The Thrill Is Gone

Ok...this guy has worked for UA for 10 years...start year = 1994. Let's take a look at the old way-back machine. In 1994 we had already seen the failure of Pan Am, Eastern, Branniff, & Midway. In addition, CO had its second bankruptcy, TWA had one or two by then, and HP was having trouble in the courts as well. To say this guy didn't realize it would go this way only shows that he planned poorly. Had he signed on with Southwest, with profit sharing & stock his whole story would be different. Kind of slanted don't you think.

Is it sad...to some degree. I tend to look at the positive effect of the fact that regular people can travel with their family...it's not just an elitist thing to do. How many pilots shop at Wal-Mart & Target not because they have to, but because they want to. Every time they make that choice they are making the same type of choice the airline customer makes. They don't need roast and chanpaign to go to Florida. They want a reasonable priced fare that gets them there on time. This all forgets the fact that most of that treatment went away with the advent of jets because of the increase in speed and the resulting decrease in flight time between two points.
 
Flyhigh,

You hit it right on the head. This guy Swindell must of gotten fired from his previous job (financial analyst), because he surly didn't analyse the airline industry very well. The grass is always greener on the other side, isn't it? :shock: It sure is tough to only make $120,000 a year.
 
Respect is something you earn. It's not an entitlement for putting on a uniform.

Swindells whining about how hard he has to work to make $120K is exactly why the public does not respect us. When people buy a ticket they don't care how much money we used to make. He and a large number of ALPA pilots need to face reality and grow up.
 
And the glamour is tarnished. "I can still remember, as a kid, flying economy class and seeing a flight attendant roll a cart down the aisle, carving slices from a roast for the passengers,'' the younger Mr. McFadden recalled. "The service, the uniforms, everything about air travel seemed glamorous.'

Ahhh, yes...times have changed my friend. That roast....the flight attendants ate it, have you seen the size of these mama's????....the pilot has booze on his breath and lap dance stains on his shirt...lol and the mechanic looks like some 60yr old wine-o with a jiffy lube patch on his back....Yep, "the times they are a changing"....Bob Dylan... :up:
 
"It sure is tough to only make $120,000 a year."

Why don't you go shell out for the training or sign up for the military?
No one is stopping you!

Instead you act like a fool and get embroiled in class (money) warfare.

Grow so cajones and go reach for the "brass ring" yourself, instead of complaining about what others make!
 
Much to the chagrin of ALL of us, this industry has forever changed. The days of pilots making over $200k are fast disappearing. Those types of labor costs simply cannot and will not be sustainable going forward. But you have to realize that when a company (United) is trying to change something (labor costs) that have been such an ingrained part of the company's foundation, it's a tough sell. We can all wax poetic and take trips down memory lane all that we want. It does not altar the reality that we face today. We are in a race for survival, folks. It's that simple. This company either dramatically altars itself soon, or we are history. 5 years from now will see fewer carriers. We all control whether United will be one of those carriers. It's time we do the heavy lifting that is necessary to bring our costs down to a sustainable level. As painful as it will be for all, some more than others, it's either that or liquidation. The contracts WILL be opened up again. It's vital that all the inefficiencies that are contained be eliminated. As much as we all don't like it and continue to compare things to how they were 10 years ago, the problems that we face are not the problems of 10 years ago. Delta is on the verge of Chapter 11. And the day of reckoning is fast approaching for AA, NW and CO. That's because when United writes off the pensions and significantly brings down labor contracts through more productivity and efficiency changes, those other carriers will have no choice but to do the same. It'll take them awhile to get it all sorted out. And it's my hope that while they're doing that, we'll be taking advantage of the situation at their expense, similar to what the industry's been doing to us the last 4 years. So let's all stop looking over our shoulder to better days that were in the past. The memories may be good, but reality and survival lie in front of us, but only if we're willing to do what's truly necessary to ensure that survival.
 
Yep it's either no job and no career (I don't call xpress a career I call it a sweat shop) and no airline or we take the paycuts and benefit reductions, live to fight another day and win. I choose to win.
 
It doesn't matter what you make. The pilots union are their own worst enemy. They do all this informational picketing, work slow down, and anything else to try and get the public on their side. They're telling the general public "we need more". The majority of the public could care less weather you make $50,000 or $500,000. All they want is a "Cheap" ticket to their destination. Oh, and if they get a bag of peanuts, well now you've added some value to that ticket. :up:
 
boeing787 said:
Yep it's either no job and no career (I don't call xpress a career I call it a sweat shop) and no airline or we take the paycuts and benefit reductions, live to fight another day and win. I choose to win.
[post="192314"][/post]​
Do you really think the majors will be any less of a sweat shop than the Express carriers currently are once the carnage is over?
 
Then you are very misinformed. Those express carriers you love to bash because of the lousy service and even worse language skills of the flight attendants will become the norm.


My housekeeper may not look so great, she can't speak a word of English, but she gets the house cleaned for a cheap, cheap price. THAT is what the future holds in the airline industry.