Quote:
Originally Posted by shaft88
What are the job prospects like for someone in that situation once they are fired from a major carrier?
Quote:
Originally Posted by W0X0F
I'm guessing it's around zero, but quite honestly I don't know for sure. I don't have personal knowledge of anyone who's ever gone through this. I don't even know if it's cause for certificate action by the FAA, but I think it probably is since criminal charges can be brought.
Update on this.
I flew JFK to LAX* yesterday and this topic came up (a pilot showing up for duty under the influence is a pretty rare event and I'm sure it's been coming up in lots of cockpits in the last few days). The guy I was flying with told me of a trip he was on when he was a captain at Skywest. His first officer was pulled off the trip because a random drug test he had taken recently returned positive. He ended up losing his job. Then he went to the Betty Ford clinic and was able to get another job.
Yada yada yada, he's now a Captain at United.
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*Yesterday was a day off. I got a call at 5:00 am from Delta with an automated message, trying to find a captain to fly to LAX at 10 am. I quickly checked the trip using an app on my iPhone that the company provides to us. It was one flight to LAX, 9 hours at a hotel, and deadhead back to JFK on the red eye, getting in around 8 am the next day. The trip was worth almost 12 hours of pay.
I figured I could make that (and it's pretty good extra $$$) so I "accepted" the flight, which really just meant I was in the running for the trip. Over the next ten minutes, other pilots who were notified could also accept the trip. The most senior pilot of this group gets awarded the trip.
Knowing I'd have to hustle to get to DCA to fly up to New York if I got the trip, I got up, shaved, dressed, grabbed my (already packed) bag and, about that time, I got another automated message awarding the trio to me.
I usually take the metro to DCA, but there wasn't time for public transportation. I drove to the 20 miles to DCA, arriving at the satellite lot around 5:40. I got to the gate for the 6:05 JFK flight at about 6:02 and they had already closed the flight. Too bad, but my backup was the 7:00 am flight to LGA, which meant I'd have to cab it to JFK for my 0900 report time. It would be close.
The flight was a little delayed because the plane had to be towed to the gate and by the time I was off the flight at LGA, it was close to 8:30. I called the car service that crews use ($18 for the ride vs. about $35-$40 using Uber) and got to JFK just a few minutes past sign-in. I had called the FO and Crew Scheduling to let them know I'd be just a few minutes late but that I'd go straight to the plane and we'd be on time.
We pushed back on time with 226 passengers on a 767. The flight plan showed a flight time of 5:21. Uneventful flight with some weather over Nebraska and Colorado that we were able to fly around.
The flight plan had a note requesting that we perform an autoland. This has to be done every so often (every 180 days, I think) to keep the airplane certified for autoland. If the plane isn't current, there could be a case where a crew needs to use it and can't because it's not legal. So, being a good soldier, I comply with the request even though, like most pilots, I'd much rather land the plane myself. A lot of pilots ignore the request to perform an autoland but my attitude has always been that this isn't a flying club, it's my job.
We land around 1:15 pm PDT. The plane did a nice job and I even got a handful of "nice landing" remarks from deplaning passengers. No, I didn't bother telling them that the plane landed itself. Was that wrong?
So now, instead of going to a hotel, I call Crew Scheduling and tell them I'm going to deviate from my scheduled deadhead flight back to JFK that night. I go jumpseat on the 4:00 pm United flight back to DC. Unfortunately, I have to go to IAD instead of DCA, but still saves me half a day vs. arriving in New York the next morning.
Land at midnight Eastern time, Uber to DCA, get my car, drive home. In bed by 1:30 am.
A day in the life...