Originally Posted by
alaskadrifter
My eyes were opened to this when I was on a flight from ASE-IAH. It was over two hours in a CRJ700. There is no reason majors can't bring flying back into the fold if AS is doing these kinds of legs. One 737/A320 can replace two "big RJs."
Also, how is Horizon being affected by the "regional" pilot drain?
I completely agree.
Horizon has had it's ups and downs with their pilot staffing. Our attrition has steadily increased, and the current rate is about 3 pilots per week. There have been times when they've had to cancel flights due to staffing. Premium pay has gone from 150% to 200% when they're really struggling, and it seems like it's here to stay at that level. There are open trips paid at 200% pretty much any time you want them. We've been hiring consistently since last summer, and that's going to continue. They've been hiring an interesting mix of people, which I think has caused them some problems with retention. For example, quite a few military people have gotten on here recently. I spoke with one who was hired here, finished IOE, and then left 2 weeks later for US Air. He was a C-17 guy. You can hire all of the well-qualified people you want, but that doesn't mean they'll stay. Since last summer the upgrade time has gone from 13 years to 10.
Originally Posted by
El10
You completely missed the point. What you have pointed out is the type of flying that will stick around. Just look at the flights that Delta cut from MEM and UAL is dropping from CLE. Even today Silver announced it is cutting back its EAS cities it serves from ATL. This is all capacity that is being cut and not replaced.
Just because a few small cities that haven't been making money are among the first to go doesn't mean that all small cities will go, or that RJ flying between hubs is stable. Correlation =/= causation and all that. Some small communities can support air travel, and they will continue to have it. The least profitable will be at risk.