Originally Posted by
Lavdumper
Sooo the announcement is expected very soon? Would we be able to staff another 30 EJETS?
Yes. Because it would be a self-fulfilling prophecy type situation--the regional with the highest percentage of new airplanes in the pipeline is going to attract the highest percentage of new hires from the factory schools--as insane as these neurotically-texting millenials seem, they seem to be saavy enough to pick the regional with the fastest upgrade times.
Terrible management teams/prospects at places like Republic and Endeavor are still managing to get a handful of newbies shoved into the toilet at JFK/LGA/etc., but overall it seems like the bulk of AllATPs/factory-school grads are coming here for the quick upgrade on good equipment.
Anyone who picks a regional based on contract or pay in the current environment--with the current level of movement in the regional ranks--is an idiot, plain and simple. It's most rational (in this hiring/growth environment) to choose movement over pay. That fact of life has been borne out in the hiring stats at Mesa vs. other higher-paying regionals.
Now, if we hit a recession or stagnation in hiring at the legacies, yeah--maybe that will change--but right now the smart money is on the places with the fastest upgrades, and if get another 30 airplanes I'm pretty confident lateral transfers and newbie CFIs will cover the staffing needs short-term.