Originally Posted by
Captain Tony
Yes, back when we got hired in the 90s, you needed 1200/200 to work at places like Great Lakes. Or you could go somewhere like ASA and pay to play. Also back then Airnet was flying checks and you could get on with any crackpot night freight operation (checks) in a broken down T210 to "build time". Or you could CFI.
Now, checks are no longer flown, and CFI jobs have disappeared since no one wants to spend the money training for a career what won't pay off their loans. Night freight isn't what it used to be, and most of those jobs still require more than 1500 hours if its in a jet. So what's a young pilot to do in order to get from 300 to 1500?
Yeah, freight dawgin' ain't as prevalent as before, but that job still exists for many things besides bank mail. If regional flying were taken back by mainline, how busy would the flight schools be? I'd wager A LOT more busy. There's also no law saying airlines can't buy a 150 with an autogas STC to help students fly off X number of hours.
I DID applaud Eagle for offering CFI sponsorship, but they ruined their credibility with double concessions and threats. And really, is it regional upper management or mainline upper management pulling the strings?
As an FAA jumpseater said about two years ago, "If the pilot shortage comes to pass, the airlines have no one to blame but themselves!"