Originally Posted by
whiskerbizkit
Things will never change, just read some post about some cfi asking what they need to fly the 170 cause it looks like a "big" jet. There is many that will fly them for nothing and companies know that. Untill majors get some real scope and put anything bigger than 50 seats at mainline then the undercutting will continue.
Exactly. It's all about the "cool" factor these days. You take a 22, 23 year old guy or gal and give them the option of a new ERJ 170, or a Saab 340, I'm pretty certain they will take the ERJ 170, even if it had a LOWER rate. Like I said, the "cool" factor is plaguing the new generation of airline pilots, which is the 22, 23, 24 year old college grad/CFI.
Back in the day, these airplanes weren't around, well I take that back, they were, DC-9s, and 737-200s. Commuters were exactly that, BE-99s, Metroliners, Shorts, etc etc, going to the sticks, not LGA, DCA, or BOS. Those we're stepping stones to the "cool" flying in the name of United, Delta, American et al. They did their time and got out.
Today, it's a different story. The newer generation (IMO) isn't looking ahead into the future, they are looking at the current, and they see new ERJ 170s, and they want to fly those, and only those.
Let's face it, regionals will always have applicants willing to go fly an ERJ 170 for the current wages. Until these guys get over the fact that an airplane is an airplane, wages will never, ever go up.
These guys aren't passionate about their craft, they just want to be the "cool guy" at the bar. In reality, there is nothing cool about it.