Originally Posted by
AnotherWriter
Well this got doom and gloom real quick.
It's one vacancy guys.
Yes, NYC is expanding.
Yes, that means there is a shift around in the network here.
MSP and DTW are going to become stagnant for a while. But that is the nature of the business. Give it some time. Let NYC build up through next summer, and see where that leaves us. The company is hiring a ton of pilots which makes me think once we are staffed in NYC, those of us that want out esp. on the FO side should probably be able to hold it. And the sentiment that the only expansion this place sees is GoJet going out of business I think isn't quite right. There is plenty more in play down the road. SkyWest, Shuttle, Compass, all of these contracts will expire. And some of them won't get renewed. Put simply, there aren't a lot of DCI carriers that are actually forecast to get more flying. And we absolutely are forecast to get more flying.
The FO side should be just a short bump in the road, but for DTW and MSP captains I just don't see much movement without airframe growth (and that growth has to be put into the Midwest, not New York) With the combination of the less than stellar success of the SSP and the bonus money, most of the captains in DTW and MSP have stopped (or never started) trying to leave. They are content to just ride out their careers here causing severe stagnation in those 2 bases. New York continues to be where the growth and the motivation for captains to move on from is. This will keep upgrades moving and FO's able to move West, but to upgrade it's going to be a trip to New York for the near to mid future. That's great for all the guys we've hired from the East coast that want to go to New York. It's lousy for those of us that started out at Pinnacle and Mesaba that live in the Midwest/Great Lakes and want nothing to do with New York (or frankly anywhere on either coast) Hopefully things will shift back, but all indications are currently that if anything we will continue to be even more focused on the East coast.