Old 12-29-2014, 02:00 PM
  #10  
QuagmireGiggity
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Joined APC: Dec 2010
Position: Reverse Cowgirl
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Originally Posted by Skyler02 View Post
The Flow Carrot is for Management, Not for Pilots

Please recognize flow as the MANAGEMENT marketing tool that it is. Flow is designed to give management the power to get you into the right seat of THEIR RJ (they are competing desperately for qualified pilots), and keep you there for as long as they can. THAT is their goal, to keep pilots flying in the cheap seats, for as long as possible. They know this regional game is coming to an end, so they are throwing the flow carrots out there in a desperate attempt to recruit. Once they can no longer staff, and that day is coming much more quickly than they, or anyone, thought, the regional game is done. This flying will go back to mainline.

Please realize that for the most part, flow will only slow your career down. Management will decide the order and the speed of you flowing to the mainline. In most cases, that will take years. Don’t give management control over your career. They will keep you in the cheap seats as long as they can. Regional management’s survival depends on it and mainline management’s cheap feed depends on it.

In the near future, you will be able to prep for the interview and get to a major on your own much more quickly than any flow is going to get you there. Do not give anything up for flow. You no longer need it. Management is hoping you are still traumatized over the lost decade, and THINK you need it. You don’t.

If the regional of your choice happens to offer a flow, that’s great. It’s a good back-up plan if all else fails. But don’t let that be a deciding factor.

Some will say – “But the majors have 10,000 applications on file.” Yep. That’s true. But most of those 10,000 applications are on file at American, Delta, United, Southwest, Alaska, FedEx, UPS, etc. . . . The SAME 10,000 apps are in everywhere. Once the floodgates open, it won’t take long for them to get through those applications.

Lastly, I would say it is almost a detriment for you to join a wholly owned regional with the intention of working for that mainline carrier. As staffing gets more desperate for the regionals, would you, as a mainline manager, prefer to pilfer pilots from your competitor’s regional feed, and sink their ship, or cannibalize your own? In a desperate attempt to keep their regional feed alive, they will start taking pilots from their competitor’s regionals before they take their own and sink their own ship.

Just my opinion. But, hey, what do I know.
That's actually not true.
We can't staff Envoy but there is a steady stream of people being hired off the street into AA from Envoy.
The same 15 years ago when we were flowing I knew a lot that got hired straight in. Some have connections and some have none.
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