Anyone have any experience with their IT department downtown? Would it even be a wise choice right now to get into the airline industry?
I don't know about the airlines industry's viability as it relates to IT employment, I do know you'll get to fly standby for free. So, you'd have that goin' for ya...
They must have just started that then because my uncle and aunt worked for Continental from the 70s until the early 2000s and even during the mid-90s they were paying $25 fro stand-by tickets. I'm sure it hasn't gotten any better due to the air industry's current situation.
the rates have gone up it's no longer free. Buddy passes start at $100 one way plus the tax for the highest paid ticket. So if someone buys a $1500 First class ticket that last minute, you pay the tax on that ticket plus the $100. Continental is a good company in my opinion despite the layoffs. I think with you being in IT, you will be fine.
This is a VERY bad time to get into the industry. I highly recommend against it. But if you choose a U.S. carrier, CO is a good choice compared to the others. CO still has a good culture but it has changed a lot since I left (so I hear). I worked there for 15+ years and left 4 1/2 years ago when I concluded the industry was about to "hit the wall". Best decision I ever made.
My bro has been working with them for 3 yrs, they've been laying people off at the airport he said, he gets badass benefits. ugh I wish i could get a job there.
From Continental Employee Buddy Pass Q&A Buddy Pass travel will be priced as follows. A detailed description of each region’s travel area can be found on page 4 of this document. Region A $100 one way Region B $200 one way Region C $250 one way Region D $400 one way Region A 1- To/From and Between the U.S. Mainland (48 states) and Alaska 2- Within the Micronesia Islands (YAP, ROR, TKK, PNI, KSA, KWA, MAJ) 3- The Micronesia Islands (YAP, ROR, TKK, PNI, KSA, KWA, MAJ) to/from Guam and/or Saipan Region B 4- Guam, the Micronesia Islands (YAP, ROR, TKK, PNI, KSA, KWA, MAJ) and Saipan to/from Asia, Hawaii and the South Pacific 5- Hawaii to/from Asia and the South Pacific 6- To/From and Between Asia and the South Pacific 7- To/From and Between Bermuda, Canada, the Caribbean, Central America, Hawaii, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South America and Alaska and/or the U.S. Mainland Region C 8- Alaska, Bermuda, Canada, the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South America and the U.S. Mainland To/From Asia, Europe, Guam, India, Israel, the Micronesia Islands (YAP, ROR, TKK, PNI, KSA, KWA, MAJ), Saipan and the South Pacific Region D 9- Asia, Guam, Hawaii, the Micronesia Islands (YAP, ROR, TKK, PNI, KSA, KWA, MAJ), Saipan and the South Pacific Europe, India and/or Israel Continental is also asking employees to take early retirement or take a leave of abscence. I still think CO is the best airline to work for right now though..
Dude, aren't you forgetting about Southwest? They're the only airline staying afloat and making a profit.
In this day and age, they've figured out the way to save a buck. Has Southwest cut jobs or lost $? Umm, how about never in the entire time they have been an airline. Do the employees pay for standby tickets? Nada. Zilch. Zero. All they do is pay for taxes. In fact, this article below will reveal how Southwest PWNS the airline industry: http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1213935743.html As record oil prices force US airlines to cut flights and slash payrolls, cash-rich and well-hedged Southwest Airlines could pick up routes and expand its business as it has done in previous downturns. The airline, which invented the no-frills, low-cost carrier structure in 1971, has USD $6 billion in the bank and USD $5 billion of fuel hedges on its books, a massive cushion that could help it move into markets that other airlines find unprofitable. "Business cycle after business cycle, Southwest grows into the vacuum that's created by network carrier retrenchment," said Robert Mann, president of airline consultancy R. W. Mann. "That's what they do." It already has a cost advantage over most rivals with its point-to-point route map, lack of expensive hubs to maintain, only one type of plane and a simple one-class fare structure. Southwest's range of fuel hedges, put in place over the last 15 years or so, allows it to pay well below the going rate to fill up its planes as oil prices hit new records. It would be no surprise if Southwest launched new services after the peak summer flying season, analysts said, when other airlines are planning to prune networks to save money. "Southwest is far from done in terms of developing our route system," Southwest Chief Executive Gary Kelly said at an airline investor conference this week. He did not rule out an acquisition or large expansion, but said "it better be right for us", given the risks to the industry from high oil prices. "They've got all the right stuff," Mann said. "It's just a question of whether they want to place that big bet, and try to split the defense somewhere, and go into a market where they traditionally haven't gone." Dallas-based Southwest, which began as a small Texas-only airline, is now the No. 6 US carrier by traffic and the largest in terms of domestic passengers. It is easily the most financially successful, boasting 35 straight profitable years with no layoffs or bankruptcies, unique among US carriers. Its market value stands around USD $10.4 billion, more than the rest of the top 10 US airlines combined. It has grown by entering markets where it thinks it can gain a foothold by forcing down fares, as it did at Chicago's Midway Airport, Baltimore-Washington, Philadelphia and Denver. Since returning to Denver in 2006, Southwest has ramped up its services, hurting local low-cost rival Frontier Airlines and United Airlines. Since Frontier filed for bankruptcy protection in April, Southwest has announced more new flights from there. "This is what they (Southwest) excel at," said Betsy Snyder, an airline analyst at Standard & Poor's. "They always go in when someone is down and increase their market share. They have the capital and the equipment to do this." Next up could be flights to large airports in New York, Boston and Atlanta -- which Southwest has so far avoided as overcrowded and expensive to operate from. "These are places that historically they haven't gone because they haven't needed to," Mann said. "But as the big guys retrench, there will be some room that frees up." Southwest had a code-share deal with ATA Airlines on flights to New York's LaGuardia that lapsed when ATA went out of business in April, another victim of fuel prices. Southwest may be tempted to run its own service there at some point. Southwest's fuel hedges are working well amid the oil crisis. It paid an average USD$2.01 per gallon of jet fuel in the first quarter, higher than a year ago, but well below the market average of USD $3.07. Highly refined jet fuel, which has risen even faster than crude oil, is trading around USD $3.76 per gallon. It briefly hit an all-time high of USD $4.07 in May. The hedges saved the company USD$291 million on fuel in the first quarter alone. It has hedges in place for the next few years, and though they are slowly losing potency, Kelly said they are worth USD $5 billion until 2012 at current oil prices. From its position of strength, the carrier has launched an ad campaign poking fun at the new fees imposed by cash-strapped rivals, with the slogan "Fees don't fly with us". Southwest, which has not introduced extra charges, reckons new baggage and booking fees, along with fuel surcharges, are jacking up the average domestic airfare by about 70 percent. The carrier has not been immune to the crisis, scaling down fleet plans twice in the last nine months, cutting deliveries of Boeing 737s. It will still make a net fleet expansion this year and next, but much less than originally planned. Kelly admits the environment is "terrible," and the airline is "trimming out" flights that are unlikely to make money. But overall, as it introduces flights on popular routes, he still expects to see a 4 percent increase in capacity this year. Most majors are planning double-digit capacity cuts this winter. "Other airlines are shrinking, while we are continuing to grow, although very modestly," Kelly said at the investor conference. "Southwest Airlines is very well prepared to weather this storm."
Ya sorry i was takling about round trip flights. And you're right about the one way, it use to be 125 round trip, they said it was costing alot more. And ya my bro said that most of the older ppl are retiring already.
I like Southwest's strategy of only flying where it's profitable to fly to. You can always stand pat, continue to make money and hopefully the market will improve and allow you to pick up extra routes.
Seriously Southwest is the best airline in America. Both to fly and within the company. It's funny and sad watching all the legacy carriers that have been badly run and the VERY few that have been well fun, lose money and work on merging operations with their competitors. I'd also love to see Virgin America keep making big moves in this country.
I hate flying Southwest. I hate the way they board passengers, they use OLD planes, and flying into regional airports just don't do it for me. For instance, if I wanted to fly SW to New York, I'd have 3 connections into Islip(Long Island) then have to pay $100 to take a cab to NYC. Sorry...Profitable or not...SW is just not for me.
CAL could be a great place to work for you . I have many friends who work there and they enjoy the work, the benefits etc. Just remember you will never be paid market value when you work for an airline. But like an earlier poster said, if there was one airline to work for it would be CAL. CAL is a big Microsoft shop so brush up on all that stuff.
