Originally Posted by
FlameNSky
For the reason as you stated above, in the current and coming "mainline" hiring environment, Parker knows that his regional pilots will be leaving for other companies regardless of the flow. All regional airlines are going to have to increase pay. AA has to hire pilots, so with the flow, they offer an incentive to come to envoy, keep that pilot from leaving for Spirit and get an AA new hire that they were going to have to hire anyway.
That may be the case for some, but I personally know of several pilots recently hired at the WOs who aren't eligible or otherwise not hire-able at the major level. Examples include no college degree, closeted skeletons, and even the Captain who got fired from my company for taxiing an RJ into a 757. THAT guy is at PSA now, and will flow to AA no questions asked. Scary but it is what it is.
My point is there are plenty of pilots at the WOs who HAVE to have the flow to move on. It is not something that is "nice to have in my back pocket", but absolutely required for them to have any hope of making it to a legacy. The WOs don't have as much leverage as you think. Just look at some of the folks hired at PSA over the past two years. Those are your futures bros at mainline. A flow would be nice, but personally I'd rather move up to a company that only hires those who work hard and network their asses off.