Originally Posted by
Aero1900
As a follow up to my last thread:
http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/re...rspective.html
I crunched the numbers on the percentage of the regional airline pilots that would be required to cover the mandatory retirements in the next 5 years. In case you missed it: 30% of the current regional airline pilots would be required to cover the next 5 years of retirements.
Now, I want to try and figure out how how many current regional airline captains plan on staying and how many plan on moving on? The term "regional lifers" seems to have a bit of a negative connotation, however, for a lot of guys, staying put will lead to a better quality of life.
I simply want to get an idea as to the percentage of guys who are trying to get out vs staying put?
I'm going to guess around 15-20%. I've always said the number going to majors from regionals isn't as high as expected. The stagnation the past 15 years has lead to alot of guys with alot of longevity. They got kids in school or an exwife or two. They can't afford to give up that $100+ an hour. Or they don't want to give up weekends/holidays/4 weeks of vacation/furlough proof/etc. and lets be honest...there are some guys who couldn't take the hit to the ego of puttin on 3 stripes and swinging gear.