pilotday
Sorry to hear they don't want you. Was it a good airline? Can you not apply to many of the other US airlines that are recruiting right now?
I Know how you must feel. I often miss my old airline with it's never ending night turnrounds and unstable rosters. The staff travel with cramped 29" seat pitch is but a distant dream as is the plastic food in plastic containers eaten with plastic cutlery. The bonus too, missed so much that in 11 years I missed it altogether! And the 45 minute drive to and from work, especially in rush hour. The 5 minute walk in the pissing rain from the car park to a bus, then the warm comfort of a tiny crew room with the same miserable old faces of people doing the same destinations day in, day out. The manual loadsheets and own refueling then do it all the next day.... and the next. At least the suitcase, which I bought myself, stayed looking new.
I did some sums last night. It's vulgar to discuss money, especially on a public forum, but for the benefit of people like you, my reason for being here is clear. So, before the 'keep drinking the cool aid' brigade start, maybe you should visit the website reversetax.com. I'm not going to go into all the details as personal circumstances will differ, but to achieve the same package back home that I get here, I'd need to pull 289K before tax. That's pound sterling my friend, not dollars. I'm a TRI AO, ten years in EK, with children and I live out. I didn't include meal allowances and Company provident fund contributions. The latter has just increased to 15%.
Give it a try. You might be glad your home airline doesn't want you after all!
Harry