According to the eagle guy i talked to, Eagle did this to get pilots. They were down to 1 resume per day, and were going to run out of applicants by Oct. They were calling anyone who ever interviewed at Eagle, and anyone with info in the system they were so desperate, plus guys now at other regionals.

With the -121 ATP requirement starting in 2 years, they wanted to get low time guys in now so they would have a good shot at 1500 hours by 1 Aug, 2013, and would not have to stop flying until they got their ATP.

They announced that everyone at Eagle by Oct? XX? gets an AA class seat, and that the mins were reduced to 500/50. If you had less than the standard 800/100, then you needed an jet transition course before you started at Eagle. Eagle is paying for the jet transition course for the low time guys.

First time I have heard of a US airline paying for training outside of the airline, since the '60s/'70s.

cliff
GRB