Long Awaited Good News

Things are finally coming around for the new job. The original start date was in December. The next one was January. Well it looks like mid-February, but things are becoming much more firm.
The aircraft flew to Canada to get a brand new paint job last week. CRJ's usually take 10-15 working days to paint, so I would imagine February 15th at the absolute latest.

My first flight for the new job will be a ferry from Canada to the Middle East with the other Captains and First Officers. A ten thousand mile flight in a CRJ should be pretty interesting and I'm looking forward to it. What a way to start, right?

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I can't stress enough how grateful I feel to have this opportunity with such dismal economic conditions world wide. The news today alone highlighted over 62,000 layoffs from major employers nationwide. Caterpillar, Texas Instruments, Microsoft, Google, Citi, Wyeth (due to Pfizer acquisition), Halliburton, Schlumberger, Home Depot, Sprint/Nextel, United Airlines and Clear Channel (Cheap Channel) Communications are just a tip of the iceberg.

There's a double edged sword to being a furloughed pilot in a down economy: currency and qualification. To remain qualified in an aircraft that a pilot is type rated in, he/she must have recurrent ground and simulator training along with a check ride every 12 months. Most contract jobs require pilots to be current and qualified in type to be eligible for employment. Many of my coworkers will lose currency next month and qualification by summer.

For many furloughed pilots, right to recall is at least a light at the end of a long tunnel. In the case of ever shrinking Comair, with 300 on the street currently and rumors of another displacement/furlough next month, our group has been told not to expect a call back. For guys that have less than 2,500 flight hours, this could potentially spell the end of their flying careers. When hiring does resume in the US, many who had to sit on the sidelines for 1-3 years will not have the hours necessary to qualify for a premium job. And a large number of them will not be able to afford going to another regional airline for first year pay, which is just awful.

Comair's only hope, which really isn't hope at all, in the near future is the court case between Mesa Air Group's Freedom Airlines and Delta Connection. Delta canceled Freedom's contract for 50 seat lift using Embraer 145 aircraft in March 2008. Mesa filed a lawsuit against Delta and a temporary injunction was granted. Freedom began flying Delta routes again late last summer. The day in court is supposedly sometime around the 30th of January.

First of all, it's hard to call another airline's loss "hope" for your airline. Nobody wants to take someone's job. Second, my guess (that and four quarters will get you $1.00) is that Mesa/Freedom and Delta reach a financial settlement and Delta will simply not re-assign the flying. Freedom pilots will lose and other DCI carriers, Comair included, will not receive anything. What is my reasoning? Mesa Air Group is in a bit of cash trouble due to a settled lawsuit with Hawaiian Airlines, major losses at Go! (Mesa's Hawaiian subsidiary), a share price below 20 cents, major upcoming debt payments and the looming threat of losing Delta lift.

I don't want to see any more pilots, no matter where they are employed, lose their job.