Originally Posted by
Kenny
And as if the hysteria wasn’t bad enough the CDC has just issued a statement telling Americans to avoid airline travel. That is not a good development.
I think that statement is just for long haul travel at the moment, but I’m sure it will be enough to cause more panic domestically anyway.
The time is fast approaching to hang on to your hats lads, I’d be utterly stunned if the furlough monster isn’t about to be set loose. Some of the regionals are really going to be bit very hard... Think twice before bailing on a safe job down under - or anywhere for that matter - to start at the bottom of a seniority list right now, you could find yourself on a plane home and unemployed before you even finish (or maybe even begin) training as this entire situation devolves on a daily basis. Last on first off is the way it usually plays out.
SkyWest is probably one of the few safe ones if you are absolutely determined to make the move during this high instability...I’m not sure if they are taking Aussies or not but if I was going to go anywhere, it would be there. All I’ve ever heard is they have some pretty rock solid contracts on their flying that might reduce any potential furlough numbers. Wholly owned carriers and the ones with too many fingers in one partners pie such as ExpressJet, Endeavour, Horizon etc...would likely be the first to suffer as mainline can slash essentially most of their flying on a whim for a lot cheaper. Contract carriers can lose it too, but it’s harder and more expensive for them to take it away from them since they usually have to pay for the flying of the entire contracts term .
More so, Im not even sure what would happen to E3s, do any of you current E3 folk have any rock solid guarantee your airline won’t just let go of all the Visa guys first rather than furlough US citizens in order of seniority? I’d be getting concerned about that too. And I get people will say “ALPA won’t allow it” and “the policy says they can’t” etc... but I’ve read of plenty of guys being let go under terribly dubious circumstances from ALPA carriers who are still waiting for their cases to be heard 5/6 years later...
Hoping this storm passes quickly! My gig is on the line too, I feel the pain.
Not trying to be a downer, but a wise skipper once told me in an industry downturn a smart pilot will plan for the worst and hope for the best...