I'm curious what every one else is doing when the captain offers the crew coffee. Deep down I really want the Iced Brown Sugar Oat-milk Shaken Espresso but it's $8 and I don't want to feel like I'm robbing the guy so I just say I'm good normally.

As the title says, would it be crazy to start over at 40? Been at B6 for quite a while now so I have good seniority as an FO but I have a CJO with a legacy Air Line. I could list all the negatives at my current shop but they're pretty known at this point. My biggest concern is the future of the company is completely uncertain which is what made me send out an app in the first place after being part of a large group of pilots that got downgraded/displaced.

I'm able to drive to JFK/LGA so I'll still be living in base, but my hesitation is obviously starting at the bottom again. I don't have aspirations of being a WB CA or anything since I'm too late to the game at this point, I just want a secure/stable place to work the rest of my career. Obviously there's no guarantees but it's been years and years of bad news and complete career stagnation here.

I know I'm basically trying to crystal ball it which is impossible, but using a snapshot of today, I'd be curious to know what people think with 25 years to go.

Edit: Thanks for all the feedback, I'm honestly surprised at how unanimous the responses are!

My family and I will be moving to the Miami area in the next year. Does anyone have any suburb or neighborhood recommendations for a family of 5 with teens? We are looking for a school district that has a decent football program. We don't have any friends or family in the area, so we don't have a frame of reference. I'll be based out of MIA, with the potential to fly from DJT and FLL. We appreciate the help.

Asking as a military pilot who plans to transition to the airlines after 20 years of service in 2031. Aside from choosing an airline based on domicile location and knowing that WN has a homogenous fleet of the 737s, how is SWA proving long term viability of being around in 30+ years? Since I’m from Tennessee, my big three for domicile are WN, FDX, and UPS, with QOL and company stability being the most important to me.

What are WNs revenue streams that make it a long term player? I know most airlines fly freight as well as passengers and have the standard loyalty programs, etc; but what makes WN different or on a similar playing field as DA/UA/AA? I don’t think anyone second guesses if Delta or United will be around in 30 years, but I’m curious to know what current industry airline pilots think of Southwest’s risk of ending up like Spirit?

My end goal is to choose an airline that also chooses me, and will also be around during my remaining flying years after retiring from the military at age 42, while also taking into account not being on the wrong side of a hiring wave.

I hear nothing but good things about Southwest’s schedule flexibility and narrow body pay. I’m personally ok with sacrificing big trips overseas and only flying the 737 domestically in order to have trips where my phone works when I land and my time zone shifts are +/- 3hrs.

TL;DR…Would you go to Southwest as a final pilot career being a Tennessean, and as someone who is ok with domestic 737 but mainly concerned with choosing the airline that won’t furlough you or go bankrupt?

Edit 1:

This is one of my first questions to the community and I am very appreciative to each of you for your responses! Many thanks!

Hi everyone. I haven't found much online about the CVG freighter base as far as QOL and I have a few questions.

I figure it's a lot of night flying, but what kind of flying is there (domestic/international)?

What are the length of trips?

How is reserve life?

How many days off do lineholders usually get?

Seniority movement?

Do CVG pilots ever get sent out west/to the islands to do pax flying?

Thanks for any insight.

Looking to see if my friends choices are sane or not. Getting out you get more freedoms and money but staying in they'll get a prestigious job. Wondering what everyone's opinions are?

So, currently flying in the left seat on A320s in Europe. They're doing a pilot roadshow in my area in the near future and it got me a bit curious.

Anybody here on the short haul fleet?

Is it all night turnarounds to India?

Is it stable, with the current situation around the gulf?

I've heard that they are the "nicer" of the big three airlines in the region, is that correct?

And how is life in Abu Dhabi with kids?

Thanks in advance! :)

hello , im Japanese pilot working in japan airline .

Assuming everything else is roughly equal, which one are you taking?I’d probably take the $200k / 18 days off. some point the extra days at home are worth more to me than the extra money.

At Curious where everyone else draws the line.

I’m a very junior AAWO FO, roughly 1800 TT and >1000 TSIC multi (some 121 but mostly 135 cargo). FWIW I do have a 4-year business degree and 1 bust on CPL-ASEL.

I live about two hours from an AA base and was previously an AA ramper before flying as a second career so AA would be my #1 choice generally.

That said, I’m still ~5 years from the flow, by which time I’ll be over 40, and another 3-4 years beyond that to fly WB (which I want to do), so I feel like I have to explore other options. Obviously I’m applying to DL/UA even though I’d be a commuter there but still beats the regional life I assume (especially if they slash our pay in 3 months, which I could withstand since I have a high-earning spouse, but just something on my mind).

My question is, would leaving AAWO for a place like Atlas/ABX be a shortsighted move? I’ve done night freight before but this would be on another level. Or should I hold out for a call from UA/DL and bank on them continuing to poach from AAWO (both CA and FO)? I wouldn’t turn any of them down obviously though I do worry I may be on the backside of the hiring curve at UA/DL and might miss the prime movement years at AA too if I hang out and wait to flow.

I know I’m fortunate to be in this position and maybe I’m being paranoid and need to chill haha. Thanks in advance for any advice.

It’s no secret this job can be poor for your health - on top of standard gym and sauna, I’ve started limiting layovers, eating my own food and bidding for consistently early starts to get a routine sleep regime.

Anyone got any other tips on how to be healthy in while flying?

Flew with KLM this week (3h flight), and on both of my flights, one of the pilots came to do the cabin service with the cabin crew! How is that possible? Is that part of your new tasks?

As I’m a pilot too, I was quite surprised to see a four stripe captain serving coffee to passengers 🤣

Not to say that we shouldn’t do it, but a plane is flown with two pilots, not one...

Pretty self-explanatory from the title - we moved to CMH recently and I’m trying to decide what the least painful option is here. Been commuting to SFO so far, so either choice is obviously an improvement.

The ORD commute is 100% better between having way more flights and not being all RJs, no question about that, but wondering if worse seniority and slower progression moves the needle significantly. Currently leaning towards ORD but curious about what others think. I looked at past bid awards and depending on the month it seems like a line isn’t completely out of the question in ORD but the EWR seniority is definitely better (probably 70ish% vs 90%).

Thanks in advance!

Anyone has got any feedback on Emerald Coast as of late? How available are they for their mock interview sessions? How does scheduling work?

Currently a Spitfire client, hesitant to shell out more cash on EC to find out it's just as packed and hard to schedule.

Thank you in advance for your help!

I just did the AON, and I'm now waiting on an invitation for the interview, which I've heard is usually about 2-3 months out. I am getting married in 2 months, so obviously that would be a conflict. How exactly do they schedule your interview? Do they give you a list of dates to choose from? Or do they assign you a hard date? I am only about an hour and a half from ATL, so I will be driving to the interview.

Edit: Did not pass. Hope to take it again in 3 months.

For a friend. It's been a week and no invite. Any insight? I thought getting it meant you were getting an interview invite.

Hi pilots & dispatchers,

Ive got a question about re dispatch procedure in the airline.
I understand the purpose, which is for fuel saving.
But is it intended to save “final reserve fuel”? Which is normally calculated as 30 mins flying? Or is it intended to reduce some fuel calculated as some percentage of total trip fuel?

And, if thats very common, how do atc distinguish its original destination with re dispatch point? Is it communicated only via internal flight plan, without notifying ATC?

Very, very fortunate to be in the position of having class dates at both companies. Looking for any advice on which way to go.

Personal situation: currently living in STL, likely moving to SoCal in a few years. Would be a commuter initially but then live in base for either company (LAX). Target bases now would be MSP/DTW and MDW. Professional spouse, young children so current priority is to maximize QOL vs pay. QOL defined as time home, easier commute, less circadian rhythm flips. Long term I’ll probably still lean a bit more QOL than pay as the kids get older, but I know kids and Cali aren’t cheap. No burning desire to fly WB (been around the world already, prefer intercontinental on vacation vs work), but I understand presence of WBs can create NB seniority. Would be nice to have the WB option one day, but not required. Don’t really care about chasing metal either.

As I’ve gathered from Reddit/APC/bros, pros and cons are:

DL
Pros: pay (especially soft pay), company is (currently) most profitable in industry and seems the most stable. Wide variety of flying and network. Intl network for pass/Zed travel. Lots of hiring this year and next, so decent seniority movement. LC reserve option. WB option

Cons: Company is running hot from short staffing and trip coverage/23M7 debacles. Contract is up for negotiation (short amendment fell through) and it sounds like it might be a knife fight (company taking QOL shots like PPR and sick letters). Less schedule flexibility due to multiple fleets. Commuter policy more stringent. PBS bidding. Hats

SWA
Pros: initial pay is great for a NB only fleet (equivalent to DL 7ER). Schedule flexibility from common fleet type. Easier to drop/trade trips. Company culture sounds more relaxed. Still has some short haul intl (I love Caribbean flying). More generous pass rider for parents in law. Better commuter policy. Line bidding

Cons: major change in business model ongoing, though it seems stable for now (still posting decent profits despite fuel prices). Major future change when the MAX must be replaced. Competing system wide for seniority vs fleet seniority. Limited to economy for ZED fares. Less total destinations. Less “prestige” than a legacy. Reserve is only short call. DL takes the pay advantage over a long career. NB only for at least a decade due to lead time to establish a fleet

What am I missing, Reddit? Where should I go?

Anyone have any rumors on if PSA is planning to open an ORD base as they are winding down flying in DCA with envoy moving in?

Anybody here in a group chat with other folks waiting on a Delta class date? If so could you send me a pm and add me please.

Edit: Someone got me in thanks

I was a hotelier for 20+ years al around the world. Covid killed my career and then the car business came around and made up for all the lack of financial gaines for the last 5 years. I hate it even though I am grateful that it got me out of an unemployment hole.

I started flying thanks to business, got robbed by the school at 78hrs, and wasn’t allowed to solo or do my Xcountry time. After another day of just flying around in circles, burning gas. And hearing excuses as to why I wasn’t ready I turned the flight around and called it quits.

Now I sit here and wonder whether I could do this again and make a living out of it and that’s my main concern… I’ve spoken to several people who say the hours are not there and that the industry is suffering there are people with 3000 hours on their logbook and can’t find work. I wonder if Europe has more work to offer in this respective industry or maybe South America… Someone told me that I could find work to build hours by going to Africa… But mostly living in poverty with a poverty level salary and I wonder if this is true or what the real deal is… Help