Originally Posted by
prior121
Guys, I think what your missing is, their thought process being reward and pay the GUYS CURRENTLY MOVING THE METAL. Keep them happy, happy crews mean ontime flights.
Think about it, so you give a newhire a bonus, what does that do? It simply ****es of the FO that was hired 3 months before this guy who didn't get a bonus. Who's out flying the line, the ****ed off guy. We all know ****ed off crews don't help D-0 departures...
Why put money into the hands of a newhire FO, someone who has yet to do anything for the company. Who knows if that guy will even pass training?
Put money into the hands of current line pilots, and use them as "company muscle" to hire and retain.
If I get someone hired (hypothetically speaking of course, I'm not trying to get anyone to come here, the fast upgrade ship has sailed.) It is in my best interest to keep that person here for the terms of payment. (2 years or whatever the terms are) If that person in going to make a career move decision, it's probably in my best interest to get him to stay so I get my money. Who do most people turn to for career advice? Their friends, the same person who has an investment in them staying.
It's an interesting twist on recruiting, that's for sure.
I was thinking it was them being clever, but I think we gave them too much credit. If they payed retention bonuses, that's just more money out the door. The pilot referral thing allows them to spend less money, in a more controlled manner. When things start to get worse, they'll open the wallet a bit more and perhaps see retention bonuses. We all know what the real solution is, it's just going to take a long time for them to accept it. Hopefully it won't be too late.