Originally Posted by
UnderCenter
Ok let’s get to the facts.
Yes, Envoy and Endeavor have enough applicants and FOs that they have either slowed or stopped hiring FOs for the time being. You know who else did this 2 years ago, Compass, and now they are desperate for FOs. Envoy is still running classes of 30 every two weeks, they are just taking their cadets and RTP guys instead of their OTS FO hires.
The reason for this is an internal shortage of Captains. Envoy is offering huge bonuses to DECs right now and can’t get enough. The reason for their hiring slowdown is an imbalance of captains to FOs. Once the imbalance is fixed, FO hiring will ramp up again.
We are talking about 2 regionals out of about a dozen, every other regional is DESPERATE for pilots right now and can’t keep up with attrition. Look at how many airlines are renegotiating their contracts to attract people right now.
All you have to do is look at retirement numbers at the big 5 to see that saying the “shortage” will be over next year and that hiring will slow is ridiculous. That’s probably one of the most ridiculous statements I’ve read on here in awhile.
Agree with all of this but would add that Envoy is also having a budget issue with AAG due to the increased flying they have picked up. This should resolve soon enough and I think that too will cause hiring to pick up.
This year most of the late 2017/early 2018 new hires will be eligible for upgrade, so that should solve the Envoy Captain problem.