Originally Posted by
dodsqubam
To rephrase the question a bit, because it’s highly unlikely anyone without an “in” would get hired at Frontier, Spirit, etc. without turbine time, what are your thoughts on waiting at the regionals vs. using one of the low-cost carriers as a stepping stone to the Legacies?
Say the upgrade time is 2+ years at a regional. Would it be beneficial to try to get hired ASAP at an LCC and put off logging PIC turbine time in order to make more money and have a better contract? Or is it better to stay at the regional, get the PIC time and wait for to get called to a legacy?
I’ve heard getting out of the regionals as fast as possible is the way to go, but don’t know if going to an LCC would be a hindrance or a help getting to the legacies.
There are different schools of thought on this. There is a theory that at some point the regionals will not be able to replace those moving up to the legacies via flow through programs, preferential interview, etc. If/when that happens it seems quite logical that a legacy could foreseeably purchase one of the smaller LCC majors. This does three things: A) guaranteed supply of pilots, B) additional airframes that come with them, and C) eliminates the low ball competition that has become a thorn in their side and forced them to adjust to a more competitive pricing structure out of their hubs. This makes the most sense because it keeps the cheap labor regional feed staffed and gets ride of low cost competition.
The other theory being they intentionally bankrupt their subsidiarie's labor supply while allowing competition to grow in their own backyard. This seems less logical but it's the airlines and a lot of times the leadership isn't exactly accused of making good financial decisions.