Displacement
*** Disclaimer, this is going to be a very negative post, read at your own risk***
This industry has been taken a beating for the last few years. 2008 in particular. There have been lots of changes going on and hardly any of them good. The merger between Big D and Big Red has finally started to trickle down to my little pond. As a result, my company now thinks they are overstaffed, therefore in order to save money they are taking 30 Captains and displacing them to First Officer. This includes yours truly.
While I knew there were risks involved with making a switch to an airline, I certainly did not forsee a merger, nor $130 a barrel of oil, nor the collapse of the housing market nor the downfall of Wall St nor the passing of the God Awful age 65 Rule. All of these things combined spelled doom for my airline career. While I consider myself lucky to have gotten hired and progressed to Captain in such a short time, I am still bitter about having to return to the right seat. If this displacement lasts until June and I do not have my seat back, that will essentially be the end of my flying career as I know it now. The displacement is effective Mar. 2 I have 90 days from the effective date to have recall rights to my seat. If the 90 days pass and I am not back in the drivers seat, I can kiss Captain good-bye permanently because then upgrades will be based strictly on seniority. And seeing as how I am very low on the seniority list (1050 out of 1300) it will be years before I see the left seat again at my current company. I am simply not going to endure first officer pay for the next 5 years. Its not fair to me, my wife or my kids to have to put up with such a financial burdon and to have me gone 20 days a month. At least as a Captain, we can enjoy a decent paycheck to make up for the fact I am gone a lot. But its simply not worth it to make welfare wages. Quite honestly, I'd rather be furloughed now and collect unemployment than to go back to F.O wages. I did the math, I'd make more on unemployment than I will flying 95 hours a month as an F.O. If I am going to be spending so much time away from my family, I want to be fairly compensated for it. Getting a $400 paycheck on the first of the month is a slap in the face and not nearly what I am worth.
A few years ago, I could still see the light at the end of the tunnel. Landing a dream job at either UPS or FedEx has been a goal as long as I can remember, but now, even those dream jobs are not looking so hot. As I type this, both companies are considering furloughs. I had once thought those companies were both relativly safe bets for career stability, maby not so much anymore. The profession is continuing its downfall. Some of the great perks such as non-rev pass travel is almost not worth it anymore. Companies are starting to charge their employees more and more to use the pass bennies. On some carriers, its amlost easier to just buy a ticket. As a group, pilots are working more and making less. Its been going that way since 9-11. I do not see a turn around coming. Personally I see work rules getting worse, pay getting smaller and fringe benefits that once were great, dissappearing all together. This once great career is being constantly eroded.
Take what I have written with a grain of salt. I am in a pissy mood over the displacement and am venting. But how would you feel if you went from making $50K to less than $20K for no real good reason other than some beancounter thought it could save a few dollars? I, like a lot of other furloughed/downgraded/ laid off pilots have families and dreams. My dreams of buying a house, financing my kids college and living a comfortable life are all up in smoke for a while because of this very, very unstable career I have chosen. Therefore, I have a foot out the door. I am working on getting another job outside of flying. If all goes well, I can leave professional flying and being gone for 20 days a month behind me and do what I should have done all along, fly for fun, not for a career.
This industry has been taken a beating for the last few years. 2008 in particular. There have been lots of changes going on and hardly any of them good. The merger between Big D and Big Red has finally started to trickle down to my little pond. As a result, my company now thinks they are overstaffed, therefore in order to save money they are taking 30 Captains and displacing them to First Officer. This includes yours truly.
While I knew there were risks involved with making a switch to an airline, I certainly did not forsee a merger, nor $130 a barrel of oil, nor the collapse of the housing market nor the downfall of Wall St nor the passing of the God Awful age 65 Rule. All of these things combined spelled doom for my airline career. While I consider myself lucky to have gotten hired and progressed to Captain in such a short time, I am still bitter about having to return to the right seat. If this displacement lasts until June and I do not have my seat back, that will essentially be the end of my flying career as I know it now. The displacement is effective Mar. 2 I have 90 days from the effective date to have recall rights to my seat. If the 90 days pass and I am not back in the drivers seat, I can kiss Captain good-bye permanently because then upgrades will be based strictly on seniority. And seeing as how I am very low on the seniority list (1050 out of 1300) it will be years before I see the left seat again at my current company. I am simply not going to endure first officer pay for the next 5 years. Its not fair to me, my wife or my kids to have to put up with such a financial burdon and to have me gone 20 days a month. At least as a Captain, we can enjoy a decent paycheck to make up for the fact I am gone a lot. But its simply not worth it to make welfare wages. Quite honestly, I'd rather be furloughed now and collect unemployment than to go back to F.O wages. I did the math, I'd make more on unemployment than I will flying 95 hours a month as an F.O. If I am going to be spending so much time away from my family, I want to be fairly compensated for it. Getting a $400 paycheck on the first of the month is a slap in the face and not nearly what I am worth.
A few years ago, I could still see the light at the end of the tunnel. Landing a dream job at either UPS or FedEx has been a goal as long as I can remember, but now, even those dream jobs are not looking so hot. As I type this, both companies are considering furloughs. I had once thought those companies were both relativly safe bets for career stability, maby not so much anymore. The profession is continuing its downfall. Some of the great perks such as non-rev pass travel is almost not worth it anymore. Companies are starting to charge their employees more and more to use the pass bennies. On some carriers, its amlost easier to just buy a ticket. As a group, pilots are working more and making less. Its been going that way since 9-11. I do not see a turn around coming. Personally I see work rules getting worse, pay getting smaller and fringe benefits that once were great, dissappearing all together. This once great career is being constantly eroded.
Take what I have written with a grain of salt. I am in a pissy mood over the displacement and am venting. But how would you feel if you went from making $50K to less than $20K for no real good reason other than some beancounter thought it could save a few dollars? I, like a lot of other furloughed/downgraded/ laid off pilots have families and dreams. My dreams of buying a house, financing my kids college and living a comfortable life are all up in smoke for a while because of this very, very unstable career I have chosen. Therefore, I have a foot out the door. I am working on getting another job outside of flying. If all goes well, I can leave professional flying and being gone for 20 days a month behind me and do what I should have done all along, fly for fun, not for a career.
posted by Windsor at 11:27 AM
6 comments
