Originally Posted by calmwinds

Pilots are the lifeblood of regionals right now. A great program can push a regional pilot out to the line in 2 to 2 1/2 months. 3 to 3 1/2 months to the line is okay. In the last 6 months, our training program has waded slowly into the abyss. The August new hires haven’t made it to SIMs in all cases, let alone IOE. That’s 5 months and counting.

Management blames not enough SIMs and many other things. A lot of the blame was management releasing instructors and examiners over a pay dispute. Now, they are pulling the union reps, the management pilots and the training pilots and put them on the line because we don’t have the pilots to fly the lines we are given by United. This is like using a tourniquet to choke the blood in a limb. What happens when the tourniquet is released will not be pretty. Cancellation of the United contract: the company’s management is acting like it is a real possibility.

Cancellation of flights are going on like crazy right now. Republic is picking up lots of the lines we cannot fly. How long will United put up with this? Your guess is as good as mine. Management’s actions indicates it is a real possibility.