Originally Posted by
galaxy flyer
Yea and No, billsaw,
Mid-80s, hiring was fast and furious everywhere, maybe ten legacies all hiring 60-100 a month. I grabbed the first offer from EAL in early ‘85. Guys were leaving HPN like crazy—G2, Falcons, Hawker drivers. Chief Pilots were wondering what hit ‘em. I made more in my second year as a Boeing F/E than as a Sabre 65 captain. Six years later, furloughs, EA and PAA when bust, loads of pilots on the street, all trying to get back their old jobs. It took years to unwind that cycle.
In ‘98, I was a senior ART in the Reserves, I thought we’d never keep a young pilot for more than a year or two to transition off probation. I thought maybe, just maybe, it’d would be worth going to UA. Then, 9/11 happened and I had all those same guys banging on the door to get back in the Reserves. Well, those ‘98 guys went thru a blood bath for a decade.
Yes, it’s an epic hiring cycle, but derailment is never far away. For all pilots. I’ve lived these roller coaster too many times to believe the sky is falling.
GF
But in the 80's there was plenty of supply to back that kind of hiring spree. Now not so much. There is the crux of the problem.
BTW the military puts out a fraction of the pilots it used to on the civilian market. There are a lot fewer aircraft in the military compared to the 70's and 80's coupled with longer enlistment times = less guys hitting the market.
Plus the Airforce is a little short these days if I recall correctly.