Originally Posted by
bedrock
I don't know the history of all the regionals, but in the case of the original ExpressJet, it was Continental Express before being spun off through an IPO.
And before that, it was composed of various "commuters". Bar Harbor, Britt, Rocky Mountain, etc. Just like AE was Simmons, Nashville Eagle, Wings West, etc.
Pilots accepted low pay, because they flew turboprops AND they had a Continental seniority number. "The internship mentality".
That concept existed long before the concept of the flow.
Then 9/11 occurred. CAL pilots flowed back to CAL Express as part of the flow agreement, but after they went back to CAL, CAL mgmt. rescinded the flow-up
There's more (A LOT MORE) to that than simply what management did. The previous union and ALPA had a hand in it as well. Believe it or not, there was a time where it was on the verge of a single list.
However, your points about it going downhill are valid. But mostly apply to the COEX/XJT of old. There's a whole slew of other regional providers that went through a crap ton of suck long before CORX/XJT as part of the outsourced business model. XJT simply got to be "insulated" by the IPO/spinoff stock pump and dump for a brief period of time. AE is going through a similar issue.
In the words of the character in your avatar;
"What did we learn?"
Originally Posted by
tom11011
I think 'backflow' is the cost of having a mainline seniority number upon hire at the regional. Although undesirable, I think its fair.
I'm in agreement with you. There are plenty that cry that a FTA doesn't work. Well, I guess that would depend on how it's structured, wouldn't it?
In the case of the COEX/CAL flow, it worked pretty friggin' good. On the way up, as well as when they flowed down BACK to their seat/seniority/pay.
The structure of the ORIGINAL NWA/New Co/"across the table" agreement wasn't too bad either. Although it was born for different reasons.