Originally Posted by
SpreadEagle
So after another week of working my third year as an American Eagle captain, 10 years total under the AMR umbrella. I have had to double commute to LGA/JFK, and on all four legs both to work and back...I have been in the jumpseat of mainline AA flights. Naturally the conversation of new hiring at American has come up. When mentioning the possibility of street hiring into AA I have repeatedly been told that because of American Eagle's current flow through agreement, Eagle pilots will be disqualified from the new hire process by all four of these AA captains. While somewhat disheartening, I can't possibly believe that this would be true. Nevertheless I can't help but wonder what their information or reasoning would be behind making these statements. I hope the intent is not pure malice, spite, or contempt for our pilot group. The precedent doesn't exist considering there were street hires in '99. I however will not be discouraged and continue to update my application.
You have to be realistic. Since Eagle pilots will comprise half of all classes for the foreseeable future, don't expect many to fill any additional street slots. Now, I haven't heard that Eagle pilots have been officially "disqualified" and I don't think you'll get that admission. I think a VERY few will get in through the outside, but it will be VERY few. With half the classes already Eagle, that leaves precious little room to diversify the pilot group from other sources besides Eagle.
From an odds standpoint, you're in the .02 percentile of street hire considerations being from Eagle. Your odds are higher getting a call from Southwest without a 737 type.