….!!!  YGBSM!!!  Two in a fucking row??!!!

We’re seconds from top of descent and I scramble back to my rolling bag in the back of the flight deck area where I have my scab list stored.  I pull that bad boy out and flip through it in record time.  There he is.  I’m such a low SA dumbass!!!  Why the fuck didn’t I check??!!

I jump back in my seat and complete the flight.  Once I settled down, I was actually kind of okay with the way things turned out because I got to say “fucking scab” to a fucking scab and there wasn’t a thing the prick could do about it.  Fuck ‘em.

The other notable thing about the flight was we were given the usual clearance (at the time) to fly direct to the Statue of Liberty and then up the Hudson on the west side of the city.  No idea if that’s still the normal clearance.  We flew right over ground zero.  From my side of the a/c, I could see the former tower’s location still smoking, debris on the tops of adjacent buildings, etc.  Pretty damn sobering, that’s for sure.

[Springer]

On 7/31/2022 at 8:12 PM, JeremiahWeed said:

First flight at United (for me) after the 9-11 halt to flying.  Being a local living in base, I’m on reserve hoping to get some paid days off.  The tradeoff is reserve makes it more likely I’ll get stuck with a scab since guys sick out of their trips when they know they’re flying with one.  How do they know?  We all got issued a book by ALPA with every scab’s name, employee #, DOH, birth date.  Normally one only speaks to them when necessary and for checklist responses.  Unfortunately, the 1985 strike puts many of their seniority numbers in the left seat of the 757/767.  Bottom line is I wasn’t surprised that my first trip back after the attack was with scab.  Yayyyy 🙄.  On a related subject, while we were grounded, UAL bought a bunch of tasers  and planned on equipping the flight deck of each aircraft with two of them.  We received a day of training on their use, cockpit self-defense and overall security, etc.  The general consensus of the experts was use of maneuvering tactics or depressurization was not valid for a variety of reasons.  That was communicated to all pilots and FAs during the training.  BTW, the taser thing never came to pass.  

I get to ops and as usual, the scab has already signed the flight plan and gone to the airplane.  They hate hanging ops with the normal pilots since they are quickly identified and publicly shamed.  Usually by someone (or multiples) using “clickers” like the pit bosses in Vegas calling the cocktail waitresses.  As soon as a scab walks into ops, the “popping” from the clickers starts as the guy does the walk of shame to the flight plan desk.  So, I head to the aircraft, do the walk around and find Napoleon sitting in his seat getting ready.  5 foot – nothing, tubby little former Thud driver with a “slick tie” (no ALPA pin).

He's spun up because we have one flight to MSP, very short layover and an early go the next morning for a long day.  He want’s a later van time in the morning so we don’t have to wake up as early.  Whatever.  He makes multiple calls to scheduling and eventually decides to take care of it at the hotel.  It’s an airport hotel because of the short night so we’re on the shuttle that runs every half hour.  WTF was gonna change about that hot-shot?  Based on our departure time, we either get to the airport 1:15 prior (too early) or :45 prior and rush a little.  “Let’s get the later 05:30 shuttle” he says as he slam-clicks and we head to bed.

Next morning I’m in the lobby at 05:20. No sign of fearless leader.  05:30 and I’m holding a full van of hotel guests while I check with the front desk.  “Oh, he already checked out and took the 05:00 shuttle”.

YGBSM!

Yup, I get to the jet and he’s already in his seat again. 

“05:30 shuttle?  Did I misunderstand?”

“Ah, I just decided to get out here early.”  Says the clown who spent at least 30 minutes on multiple calls the day before trying not to get to the airport early.  You’re never surprised by the shit the scabs pull.  Never.

Now we start with a flight to DEN and we’re turning to somewhere else.  After arrival in DEN, I come up from doing the walkaround and he’s standing in first class, trying to see over the tops of the seats and brief the new batch of FAs we picked up in DEN.  Since I’ve haven’t gotten to the aircraft with him and been part of this briefing yet, I stick around to listen in.  Within a few minutes he begins to describe how, in the event of another 9-11 style takeover attempt, he will be depressurizing the aircraft and maneuvering it as required to “make it tough on the attackers”.

The senior FA raises her hand and say, “They told us you guys weren’t going to do that.”

“Oh, well it’s happening on this plane, honey.  But honestly, if it gets to that point, I don’t think you’ll care because you’ll probably be dead.”

My eyes get big. 😲 Holy Shit!  That’s gonna go over like a fart in church.

She grabs her bag, spins around and says, “Ok, I’m out of here” and heads to the phone on the jet bridge to tell scheduling she’s not flying with this clown.  Little Hitler heads back up to the flight deck.  All the other FAs file off the aircraft, never to be seen again.

I go up, sit down and let him know – “All the FAs are gone.” 😒

“That’s their call, I really don’t care.”

Great…. Long day is gonna get longer.  I’m pretty pissed about his plan, so I start with:  “You managed to arrive at the aircraft before me on our first two legs and brief the flight attendants without me.  We’re about to fly for the third time and I’m just now finding out about this.  Do you think it might have been a good idea to inform your FO that your plan was to depressurize and maneuver the aircraft contrary to all the guidance we’ve been given?”

“Oh, yeah…..well, I would have told you if it came to that.” 

As I’m thinking, when?  When we were in a “4G-negative dive” (Mav?) sucking rubber with a cabin altitude in the 30s?  You’re an idiot and I can’t wait for this trip to end.

A little while later, a shadow appears in the doorway of the flight deck and I turn around to see a guy in a suit, with a UAL pilot ID on his lanyard.  “Hi, I’m Captain Somebody, I’m the Denver Chief Pilot.  I understand we have an issue with some flight attendants?”

I just point to the little guy and say, “You need to talk to him. “  Then I take a little initiative and suggest, “Maybe you two want to discuss this in private.”

The Chief Pilot says, “I think that’s a great idea” and I gladly excuse myself to let them sort it out.  In hindsight, it might have been fun to watch the discussion but at the time I was full.

They found us some new flight attendants and the trip continues reasonably uneventfully because nothing else comes to mind.  The scabs were always the ones you got completely unexpected shit from.  If someone did some off the wall shit and you hadn’t bothered to check so see if they were on the list, 99% of the time, they were there.

I was a UAL "570."  May 17, 1985, Day of Infamy.  Didn't cross and went elsewhere.

[HuggyU2]

The 570's are a pretty strong group at UAL.  Good on you, Springer.  

I was bored at breakfast and looked over my pilot list.

As of today, there are 7 active L-UAL scabs at United... the last of which retires in 2025.

And there are 88 L-CAL scabs at United... the last of which retires in 2028.  

[Springer]

39 minutes ago, HuggyU2 said:

The 570's are a pretty strong group at UAL.  Good on you, Springer.  

I was bored at breakfast and looked over my pilot list.

As of today, there are 7 active L-UAL scabs at United... the last of which retires in 2025.

And there are 88 L-CAL scabs at United... the last of which retires in 2028.  

Glad to see the lists are still out there Huggy.  Hard to believe there are UAL scabs still flying.  They had to be in early twenties when hired....scrapping the bottom of the barrel.  Clay Lacy was a scab.

The '85 strike at UAL was short lived and eventually the "570" were called back and their May 17, 1985 hire date restored.  My commuter pad roommate at NWA and I got several telegrams from UAL to come back.  We were in the middle of DC-10 FE school and it was so bad that we considered it.   Thank god we didn't as UAL later went through some kind of failed pilot buyout and NWA was the only airline that preserved their Defined Benefit Plan when merged with the DAL Professional Pilots.  

Like everyone says, you never know if you made the right choice until you retire.

[Prosuper]

 OK which one guys you decided to take the 3 wire and not a flare a 737 breaking the back of the flt attendant in the rear jump seat. Southwest Airlines flight attendant breaks her back during hard landing in California - CBS News

[AirGuardianC141747]

Don’t know anything about the SWA “firm landing”, but we’re hoping it’s the 3 wire regarding our buyout by the Apollo Group and others for $5.2 Billion taking us out of the stock market as private ownership. Stock was in the $65 range up and down if I recall but the stockholders will be paid $102.50 supposedly. Could be good could be bad way too early to tell as the process moves forward and possibly finalized early next year. Most likely an investment for sale several years down the road as they will refine, tweak and undoubtedly optimize our operations like most anywhere else. Plenty of areas to bring talent into and clean up $ lost, but hopefully nothing drastic. Many of us (not all of course) will continue to enjoy the good times of diverse flying, extra pay and less squabbling for the time being. Not like we were ever viewed as a destination career airline, but this buyout is something to consider if you’re young. Many of us will ride it out and perhaps it will be a decent lottery ticket payout, but it could head the other way after the molding for sale is finalized if that is what the future holds, pure speculation or spitballing if you will. No one knows the outcome except the buyers and fortunately pilots aren’t roaming the streets and our routes are very lucrative with more airframes coming on line. Crazy times, interesting moves, life changing so just be aware.

*3 wire was the preferred wire correct 😉 

Edited August 10, 2022 by AirGuardianC141747

[Prozac]

1 hour ago, AirGuardianC141747 said:

Don’t know anything about the SWA “firm landing”, but we’re hoping it’s the 3 wire regarding our buyout by the Apollo Group and others for $5.2 Billion taking us out of the stock market as private ownership. Stock was in the $65 range up and down if I recall but the stockholders will be paid $102.50 supposedly. Could be good could be bad way too early to tell as the process moves forward and possibly finalized early next year. Most likely an investment for sale several years down the road as they will refine, tweak and undoubtedly optimize our operations like most anywhere else. Plenty of areas to bring talent into and clean up $ lost, but hopefully nothing drastic. Many of us (not all of course) will continue to enjoy the good times of diverse flying, extra pay and less squabbling for the time being. Not like we were ever viewed as a destination career airline, but this buyout is something to consider if you’re young. Many of us will ride it out and perhaps it will be a decent lottery ticket payout, but it could head the other way after the molding for sale is finalized if that is what the future holds, pure speculation or spitballing if you will. No one knows the outcome except the buyers and fortunately pilots are roaming the streets and our routes are very lucrative with more airframes coming on line. Crazy times, interesting moves, life changing so just be aware.

*3 wire was the preferred wire correct 😉 

Wishing you guys the best. I enjoyed my time there & still have many friends on the property. Seems like there’s reason to be cautiously optimistic. If not& it all goes to shit, Brown & Purple (and everyone else for that matter) will likely be happy to leverage your experience. 

[FourFans]

9 hours ago, Prozac said:

Wishing you guys the best. I enjoyed my time there & still have many friends on the property. Seems like there’s reason to be cautiously optimistic. If not& it all goes to shit, Brown & Purple (and everyone else for that matter) will likely be happy to leverage your experience. 

Truth.

5Y Alumni who is now a 5Xer.  Seems like half of this past year's classes at Brown have been Atlas grads.  All but one of my Atlas indoc class has now moved on.

[AirGuardianC141747]

14 hours ago, Prozac said:

Wishing you guys the best. I enjoyed my time there & still have many friends on the property. Seems like there’s reason to be cautiously optimistic. If not& it all goes to shit, Brown & Purple (and everyone else for that matter) will likely be happy to leverage your experience. 

Appreciate the candor, insight and well wishes most definitely. Many will march on and we will take it in stride and do our best. To dwell on such things would be futile to include burying one’s head in the sand being foolish. Time to dust off the logbooks and enter them into the digitizer only to be prepared if this place is burning down to the ground with no fire bottles to be seen. Will heavily leverage my friends over the decades who are at Brown & Purple as it will be who I know vs anything I thought I knew. Not looking forward to that exit strategy if needed but greatly appreciated. I will be as you say cautiously optimistic and enjoy the ride until the music stops or it becomes the exceptional Mambo No.5 in our world, hopefully the later. Only time will tell and until then I will soak up the unique aspects of this adventure. Blessed to get this far!

*Yippee Ki-Yay!*

[AirGuardianC141747]

7 hours ago, FourFans130 said:

Truth.

5Y Alumni who is now a 5Xer.  Seems like half of this past year's classes at Brown have been Atlas grads.  All but one of my Atlas indoc class has now moved on.

Congrats!!! - That is good to know and hopefully the new owner(s) realize what it will take IF they would like us to thrive and expand and not continuously hemorrhage unless their strategy is status quo which is doubtful but who knows. I welcome any additions in obvious areas to improve yet fear the optimizer. Most everything works extremely well in regards to my priorities and a few additions would definitely go far but not worth becoming a generic job to wash, rinse and repeat which seems to be the norm. Efficiencies are exceptional when it serves all parties but usually pilots end up on the short side of the equation other than get work done and get home. Home is awesome and if you must work enjoying it is an amazing opportunity that most do not have. Having had over a decade with some significant ability to maneuver from the right seat by choice has proven priceless at this stage, whether schedule choice, trip choice, vaca choice, training choice and now additional flying by choice has overtaken my left seat peers as seniority is King. In a couple of years I can duplicate this lifestyle depending on base from the left, especially when the incentive pay eventually dries up and levels the playing field. Overall, FourFans of Freedom130 drag that last classmate over and have them drag their friends over it can only help! Dang I am self-serving ain’t I. Cheers and Congrats againon 5X, may it be a fresh breath of air that meets your priorities !

Edited August 10, 2022 by AirGuardianC141747

[Royal]

With how busy the summer has been, how's everyone fared at their respective carriers with trip trading/dropping pairings? My buddies at SWA say they haven't had as much success as they've had historically. Please post your bidding percentage for reference. 

[nunya]

5 hours ago, Royal said:

With how busy the summer has been, how's everyone fared at their respective carriers with trip trading/dropping pairings? My buddies at SWA say they haven't had as much success as they've had historically. Please post your bidding percentage for reference. 

15% in category.  100% success this month, but only because I played my "once or twice a year" trump cards.  I won't have those same options next month.  There are some other drop strategies I'm studying for future poor-staffing months involving trading bad coverage days for worse coverage days.  It's certainly not as easy as it used to be.

[SocialD]

15 hours ago, Royal said:

With how busy the summer has been, how's everyone fared at their respective carriers with trip trading/dropping pairings? My buddies at SWA say they haven't had as much success as they've had historically. Please post your bidding percentage for reference. 

 

Jun bidding was ~50% in seat, Sept bidding I'm about 28%.  Thanks to our greenslips/pay back days, this has been about the best summer I've ever had (both in pay and time spent at home).  July was the only month I bid a line and I had all my drops/swaps awarded.  In Jun/Aug/Sep, I was able to apply all my payback days (PB) on the days I wanted.  Since we need the same coverage to add a PB day as we need to drop a trip, it's essentially equivalent.  Very fortunate to have moved up in seniority so fast and be in a category that was decently staffed, yet still had lots of overtime flying.  Unfortunately, the guys in the the right seat of my plane aren't so lucky.  

[Lord Ratner]

18 hours ago, Royal said:

With how busy the summer has been, how's everyone fared at their respective carriers with trip trading/dropping pairings? My buddies at SWA say they haven't had as much success as they've had historically. Please post your bidding percentage for reference. 

Trading has been brutal, though still rewarding for those willing to be aggressive in their trades.

 

In terms of total compensation (pay + 401k + per diem) I've made just over $100k this summer (June/July/August). That's 508 hours of pay, however 94 hours came from just two trips (4 day and 2 day) in July from the much publicized 300% meltdown.

 

Dallas based 737 first officer.

[ClearedHot]

SW PIlot Threatens to turn plane around.....for airdropping nudes!