Originally Posted by
Bait
The thing I find intersting/curious is that with all the talk of more classes, we are still well below what was getting trained a year ago. Last year they put through 120 per month for the early part of the year. Now with two additional sims available, they are only putting through 105? I would have thought they'd want to get staffed up in time for the summer season, and now would be the time to do that. A Feb indoc probably hits the line around May? Maybe I'm missing something...
They were taking delivery of 5 to 6 new airframes per month last year. The 717 deliveries are over and they simply don't need as many pilots this year. They are still planning 600 to 700 for the year which averages out to 50 to 60 a month. They always front load for the summer flying. I would expect that will drop in the May to June timeframe. There may according to crew planning be a uptick in the fall depending on the E190 deliver schedule. Overall they are planning for a 2% increase in mainline block hours or about 260 jobs and 300 to 350 retirements.