zeddb and I chose a stinker
Well it wound up in hindsight being a bad choice but in fairness it was a pretty happy ship right up to the time that BA kicked us in the nads and nobody saw that one coming.
You could equally have claimed that British Caledonian, Dan-Air, Orion, or even Virgin if you were on the wrong end of one of their redundancy panics were bad choices but many would disagree.
I was very happy at GSS and had every intention of staying until I hung my boots up and so were most of the others and that includes some of the BA guys.
that obsolete preserve of pensioners flying for beer and hookers
Sad but ultimately true. It is a dinosaur but a nice one for all that. I'm well past the age where hookers are an attraction but the thought of another type rating plus two years learning the ins and outs of yet another aircraft is even less attractive although I guess going back onto a previous type would be less of a bother if I were ever given the chance. (Allows 5 minutes for laughter to die down).
Get sidetracked onto a bad type with career gaps, and it can be a major problem
And there you hit the nail on the head. Add in being past 50 and not a Captain due to redundancies, seniority and plain bad luck and those who had a command in their teens and who generally do the recruitment instantly write you off as a failure. I wish they would remember that it isn't contagious and not everyone is a lucky sky god with the knack of being in exactly the right place at the right time but we have to deal with the world as it is which in my case probably means behind the till at Aldi in the new year.
It has taken me five years to get back on track, with a command on a very popular type
In the 8 years since my luck turned sour I have been up the road twice and as I mentioned in the paragraph above, that is in effect a death sentence. I have two popular types in my log book but as I am no longer current on either, they might as well not be there, especially with the cadet factories churning ready made pilots the way they do. However, well done you, its always nice when someone beats the system.
I've tried J2 for the 2nd time in two years but they generally ignore me. BA just sneered and told me to PFO without a chance of doing selection - twice - and that was when they are specifically looking for current 744 drivers, Norwegian seem only to be interested in ME returnees and/or trainers , the Far East/ ME is out due to age limits age and quite honestly no great desire on my part, and here in the UK, if you are not a current captain, you will only get looked at if you got a license within the last few months and are willing to be a revenue stream. So no on both counts.
There is a rumour of a new 744F outfit rising from the ashes of GSS but it is only a rumour although that would fit the bill very nicely. Outside of that I will have to start looking outside of aviation next year. Whilst that might cause wild cheering on the part of the wanabees and maybe the thought that I deserve it from certain other parties, it is of little comfort to me and I can only warn the lucky ones that they will be my age one day and possibly even in my position so think on. Whilst I would like to look 30 again, I wouldn't want to be 30 in this business.
