When you got furloughed

[saxman66]

For those of you who have been furloughed in the past, and me wondering if it'll happen to me soon, just curious to what other did during that time. I met one guy who was a truck driver. Did you find another flying gig? Did you CFI? Did you get out all together and find a desk job? Did you sit at home and get unemployment? And if you got recalled, did you come back?

[ZapBrannigan]

The first furlough was from the Part 135 freight operation I was working for. While furloughed I got a job as a stockboy at a grocery store at night, and flight instructed during the day.

The second furlough was from an LCC. I managed to go back to the commuter I was working at before that.

The third furlough (this time from a major), I found a job working for a commuter to stay current. Worked there for a year or so, then went to a national. Worked there for two years and then went corporate.

Something will come up. You'll be fine. Just don't dismiss any opportunities. When I was a furloughed 737 pilot I was looking at potential CFI jobs. Nothing is below you when it comes to feeding your family.

[Skyway]

Hi I am relatively new to posting here. To answer your question sir, I was furloughed forever from skyway airlines and pretty much from republic as well. I currently have 1300 tt and I have decided to go back to flight instructing, as well. I feel like flight instructing may not pay as much but it sure does keep you in the game though, and your getting paid to fly at that! I hope things work out for you and you don't have to go through what me and and a bunch of others have or are currently experiencing. If you do get furloughed though and flying is truly your dream, then take whatever SAFE flying job you can to stay in the game. Something will eventually come open again. Good luck to you. I would sure hate to see anyone else go through this.

[Cptnchia]

The big thing to keep in mind is, if an opportunuty presents itself, sometimes a leap of faith is required. Case in point. When I got furloughed from Southernjets, 2 months into it, I had the opportunity to interview with Coca-Cola for a pilot position. I was offered the job concurrent with resigning my seniority number at SJ. I was reluctant to because I felt that the furlough wouldn't last long. 4 1/2 years later I was recalled. Would going with Coke have been a better deal? I don't know, but it would have made those years easier.

[Baronman]

Originally Posted by Cptnchia

The big thing to keep in mind is, if an opportunuty presents itself, sometimes a leap of faith is required. Case in point. When I got furloughed from Southernjets, 2 months into it, I had the opportunity to interview with Coca-Cola for a pilot position. I was offered the job concurrent with resigning my seniority number at SJ. I was reluctant to because I felt that the furlough wouldn't last long. 4 1/2 years later I was recalled. Would going with Coke have been a better deal? I don't know, but it would have made those years easier.

Your teeth and dentist thank your for not going the Coke route.....call it un -'merican but that crap is nasty.

[ZapBrannigan]

That's unamerican!

[blee256]

Originally Posted by Baronman

Your teeth and dentist thank your for not going the Coke route.....call it un -'merican but that crap is nasty.

I dont drink soda anymore, but the Atlanta champagne is so much better than that pepsi crap. haha.....

Turning down a job at Coke must've been pretty hard. Isnt that job pretty sought after?

[skyhawk123]

today is my first day!!!!! any advise????

[Cptnchia]

Originally Posted by skyhawk123

today is my first day!!!!! any advise????

Start drinking heavily. Actually, Take a few days to process it. It does sux, but will get better. I would recommend setting up a daily schedule, even if it only entails:
Wake up.
Eat breakfast.
Get out of house.

Otherwise, you can find yourself wallowing in self pity. Get out of the house, NOW! Go to the park, library, anywhere where you can interact with others. And try to watch the internet time. You can drive yourself mad trying to glean any tiny detail which to hang a glimmer of hope on. Think of it as an opportunity to go and learn some other skills, to broaden your CV. And don't second guess any opportunities.

[Cptnchia]

Originally Posted by blee256

Turning down a job at Coke must've been pretty hard. Isnt that job pretty sought after?

True. I was raised in a corporate flight Dept. My dad was with Mobil and retired running the whole show. He was also one of the big cheeses at NBAA. All I ever thought about was being a corporate pilot. The guy running Coke was an old family friend, that's why I got the interview.

But I got the job at SJA on my own. No help from anybody. I wasn't ready to give up on that. Just being stubborn I guess.

[skyhawk123]

thanks Cptnchia great advise!!!!

[rocket bob]

When I got furloughed from my legacy dream job, I got my old job back as a caddie at a local country club. Granted, it is a pretty nice club, and I looped about 50 rounds a month for the year I was on the street. Unbelievably, I was bringing home about 4500 cash a month. No benefits, no retirement, but it was a lot of fun and I lost 20 pounds pretty quickly. I also worked part time as a King Air Captain. The key is getting a job doing SOMETHING fairly quickly, otherwise I think I'd have spent my time feeling bitter around the house. The first furlough is not the worst thing, it's definitely the second furlough that hurts the most. Good luck to all, this industry is sucking right now.

[777forever]

Originally Posted by skyhawk123

today is my first day!!!!! any advise????

http://web.nbaa.org/public/cs/amc/2008/

[gtpilot]

Heard the F-bomb rumor around work for the first time today (from multiple sources that all say it won't be necessary, but....). My question is this - for those of us still in our probationary period, what's to stop the company from just firing us? From what I read in our contract, there's no real guidance for probationary pilots.

[saxman66]

Someone just PM'd me and told me GoJets is hiring and getting 10 airplanes this and a good company to work for. I politely turned down his offer and told him why.

[ZapBrannigan]

Originally Posted by gtpilot

from multiple sources that all say it won't be necessary

FYI,

When I was furloughed from USAir I was #4097 out of 6076 pilots. Shortly after 9/11 I flew with a Captain who said, "They would have to shut the airline down to furlough down to you."

6 months later I was on the street.

The people who say furloughs won't be necessary or that airlines don't shrink to profitability are every bit as reliable as those who tell you upgrade will be in 5 years.

Don't believe it.

[Getburned]

At OH, its Looking like 300 pilots, and 220 FA's out on the street sometime this fall. The company just made an announcement today. I'm right there looking at getting the axe. Curious as to how this is all going to shake out.

[Silverhawkpmm]

True. I was raised in a corporate flight Dept. My dad was with Mobil and retired running the whole show. He was also one of the big cheeses at NBAA. All I ever thought about was being a corporate pilot. The guy running Coke was an old family friend, that's why I got the interview.

Family friends of the Cameron's by chance? I went to school with their daughter.