Originally Posted by
cactipilot
I think a signing bonus would be great, of course, to attract new talent. I also would say it's far from happening here, as retention still isn't poor, as compared to some of the competitors that have a vociferously unhappy pilot's group and a massive retention problem. Since there is no union to deal with, it affords far more flexibility than a 5/10k bonus like some other companies with unions are doing/rumored to be working on as that's their only option available other than prolonged negotiations
I'm sure there are plenty of pilots at other regionals that would love to jump ship and head over to Skywest, but don't want to give up that seniority or second year pay. A signing bonus may be just be the ticket to persuade those guys to make the move. RAH knows this which is why they ask for a 24 month signature.
As the pool of qualified applicants dries up, (which it will at the regional level at least) I think we will see some clever incentives offered to steal pilots from other carriers.
Of course SkyWest already has the attraction of West coast bases and a happy pilot group.