I get a kick out this phrase. It just sort of donned on me the other day how often this phrase is thrown around with no real meaning. I guess it is the same as “Hello”. Its just a greeting.

As a pilot, I sit up front while the flight attendant right behind me is greeting the passengers boarding the airplane. Almost every person is socially wired to say this phrase. “How are you?”, “Good”. Repeat 40 - 50 times per flight.

I am convinced that you could ask this phrase of someone who is barely surviving, buried in debt, on the verge of suicide, and the answer to the question would still be “Good”. Its a social training pattern issued in both directions with no thought.

What are we actually accomplishing with this phrase? The fact is, no one really cares how you are doing in the environment that the greeting is typically issued. If the recipient were to stop and say, “Well, I am doing quite badly right now”, the offerer of the greeting would likely be caught off guard and wouldn’t know how to handle it. Its sort of a rhythm we’ve come to expect. “How are you?”, “Good”, “How are you?”, Good”. If one is actually bad, does it benefit the offerer of the greeting to know this? Do they really care? Are they going to do something about it? Offer some friendly advice or help? If you are good (as is the expected reply), then the reply will typically be nothing. It ends with the reply, “Good”.

Doing 5 or 6 legs of flying all over the country, it is funny how often I overhear this common, but empty greeting. 50 passenger per flight, times 5 flights, I will hear this greeting 200 times conservatively.

Why not just say, “Hello”? That is really all you are doing anyways. You are acknowledging their existence - an important thing to do. But you don’t really care how they are doing, nor would you do anything if they were doing badly, in most situations where the greeting is issued.

I am on a “How are you?”, boycott. I will no longer answer the question unless, in my perception, the greeter actually cares how I am doing. Otherwise, I will answer with a “Hello”. No one will know the difference.

I have just completed the “to work” portion of my typical commute to St. Louis. As I sit in the crashpad this evening, I am thinking about how this is the last scheduled trip I will fly for this company. It is likely not the last trip I will fly, but it is the last trip that is hardcoded on my schedule. In other words, I am back on reserve next month. The flying that I will I do (and there will be some) will be last minute assignments, scraps created by sick calls, etc.

Am I sad? Not really. I have already made the decision to close this chapter of my life and as I sit here at this crashpad tonight, I am READY to close the damn chapter and move on. Nothing could have happened, even at Lucifer Airways, to take the flying bug out of me. And so it goes with this place, I will walk away looking upward, as I did when I interviewed here. Part of me will miss the frequent flying and all the good things about it. But, this industry isn’t for me. The lifestyle isn’t for me. I am done. And as such, I am waiting in anticipation for the oppertunity to come to walk away and get back to working on a noble game.

This trip is a 6 day trip, (yes, I won’t be home until next Saturday evening and it is Sunday evening right now), 4 days, followed by a short 2 day trip. I will fly 26.6 hours, putting my time in type on the EMB-145 at 995 hours. My goal is 1,000 hours time in type. Certainly I can fly 5 hours during the 3 or 4 weeks of reserve before the fat lady clears her throat.

The bid packet comes out tomorrow. This will tell me exactly where my seniority will lie for December. The results of the bid will be published Nov 21st. I currently have two communications pending replies from high ups in the company asking about moving my furlough date closer in. I am scheduled to be furloughed Mar 5th. If it can be moved to Dec or Jan, then I could wait for the furlough and walk away with my seniority number still on the list. However, the decision is that I will not be here past the time school begins. If they either refuse to move the furlough date or will only move it so far, such that it doesn’t fit into my plans, I will walk away having resigned and not look back. Regardless of the outcome, my chances of returning to this company are nearly nill. So, with that fact in mind, there is no difference between a furlough and a resignation in actual fact. It is more an attempt at due diligence than anything else. I want to walk away with ALL “T’s” crossed and ALL “I’s” dotted. Following through with this question is on the list of items to clear.

With that, I am off to bed shortly. I can sleep in in the morning, then its off to shoot around the country chiseling away at the 31.4 hours that I have yet to fly before hitting 1,000 jet time in type.

Something I ran into that sort of sums up my situation:

“You can have anything you want in life. You just can’t have everything”

Think about it….

After a slew of outflows to change my condition here, I am sort of in wait mode. Since making the decision to take an indefinite hiatus from the airline industry (and that is the best description for it as I am not giving up on it forever) to pursue my CPA, I have been on the phone, on the internet, pushing through red tape, etc to get and keep things on track for a pre-Christmas resignation.

To make a VERY long story short, here is where I stand:

1. I have secured a private pilot student and am actively working with him to get his license. We have agreed that payment will be the right for me to fly his airplane for the cost of fuel. This is the best option I have right now to stay in the air post airlines. And I must stay in the air - its just too important to me.

2. I have spoken to a flight school at Winter Haven airport, ate lunch with the staff, and have been accepted as a part time instructor at their school. The problem is that they have many more instructors than they have students right now. So, the chances of getting some flying out of this option are pretty slim right now. I am waiting to see my name pop up on their instructor list and feel that I will have to keep nagging them to see the administration part completed. I think since they do not need anyone, it isn’t too important to get me signed up. However, I would like to be on the list because it will make me feel like there is a line for potential students to find me. I will continue to push the point, with tact, until the goal is reached.

3. I am accepted back to USF as an FSR (former student returning). The downside to this is that my registration date is after all the current continuing students have registered. The result of this is that ALL the accounting classes I need are completely full and closed. This has caused me great stress. I spent a long time in research, talking to many different departments within the university and have determined that this is the best I can do. The good news is that I need 4 classes that are just filler classes, that have nothing to do with accounting. So, my goal right now is to register for 4 classes (doesn’t matter much what they are), then PUSH LIKE HELL and exhaust every option to get into at least one of the closed accounting classes. Even if this involves driving to one of the other, less crowded, campuses. I will do what I have to do. Assuming I can secure this, I will have 5 classes towards the CPA - a respectable load by anyone’s estimation. I cannot register until Dec 4th at 1:00pm, so for now, I am waiting. The next semester, I will have preferential registration status again. Furthermore, there is a medical hold on my account right now for some immunization paperwork. I have sent the paperwork in and am waiting for the hold to be released.

4. The December bid packet comes out in 6 days. Armed with this knowledge, and the final bid awards which will be issued Dec 21st, I will be able to determine the best day to resign and will tender my notice shortly afterward. I am in the process of bringing my St. Louis stuff home, a little at a time, every time I make the commute, such that when I leave for the last time, I will have nothing left up there (clothes, etc).

5. I am still waiting for my student loan to get approved. They are telling me that my part is done and that they are talking with my school to work out the details. I cannot seem to get an answer from a real person what is going on. The total cost of the CPA will be 8,000 bucks or so, so not a huge deal. But, I am trying for the loan for cash flow reasons.

6. The thought of not working at all doesn’t sit well with me. On paper, it will work. But it will be tough to see our savings slowly being breached. The cause is noble and with the income potential I will have when the deed is done, I will more than make up for the cost. However, my plan is to potentially secure “something” part time that I can do to trickle in some money while doing this endeavor. But, if I am slammed with classes and cannot make that happen, then it is alright. Life will continue. I will figure out a way to make it all go right and Joanna will do her part.

Thats about it.

I have received the news that I will be furloughed March 5th, and displaced to IAD (Washington Dulles) on Jan 5th, from my current base of St Louis.

So, you can see that I would have to change domiciles, just to get furloughed 2 months later, all the while dealing with the crappy life of a reserve pilot.

This absolutely seals the deal that its game over by year end for me. I have seen this coming for many months and had basically decided that should it come to this, considering the lack of prospects for this company, I would resign before it affected me.

I had already made the decision to resign by year’s end before both of these facts finally became hard dated. Its funny how a real decision will cause the world to align with you in agreement. Its magic.

I am walking away a proud man and a much better person and pilot. Its been a hell of a ride and I’d do it all over again. For now, its time to pursue better, more rewarding things.

T-minus 5 weeks and counting…… 47 more hours before I reach 1,000 hours time in type.

Click Here

This is meant to be funny anf sort of is. But, I swear its all true. Funny industry.

I am warning you now. This is going to be a long one. I’ve got lots to say, so lets get started….

The last many days have been some of the best days I can remember. Not for any reason external to me. In fact, many elements of my life right now are in a state of decay. Certainly the chief element right now concerns my position as an airline pilot. I’ve posted multiple entries here on PA describing the details of this industry and I am not planning on spending undue time rehashing these things. So, lets summarize all of these posts by stating a simple line: unless professional aviation can someday provide this worthy professional a respectable quality of life, respectable pay, and respectable and reliable professional advancement, I will not be coming back. The last many days have been great because I am smiling again at the opportunity to excel on my own determination.

I have noticed a steady decline in my happiness level over the last year and it does stretch that far back. What I have endured, with paralleling hardship endured by my favorite person in the world, my wife, is not something that many couples could have endured as well as we have. Even the strongest I-beam can be bent with the proper force and our relationship is no different. The last 18 months have seen me home about 40% of the time on average, much of that time while my wife was working. As people longing to survive, we have adapted, and I am afraid that the results of this adaption have resulted in an increased independence on both parts and a resulting loss of an appreciation for what the other provides. I cannot speak on behalf of my wife, but I can say with relative certainty for every unit of hardship that I have endured during the loneliness of the cumulative multitude of months away from home and family, she has experienced a hardship of greater weight. This woman to whom I am married is a source of life for all of us at home. Our little dogs, our cats, our stray cat that sleeps on the door step (a.k.a Special Kitty), and the occasional Australian Shepherd foster dog all rely on her for their survival and she dutifully fulfills those needs. As they look to her for survival, I do in suit. I can prepare my own meals and can use the bathroom on my own, however, the reliance is still there in a different form - a mental form. And as the old adage says, one must continually create a relationship for it to endure. Nothing endures without continual creation. It is not impossible, but is difficult to continually create a relationship from 1,000 miles distance. Sure, I come home on occasion (and lately, considering the commuting as well, occasionally has been all it has been), but it is a struggle to fit a week of love into a day or two and to rinse and repeat that same ratio for month after month after endless month.

Examining the lifestyle, it could be conceived that if it paid appropriate dividends, then it could be endured. And so it goes that there are many professions that require one to travel frequently, work many many hours, etc. I am not afraid to work for something for working for. However, it is my opinion, and a very educated opinion I might add, that working a fruitful career as an airline pilot is becoming more and more a gamble - and I choose that word wisely because in gambling you become addicted to throwing away your assets (money, time, family, spouse, etc) in the hope that it will eventually pay off. In a seemingly endless sea of stripes all yelling, “mine, mine, mine” at the relatively few piloting jobs available, coupled with the fact that my airline and many others at the regional level are filled with “lifers” who have tried and tried and failed and failed to get out because they didn’t convey that elusive magical element that the “destination” companies were looking for during the interview. Even if one could blaze the path, it could be argued with great effectiveness that the goal still isn’t worth pursuing. In fact, like in my gambling analogy, it could well be that for a young guy like myself, still on the south side of having children and with my entire career ahead of me, that when this profession does finally pay off, I may just have put more precious assets into the slot than what the payout would be, resulting in a net loss. I am speaking of lost nights with my wife, lost forever in the past, unrecoverable, lost holidays with my family and missed birthday parties, all unrecoverable. And, sadly, when my kids are moving out of the house to college, what will I have missed in pursuit of this apparition?

It has been the decision of all decisions to muster up the courage to walk away from this dream. This is the strangest career I can imagine. From the outside, it has sex appeal, I do admit. I tell people I am an airline pilot and inevitably get a look that says, “cool”. Its a neat thing to say that one does it. To be responsible for hundreds of lives a day, to fly a multi million dollar technical marvel of the 21st century is addicting. To command thousands of pounds of thrust and grease in a 45,000 lb chuck of awesome is tough to let go of. To take off into the cloudy murk at 6:00am, only to climb out of it into the clear blue sky and see the sun rising to the east above the overcast is tough to let go of. In the evening, to look out the cockpit window and see the Milky Way stretched across the sky, satellites in orbit, and the occasional shooting star is hard to let go of. Shooting an instrument approach in the pouring rain, covered with ice, and breaking out 200 feet above the runway before completing a successful landing is tough to let go of. Flying over the spine of Florida at 37,000 feet and being witness to the entirety of the state in one sweep of the eye, west to east coast, the big lake and all is tough to let go of. So in these regards, I honestly do get why the line outside the door is so long. And like all of those folks, it was (and could be argued “is”) my dream to do and experience these things. For some reason, I was planted with the aviation bug. I cannot put words onto why I am addicted to it like I am. Only those who are infected can truly appreciate the feeling.

On the other hand, I am a fairly smart guy. Despite all of these things, they ABSOLUTELY pale in comparison to feeling the love of the one who truly loves me, the feelings that I can only imagine that I will feel when I hold my first born (and second too) in my arms and look into the eyes of my post labor wife with the humility that must have been felt by thousands of fathers after witnessing one of the most amazing miracles in this world. Watching my child succeed at something and knowing I will be there to witness it first hand, to see him/her blow out the candles on their birthday cake - ON THEIR BIRTHDAY… These are things that I cannot and WILL NOT not give up. When I am on my deathbed reflecting back on a life lived, I will not be lying there in a dying body wishing I could have the multi thousands of nights back to spend in my own bed next to my wife that I otherwise spent in endless hotels around the country.

Faced with this direct conflict of interest between this profession and the other more worthy things in life, I just cannot turn a blind eye to what I feel is the right thing to do. And it has taken me a good while to convince myself that it is the right thing to do.

However, I mentioned I was a smart guy. This is debatable, I guess. I’ve been thinking and I do see some very real possibilities in my future where I can potentially blend these two interests into something worth pursuing. Visions of sitting in the captain seat of an airliner buried in 1040s while the F/O flies the leg come to mind. However, I just don’t see this as a viable option, and it still finds me enduring all the same pressures that I just pointed out. My thoughts are more along the lines of opening my own accounting business in the not too distant future and focusing a segment of my business on aviation matters. I can see myself being one of the premier tax adviser/preparers among working airline pilots in the area. I believe that pilots would trust a CPA (will be one soon), who is also an active flight instructor, airplane owner, and who has worked and has an appreciation for matters regarding the aviation industry. Furthermore, I could get into advising up and coming companies who are looking into creating a flight department. Perhaps they could be looking to acquire a King Air or similar; I could go in and sift through their records, and advise on how to go about it, how to structure the purchase or lease in the most cost effective way. I realize most companies have internal accountants for this, but perhaps a specialization in the area would be appreciated. Perhaps I could even get partially involved in the actual sale of the airplane, perhaps in an agent’s role - just thinking out loud here. And of course, just for the raw revenue, I wouldn’t restrict myself to this side of the business - I am open to everyone’s business.

Being my own person, knowing how to do my job, doing it well, building client relationships, and being in direct control of my success or failure - unlike anything that is possible in the airline industry - would be a worthy goal in my estimation.

I am well aware of the sizable ravine that exists between my present location and where I’d like to be at the peak of my career. WORK is what lies between here and there. The key to success is to take it one step at a time. Its akin to climbing the side of a mountain. Should you look up, you might get dizzy and fall off. And standing on the bottom looking up, there is no way to know exactly where all the footholds are. But, one must take the first step, and upon succeeding at that, look around for another foothold and take that step. In time, one reaches the top.

The first step for me is to wrap up my involvement with this airline. I have decided that the best time to resign will be Dec 20th, give or take a couple of days. My schedule for November, as grueling as it is, will allow me to pass the 1,000 hours in type that I am looking to achieve before I exit. Once that goal is reached, any further involvement with the airline (i.e. in the first half of December) is strictly to receive a paycheck one last time.

The second step is to get started on the CPA requirements. My plan is to take 5 classes in the spring, FULL TIME!! The cost to this is that I will be unemployed for a little while. At first glance, some may say, “WHAT!!??”. However, it is as much a blessing as it is a slight risk. View it in this light: If I were employed at an accounting firm, say I had been since day one, there is no way that I would be allowed to hang my hat for 5 months to go to school full time. I would have had to go in the evenings, significantly slowing my progress, while balancing the issues at work with my studies, etc. Perhaps I could have arranged a leave of absence, but I am pretty sure it would have been akin to pulling teeth to ask for that. Furthermore, if this airline job would have taken off (no pun intended), again, there is no way I could have taken this amount of time off to pursue a material portion of these requirements. However, with the industry collapsing around me, and the timing of it all, and reaping the benefits from our sound financial management so far, I believe the planets have aligned here and are telling me that now is THE time to do this, if there ever will be a time. With savings and my wife’s diligent work, and zero credit card debt going in, we can coast long enough to achieve one semester in the bag. Mid May will see me complete the first semester, cutting the 9 classes I have to take as of this moment, down to 4 remaining classes. I do not think that we will be able to coast any longer than one semester and as such, I am anticipating the need to get employed again come summer. But that employment will be in line with the primary objective that I have the necessary time available to finish the remaining 4 classes by year end. Early 2010 will see me in intense prep for the CPA exam and it is my goal to finish it by summer 2010. I will be 28 years old and my wife will be 27, the perfect age to begin a family. I anticipate that around the time the first child begins school, the second about 2 or 3, I will begin building my business up to speed.

Assuming something along these lines - which I have COMPLETE control over, unlike a gamble on the airline industry - I see myself running my own profitable business by the time I am 32-34 years old. Thats still a young a guy with a hell of a future ahead.

But, the task at hand right now is clear. The end result will be amazing. The filler is WORK and STUDY!

Having my CPA, running a fruitful business as my own pursuit, flight instructing on the side, being an airplane owner, and having a family life seems to be a life worth much more than living under the constant pressure of hoping for a break in the airline industry.

A quick report in my log book as of right now shows 933 hours of time in type on the EMB-145 regional jet. This is certainly better than the “goose egg” that I had when I began. Additionally, I am showing 966.8 hours of multi engine time, much better than the 30 some odd that I had when I began.

In light of the last post, it becomes necessary to devise a good parking spot for my piloting resume while I splinter off to work on other things. I think the next good parking spot is 1,000 hours of multi/jet time. A quick subtraction yields the fact that I need to fly another 67 hours before walking away. It appears as though my build up line for Nov has me flying just over 70 hours for the month. Thus, at the end of Nov, I will have surpassed the 1,000 hour jet time mark, which feels like a good place to park for a while. My total time upon reaching that goal will be 1,756 TT. Even though by professional piloting standards, this is a pretty novice resume, I am satisfied with it. In general aviation, this number of hours is more than enough to walk around with proudly, demand low insurance rates, and appear experienced to most potential flight students. And if I decide to go back to professional flying, its significantly better than the lowly resume I had that first earned me this position.

The only obstacle is to keep my recency of experience going. If I can log anywhere from 50-80 hours a year, I can keep myself “recent” in the eyes of future employers. Between renting, instructing, and soon owning my own airplane, I feel that I will be able to keep in the air sufficiently enough to keep sharp.

No bridges are being burned. But rather I am going to build another one while this one is undergoing maintenance.

My days as a “waterski” are nearing an end. I have NOT decided whether or not to pursue aviation as a longterm career (likely not, but still undecided), but have decided not to pursue it right now.

With this industry going down like it is and especially my company, this just isn’t a good time to be trying to navigate through the growing rat race of pilots. From my vantage point I see not even a silver lining in the clouds. No airline pilot will argue that one faces many sacrifices in adopting this lifestyle. However, the theory is that it will pay enough in dividends to make it worth it. Where I am today as compared to where I thought I would be today when I started this gig are 180 degrees opposed. This industry requires a large degree of being the “effect” of others decisions, namely the people running the business (and the feds).

Everything from job security, quality of life, professional advancement, and even the way in which we fly the airplanes (SOP, etc) are determined by factors beyond our control. In this seniority system compounded with the growing mass of pilots out there on furlough, there is no possible way to out perform the compeition, to prove oneself to be of more value than the other guy. Success or demise is based entirely on a seniority list - how many other people are in the line. Professional advancement is the same way. I used to think that once I got to 1,500 hrs turbine PIC, I’d have a fighting chance for a Southwest job or similar. With the 40,000+ hopeful resumes they have on file, combined with the real world statistics I am seeing (only 3 people from Trans States have made it to SWA within the last many years and they are almost legends among the envious pilot group), make that a shot in the dark. The average age for a SWA new hire is 37 years old. Even assuming I make it at all, I am not prepared to fly regional jets under these forces (nor this company) for the next 11 years. A side by side forecast reveals me much further along in life after 11 years time should I be given the chance to unleash some of “my own” horsepower rather than just endure this industry, waiting and hoping for my number to be called.

I am ready to slide over into the driver seat for a while. The only way that I can be in control of my own success or failure is to cut the cord on this endeavor, even if just for a while, and go build myself up in otherways. Perhaps working in a profession where I can personally outshine the compeition and make a name for myself and be known as THE guy that can get it done, rather than employee #20415, will see me happier in the long run.

I have created a lengthy podcast on this topic of which I might post soon.

I am beginning school again in Jan 2009 to pursue my CPA. It will be a huge win to conquer that. As to what I do afterwards, I’ll lick my finger, stick it up into the breeze and see where the winds blow me when the time comes.

It seems lately that long overnights are getting more and more common around here. The quality of the trips that this company is building has certainly dropped lately. Part of the problem, however, is that with the recent Miami flying we are doing, the legs are so long that after a turn, its been 5-6 hours. We’re only legal 8, so they park us for a day and we resume the following day. A side effect of this route structure, I am afraid.

At present, I am 2 hours into a 23 hour overnight in Pittsburgh, PA. However, it could be worse. I am propped up in a king bed on the 6th floor of a Hyatt Place hotel gazing out a huge window which overlooks a sea of red, yellow, and orange leaved trees spread up and down the rolling hills. Pittsburgh, from what I have seen, is one of the prettier cities I’ve been to (and I’ve been to MANY over the last 2 years) and I’ve got a 40+ inch HD flatscreen TV in my room.

On a side note:

I just submitted a job application with Mesaba Airlines. I am not sure if I even care to go there. However, they apparently just sealed a deal to do some flying for Delta out of Atlanta. If I can be Atlanta based and get some good seniority and work for a growing company, it may be a good deal. All I want out of this aviation business is quality of life and a respectable income. With all of this back and forth I’ve been doing trying to decide between accounting or aviation, I’ve gotten no where. My gut says stick with aviation - I work for one of the worst regionals in the business AND I commute. I am officially in the worse possible situation that the airlines can dish out at the moment - short of being fired. It can only get better from here. Perhaps in time it will.

In an effort to continue to broaden my knowledge of aviation, and to be the best flight instructor I can be, I have ordered this book from Amazon.com. Supposedly, it explains aerodynamics in much greater detail than the cursory explanation given in the private/commercial prep books.

Admittedly, there is large gap in my understanding about why wings are swept on jets (I understand some basics), and why winglets increase the effective wingspan, why vortex generators are so damn cool, etc.

Thus, I will read it and will post a review when I am done. Considering the techincal material involved, don’t hold your breath.

I’m working on developing an arrangement with a fellow EAA club member to rent his Cessna 150 on occasion. I just have a voracious thirst for general aviation. Airline flying just doesn’t do it for me in the same way. Too scripted and structured.

Today, I met up with him at the airport, and took a shot flying the 150. Its been well over a year since I last flew a 150. I believe that within the last 18 months, I’ve logged 4 or 5 hours in small piston airplanes. Needless to say, its quite a change from flying the EMB-145 around.

By and large, I did well. I began in the right seat, as that is what I am most comfortable with. The owner of the airplane is most comfortable in the left seat, so I figured this was the best arrangement for the first flight. Besides the very sensitive controls compared to what I have gotten used to, it didn’t feel very strange at all. My first landing left a bit to be desired, but the next one was well in the green.

We landed at ZPH to refuel and switched seats. From the left seat, it was surprisingly familiar. In fact, I performed just as well in the left seat as I did in the right seat. Two decent landings later and we were back at Lakeland airport.

It was a short flight, but great to do to work towards getting my small airplane feel back. We are talking about pricing and other details right now. But hopefully, within a short period here, I will have an airplane that I can fly when I have the itch to head out.

Also, I am so used to saying “Waterski” on the radio (our call sign for Trans States), I said it twice while talking to tower. Oh well.

Should I go back to accounting (which is likely going to be the case really soon), I will be looking to buy my own airplane. It brings a huge smile to my face to think about it!!!

Something I posted on a pilot forum that sums it up:

Ever since I passed my initial checkride, I’ve been sort of “on the fence” about this job. I loved the flying, enjoyed hanging with the crews, but LOATHE the lifestyle. I just yearn to be next to my wife in my own bed on those nights when sleeping at a hotel or in my crashpad (I commute). I told myself I’d give it a year and see what I thought. That year came and went and I am still on the fence about this job. I’ve given my wife whiplash with all the back and forth that I have done with this gig. Now that the economy is going into the crapper, this place is downsizing, I am losing seniority, and even my commuting flights are become less frequent, and I am looking at the very real possibility of being relocated to Dulles, where cost of a crashpad is double and half as convenient. I am not religious per say, but this must be God’s way of pushing me over the fence - do something beyond my control to force me into a decision.

I am just tired. Tired of little money for LOTs of time, very little growth potential, displacements, being treated unprofessionally, endless nights in hotels enduring 24 hour plus overnights in BFE, getting treated like a pile of crap in the training dept, etc. I think I’d rather make my own fate and have my rewards directly tied to my hard work and achievement and value vs. the other guy’s, rather than merely to the number of people in the line ahead of me.

No one can take the flying out of me. Its a disease. I will go buy a small airplane, fly for fun, and be a freelance instructor. I’ve always wanted to finish my glider rating and I went hang gliding one time and told myself I’d do that too. And the 3 remote control airplanes I have at my house need to be flown again too.

But, I’m just about done with this place and this industry altogether. I’ll stick it out a bit longer, but I am just about ready to pull the eject lever. There are greener pastures out there now that I have seen this industry with my own eyes.

One word: Bad!

After 17 months of employment and 10+ months with a preset schedule (hard line), I am back to a build up schedule. Basically this means that a schedule is created based on the scraps left behind from the line holders. Its the last step before being tossed back on reserve. I will be on reserve in Dec, no doubt. Furthermore, it appears that those who are based in IAD now are nearly all on reserve. The company basically put 50 crew members out there in IAD and put 90% of them on reserve.

So, this is the first tangible effect to hit me so far. I’ve lasted this long without much personal effect as pilots under me were furloughed and downgraded. However, its getting personal now.

We’ll see what happens with the schedule.

I am making serious moves right now to purchase an airplane (won’t do it until the time is right). But, it will happen pretty soon. As the airline business shrinks, I might stick with my plan to wrap up my involvement with this place at the close of the year and attend school in Jan to finish my CPA. I do this job because I love to fly and it is my only way into the sky right now. However, purchasing an airplane, which will in turn make the sky accessible on my terms will likely suck nearly all the appeal out of the airline business.

One of the tougher decisions I’ve faced: Which road to take, when to take it, and for how long.

For those who don’t know much about Trans States Airlines, the company I work for, it began early on doing flying under contract for TWA as Trans World Express. Under those colors, they flew for a multitude of years. Eventually, American Airlines purchased TWA (a failed business) and the flying was continued under the American livery. The lawyers got together and created a separate title called American Connection. Trans States repainted the existing airplanes as American Connection, grew quite a bit as well acquiring more airplanes and this endured as the primary bread and butter of the company for years. However, during the purchase of TWA and the various legal matters that followed, a scope clause was created (originated by the pilot union, ALPA, under which American Airlines pilots organize). This clause limits ANY contractor d/b/a American Connection to airplanes no larger than 50 seats, no matter what other contracts they may do business under. The theory is that if an airline is flying airplanes larger than 50 seats, they are not a true regional airline and will not do business with American Airlines. This is great for the pilots at American Airlines (the ones who really fought for the implementation of this clause) because it limits the types of flying that can be outsourced at cheaper rates. A good thing. They’d outsource much more flying if they could because guys like me will fly airplanes for a fraction of what the mainline pilots will work for (the law of supply and demand and the nature of this business is such that you’ve got a long road of time building to travel before getting anywhere and this causes pilots like me to accept low pay in order to build the time required for the higher pay).

This scope clause limited the entire company of Trans States Airlines to 50 seat flying, effectively stifling any ability for the company to fly larger equipment, for any code share at all whilst d/b/a American Connection. Thus, GoJet was born to escape this clause, but that is fodder for another post entirely.

Apparently, many of the airplanes that we began to fly as we grew as American Connection were owned by the holding company of American Airlines (AMR, Inc.) and leased to us to operate. With the recent economic downturn, these airplanes have been requested back due to agreed upon union rules. American Eagle, the regional airline owned by AMR (they are trying to doff it right now, BTW, because companies like Trans States can do the same flying for cheaper) has an agreement that no pilot there can be furloughed until all airplanes owned by AMR and leased to outsourced companies are back on the property. This makes sense. Why furlough Eagle pilots when their airplanes (both Eagle and the Connection airplanes are owned by AMR) are being flown by other companies? AMR wants to furlough Eagle pilots, so in order to not violate the union contract, they have requested the Connection airplanes back. THEY HATE THIS!! We (Trans States) can operate these airplanes for much cheaper than Eagle can. However, they have no choice. The rumors floating around these parts are that AMR is going to repossess the Connection airplanes, then turn around and furlough the Eagle pilots as was their original intention. So basically, our airplanes will go back to the desert. In this way, AMR hasn’t violated any contract. (Whether they actually go to the desert or not is conjecture at this point).

Therefore, Trans States is losing 80 percent of the American Connection fleet, back to American who owns the airplanes.

Some things that don’t make sense:

1. The company doesn’t seem to be fighting very hard to secure the Connection flying. If we have a contract to fly those routes, why isn’t Hulas (the owner) acquiring different airplanes right now (ones not owned by American) to keep that flying in house? We’ve been doing this Connection flying for a very long time. Seems like its going away without a tough fight.

2. We are operating 3 Connection airplanes outside of those owned by AMR (leased by other leasing companies). We are getting rid of those too. Yet, we are hanging onto the US Airways flying (3 or 4 planes worth). Why hang onto the Airways flying (as insignificant as it is), yet doff the 3 Connection airplanes that aren’t owned by AMR? If we have a contract, why not fly as much of the routes as we can with those 3 airplanes until replacements for the 10 are obtained?

This makes me wonder if the company wants to get rid of the Connection flying for a certain reason, to escape the 50 seat clause, perhaps.

I’ve heard rumors that after the airplanes are gone from here, we’ll just pull 10 more from the desert and keep doing the flying. If this is the plan, why wait until they are all gone? The company hasn’t made any announcement as to acquiring different airplanes to continue the Connection flying.

I have a hard time believing that the company is just letting the Connection flying go as easily as they are without some tactical advantage that hasn’t been released.

I honestly believe, despite all factual knowledge in hand (the company holds their cards very close) that things aren’t as bad as they look. Yes, things will get worse before they get better. But, I believe something will come along. It’ll either be that we secure that Connection flying again utilizing different airplanes, we lose it all and escape the scope and become free to get larger airplanes and do so under some new contract, or Mesa airlines goes under and we take a lot of their flying. Perhaps something else entirely.

Something will give. I just can’t believe it is as bleak as it seems.