Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Words with friends

We are friends with a couple in which the husband is also a pilot. After stagnating as an FO for about nine years, his regional airline ceased operations and he was out of a job. Instead of seeking another flying opportunity he took a job on a management track at the local Costco and in about two years was making about the same amount of money while also being home every night. He professes to being happy and out of flying for good yet every time we speak with them, the conversation quickly turns to airline life. I think that after a few years at home now, the wife is starting to get that independent itch and miss him being gone. And she brought up that it's such a waste to have spent so much time and effort on flight training to just walk away altogether. And spend your time inventorying hotdogs. We were asked to come over and discretely talk about other flying jobs, I think in the hope that perhaps he could get back into flying just a bit. We didn't succeed, the topic never really came up, but it made me wonder what A would do ,or WILL do if I believe the company gossip, when his airline folds. And I really would be pissed to have worked so hard to pay off training that he then doesn't use. As it is he still owes a few grand for the ITT tech degree he was using before he left that industry for flight school. Especially when that money could have paid outright for my own higher education. I'm not sure how it would feel to give up the identity of being a pilots wife. Even when A was on leave for two years, we knew he would go back at some point. There is still that pride of him there and admittedly that pride also because people think it's so glamorous, even though we know the truth. 

1 comment:

Unknown said...

My husband and I have thought the same thing a few times recently. We are looking for other flying opportunities for him (he currently has a position as a pilot but can be gone up to six weeks at a time and this past summer he was gone nearly three months with a few hour stops at home every three weeks or so). Now that babies are on the horizon, his travel schedule isn't so appealing!