Originally Posted by
go skers
For the most part PSA, PDT and Envoy mgt have found a workable solution for predictable CA attrition. I'm sure you can partially vouch for this but your list of realistic choices outside of waiting for the flow was probably pretty short as time went on. Regardless of which WO you can predict CA attrition within a couple of bodies each month. FOs are a whole different animal. They don't have enough invested to be either loyal or enamored by some of the side benefits that do come with WO airlines. At this stage in the game they are rightfully money driven. Watching AAG nickel their way towards endeavor and republic levels is painful but will eventually happen.
In the end AAG will get their metered attrition at the top but it'll cost them some coin to stop the uncontrollable churn on the bottom. When that happens is the question.
Have to disagree to some degree. Projected future retirements/hiring at legacies will move more captains out then just a few, but yes, the attrition there will be slower as once a captain, more pilots will slum it longer for that carrot in the distance that appears closer then it really is. But since F/O staffing will be strong to outside carriers, more of which will get non AA legacy slots too, the lack of balance in staffing (more captains then F/O's), combined with few new-hires means a shrinking carrier which means more captains back to F/O and more F/O's not seeing captain for longer and guys like FlameNSky twist in the wind for a day that wont come for many years.
Some will then jump to LCC's also losing pilots to legacies including AA, while others remain frozen and unable to make a decision and wallow in their own misery. Bottom line I think is that the WO's could be a bust, especially if they have no choice but to consolidate (AKA burning the furniture to heat the house) which means on top of all that, a diluted flow for those that think their carrier is somehow "special" in the eyes of AAG or should be.
Instability breeds uncertainty and uncertainty breeds instability. It's a nasty catch-22, for sure.