When an airline pilot is laid off it is called furlough. A furlough by definition is a temporary leave of absence from employment. Most airline pilots experience at least one furlough in their airline career. Some get lucky on their timing, but most don’t.
I ran across one airline pilot during some training that said he had been furloughed four times in 18 years with a major airline. He sure sounded a little bitter and disappointed about the way his airline career went. Can you blame him, he chose an airline to work for and because of the seniority system he was pretty much stuck after a few years. Then, if the economy doesn’t do well or airline management makes some poor decisions it directly affects the airline pilots. Then, because of the seniority system he has to ride it out. After the fourth furlough he found another job outside the cockpit and said he could not take it anymore. Since there is always a new airline pilot willing to work for nothing, someone replaced him.
Airline Pilots Need a Backup Plan
If you are going to choose an airline pilot career, then I highly recommend a backup plan to the very likely chance you will be furloughed at least once. You owe this to your family. A backup plan can be many different things, first is a good college degree. I recommend getting a college degree in something other than aviation related. If you get furloughed, there are probably not many other jobs in the aviation industry at that time.
How about accounting, you can start a side business while you are an airline pilot preparing taxes or keeping people’s tax records. Business related fields can lead to many types of part-time jobs and full-time jobs when you need it.
Start a small side business while you are still flying for an airline, many airline pilots do this. You can work on the side business while you are on trips and then if a furlough does come your way, you are prepared. Even if the side business just makes a couple of thousand dollars it is better than nothing. Between unemployment and that you might make ends meet.
Is the Airline Pilot’s Job Worth It?
When a pilot gets furloughed he will probably really wonder if this crazy airline pilot career is worth it. Not only does a pilot have to put up with a very poor schedule in the beginning, often for years, but the airline pilot pay is very low in the beginning. Most pilots have to start at lower paying positions like flight instructing, charter, regional airline pilot job before making it to a major airline. Even then at a major airline they don’t make much pilot pay until after a few years.
When an airline pilot is furloughed, he will ask himself is this worth it. Not only is the pilot pay a struggle, but now job security is poor. Unless an airline pilot has prepared well with their backup plan, the decrease in income for a long furlough of an airline pilot can be devastating to not only the short term, but the long-term. Savings for the kid’s college, retirement, etc. can be impacted for a furlough lasting for a few years.
Usually, after an airline furloughs, the management and pilot union negotiate concessions which means the pilot will return to less in the contract than he left. After 911, Delta Airlines got rid of the retirement for the pilots and this impacted not only those furloughed, but mainly the pilots closer to retirement.
It is All Luck
An airline pilot who picks the right airline and is never furloughed is all luck. There is not one airline out there that has not furloughed or run into some difficulty as some point. As a pilot, I recommend you prepare for the worse and hope for the best. Get a college degree in a good field outside aviation, start a side business, and be conservative. This type of plan will reduce your stress as an airline pilot, provide security in the likely event you get furlough or run into some difficult times as an airline pilot. If a pilot goes in understanding the way it works as an airline pilot and prepares, it is a lot easy to handle any setbacks during an airline pilot career.
An airline pilot job is fun and rewarding, it’s just different in many ways for other professions of the same level. Understanding and being prepared is the key to keeping your sanity as an airline pilot. The goal of Airlinepilotfacts.com is to give future airline pilots the facts on the airline pilot career so you can make the best decisions.
