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Showing content with the highest reputation on 05/10/2021 in all areas

  1. Can't do that without a lot of information about you. As an example, most consider AA to have the worst contract. And even if we had profit sharing like Delta, our profits were far below theirs. But. I'm the type who enjoys loopholes and technicalities, so our contract (and the associated chaotic operations) are fabulous for me. I don't want the maximum income, I want the maximum pay/hours-worked. Depending on if you count deadheads (when you ride with the passengers) as working, in the last twelve months I've made 2.7 hours for every hour I flew (3.5 if you don't count deadheads). That's on a non-reserve schedule, so I chose my days off and never have to take a trip I don't want. Each contract will offer different opportunities. Are you the guy who just wants to get a schedule and fly it? Make the most money possible? Spend the most nights at home? Fly widebody international? Be closer to family? It's hard to even know what you would want to do when you haven't been in the industry yet, which is why most will tell you to just pick the airline that has a domicile where you want to live. If you'll live anywhere, then look at the seniority projections, but realize those are about as reliable as the weather.
    2 points
  2. Sure, I’m currently 4th year. SWA wasn’t initially huge on my radar either, but looking back and knowing what I know I probably would’ve targeted it. My guess is that’s what most guys from the other majors would say about their own airline too! Cons: - You’ll fly a 737…kind of cramped, non-Maxes are noisy, old timey overhead panel, etc. It’s a bigger deal to some than others depending on personal desire for variety or something big or going to the other side of the world. - Current year 1-4 pay lags the other majors, then it is about equal year 5 and moves ahead (of narrowbody scales) after that. Still, it doesn’t reach senior wide body pay elsewhere. - Days can get busy…3-leg days are probably average, 2 or 4-leg days are common, and 1 or 5-leg days exist (somewhat rare). So in a same duty day you’re doing more briefings, more up-down, ears popping, etc. I find it helps the day go by quicker than droning, but definitely tough to catch up on the Netflix que—I mean study the FOM. - Generally younger and evenly spread pilot group, so retirements trickle compared to other guys. Upgrade seems to always be at 8 years, give or take. - No long call reserve, and nobody in the pilot group who has to go back to the sims because they’re overdue on landing currency. The game for senior guys at other airlines seems to be minimizing time at work while still getting paid. At SWA it’s maximizing pay for the time spent at work. Pros: - 11 domiciles around the country (except the PNW) so odds of being able to drive to work are fairly high. - Company stability…the airline is run by real nerds who stay for the long haul. 2020 was the first year in its 50 year history it hasn’t turned a profit, and its financials are always well ahead of industry-standard. - Job security: I’ll keep this as a pro because it’s still true SWA has never furloughed a pilot. But I’d caution that past performance doesn’t equal future success, and last year there was an uncharacteristic demand from the company for pilot concessions, which when we didn’t agree to, resulted in furlough notices going out. It’ll be interesting to see if it foreshadowed a more “traditional” labor relations posture than we’ve historically enjoyed moving forward. - Trip trade market: since everyone is qualified on the same aircraft you’ve got a robust ability to trade or pickup trips with other pilots or with the company (some of that can pay time and a half). Picking up flying to make more money is usually pretty easy (except during pandemics). The flip side is the only way to decrease your flying is to hope another pilot wants to take your trip from you, which is tougher to do in July than it is February. - Culture-wise, I won’t get too rah-rah other than to say it is exactly as it looks from the outside. The work groups pretty much all get along and nobody takes themselves too seriously. I haven’t flown with anyone yet who I wouldn’t fly with again. - Being home: I think 50% of trips are 3-days, and the remaining are divided between 1, 2, and 4 days. Average line is 3-on, 4-off (x4) or 4-on, 3-off (x3) plus a random day for 13 total days of work. And you’re never more than 3 time zones away, so you can stay in touch with the family, get business done on the road, or get home quick if there’s a family emergency. - No language barriers, NATS procedures, non-radar environments, ATC driving you into thunderstorms, etc. All told, it’s not perfect or everyone’s cup of tea (especially if they’ve got the widebody international itch), but it’s been a joy for me and never nearly as bad as some of the warnings I’d heard. Definitely a great place to spend a 30+ year career!
    1 point
  3. https://doggett.house.gov/media-center/blog-posts/timeline-trump-s-coronavirus-responses Man it’s interesting to sit here at 1 G, 0 knots and debrief the ole Covid leadership response. It’s actually kind of funny, in a sad way.
    1 point
  4. Didn’t blow my fingers off! No video yet (the wife rolled her eyes at me when I told her to come out back and take a video), but shoots great. Now I feel the need to build another one...AR-10, why wouldn’t I need one? Can’t wait for the suppressor.
    1 point
  5. Priority - the airline that has a base where you want to live (within ~2 hrs to enable short call...for when you have to do that. Closer the better just for general drive time to work). Secondary - The first major that gives you a job; seniority is damn near everything. If you don’t get your priority airline out the gate, maybe consider jumping if they call you later, to a certain extent...at some point your seniority at the first airline won’t be worth trading. I don’t know what that line is, maybe 6-12 mo? I know a few guys who jumped at the year point and are happy they did it. Either way, very personal choice and dependent on a lot of personal factors. The rest of the discussion on contracts, etc. is a little bit of an exercise in masturbation. Contracts will rise and fall, airlines will go from worst to best and back to worst, etc. You weather those falls with seniority and living the life you want (location, etc.) Bottom line: Apply to multiple and take what you get...cross the “swap bridge” when you get there (if at all).
    1 point
  6. On the subject of dollar devaluation.... thinking some on this and I don't think we (the USA) can devalue our currency as we are currently doing via money printing and I've come to the conclusion it erodes moral credit, moral standing, our own morality. I thought about it this way, if a friend borrows your car and returns it in the same condition it left, with a full tank of gas and basically clean, you have a good friend who is trust / credit worthy. If you loan your car to that friend and he returns it dirty, low on gas and with a few new scratches and dings, you don't have a trust worthy / credit worthy friend, you are associated with a user who took advantage of you. I realize that international flows of trillions of dollars, yen, pounds, etc... are complex but fundamentally when we borrow money from others and we pay them back in less worthy dollars via consciously devaluing it, it is an immoral act. Morality at its most basic level being the control of one's personal appetites and extendable to countries / nations. Other countries devalue their currencies and stave off the wolf until the next crisis but we are supposed to be different, why we are the leaders (for now of the some what free world). Just my thoughts, worth what you paid for them but to stir the pot. This position would involve some discipline / sacrifice but worth it in my estimation.
    1 point
  7. Now that its out of the other thread I'll add my .02 again. We have a definition of human life according to science and there really is no debate there, but as Prozac pointed out "person" might be a little more nuanced. I think you have to be pro abortion to nitpick that, but that is just my opinion and I'm definitely not a linguistics expert. Edit to add: I do acknowledge that current US law for citizenship doesn't recognize a person for citizenship until they are born. So, with that standard, the "person" protection afforded by the constitution could be argued not to apply until the baby is born (even though as y'all know, I don't like that).
    1 point
  8. I don’t know anyone who argues that an embryo is not a living thing. The question is; when does that entity become a person? And, perhaps just as importantly; who do you want to make that determination? Your church? Your government? Popular opinion? The mother? The father? You can see how this subject blurs the lines between morality, theology, and philosophy. Don’t we, as Americans, place great value on keeping our government away from such fuzzy issues? People are certainly entitled to make up their own minds on the subject. I would never advocate for someone who is pro life to change their mind. But when the question of when a person becomes a person is far from settled I find the idea that the government should make that decision for me to be unacceptable and frankly un-American.
    1 point
  9. Obviously the definition of life is not the appropriate framing for the conversation, especially within the context of a single celled organism on mars. I'm sure you would also concede that a spider, a mosquito, a cow, and aging family pet, or a mouse would be considered "life." We do not debate these intentional life-endings with nearly the same furor. Ironically, if you were to correlate political ideologies, the people who are against the murder of non-human-animal "life' are equally for the protection of abortion. But that's because the environmental movement is more anti-human than it is pro-earth. Tangent. Each side of the abortion debate is trying to frame it using precisely chosen words to bolster their argument. Every single person knows exactly what the debate is about. Killing a fetus. It doesn't matter what we would do on Mars with a single cell. It also doesn't matter that a fetus can't function on its own. Debate the issue, not the semantics. And in case it seems like I'm waffling, I'm personally against all abortions that aren't for rape or health concerns for the mother or child. However I concede, as an atheist, that my views are based on a personal analysis of humanity and not some magical graybeard in the sky telling me what to do. In such instances where the population is clearly split, the tie goes to the citizen. So I would make abortion legal up the the point of viability (currently hovering around 22 weeks, so let's call it 25 for now). After viability only serious risk to the mother or child would be ground for an abortion. A middle ground solution to a deeply divided issue. But like so many conversations in American politics today, we now spend more time talking about the semantics of the issues than the issue itself.
    1 point
  10. What Brabus said above. I'll add to it that I'm guessing nearly every airline has "base housing," or a town/burb where lots of pilots live. I'm sure they have it at multiple bases as well, but an example would be Peachtree City in ATL. Lots of guys say they'd never live in a place like that, while others absolutely love it. If you're not committed to any one location yet, I'd consider not buying (especially in todays ridiculous market) until you get hired at your desired airline. If you start planting roots in one location that isn't a hub, you may just be commuting yourself to a life time of commuting. Just about every major base has great locations and you'll make friends pretty much anywhere...and if you live in base, you'll actually have time to hang out with said newfound friends. lol.
    1 point
  11. LOL! KLRF PIQ classroom instructor, and Vietnam vet described the latter part of his career saying "I've been passed over more times than Toneyville"! I remember having to hold there in IMC for nearly an hour on my 1st Qual Check in the 90's. (no magenta line or autothrottles with the -E's back then, too funny)
    1 point
  12. Yeah, I should have suggested those two smaller models Those would be fine and better sized Shooting the moon I would want a PC-24 The main thing is to not phone it in with Phase 3 no matter the track Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    1 point
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