Originally Posted by
20sx
I don't think it's an 8 year upgrade anymore. They've been upgrading for a while now. They say 350 pilots hired in the news, but the recruiter said (I know, they sometimes exaggerate) 30/month for the next 2 years. Makes sense as pilots start moving on to the majors. I don't think they ever will stop hiring unless there is another industry wide downturn.
30 per month is going to be quite a challenge, especially since now we are talking about pilots who have been around for a little while (getting their 1500hrs) and have a better idea of what they're getting into when they go to a regional. Regionals can't just recruit fresh commercial pilots right out of college like in the past. Sure there will always be the naive ones lured in by the fancy new e-jets and the promise of quick upgrade, but I think generally the pool of potential pilots is a lot wiser now and will go somewhere based on pay, QOL and an airline's overall reputation. The 1500 hr rule means that pilots have invested more time and money into their career by the time they are eligible to go to a regional and I think they expect more return on investment than Mesa can provide.