I’m not so sure it’s a lack of planning at all. Historically UAL has always had the option to buy these planes and operations, but they didn’t. Even in it’s day CAL never embraced the smaller jets, so it would be safe to consider the idea that management does not see it your way.

Consider this, if we each had $1 mil to invest in an asset which can produce a return of 5% or we had the option to pay a fee to someone else, for a similar return, as they take all the risk with their $, what would we do?

Clearly in the long run UAL would rather use someone else’s assets for a fee and use their investment funds another way. It’s history and not from lack of planning (although they sure have made some huge errors in the past).

Now as far as the 5,000 applicants go; what do you hear Kirby actually saying about these people? Why doesn’t UAL or the other majors just hire them?

Personally I’m all for offering UAL pilot openings to the most senior ALPA pilot whom flys for a UAL Express carrier first. Of course they would start at the bottom of the UAL list and have to be fully vetted with interviews, background checks and whatever is done these days to get hired. But I’m an old guy whose seen all the National ALPA seniority list discussions before.

But what does this all have to do with “charm school?” Nothing, just a blog thread adrift in the sea of chaos.