Same with Piedmont Airlines. When they started bringing on Direct Entry Captains, we had FOs that were qualified to upgrade. But when you talk to them on the line, many didn't want to. FOs don't get CA pay until they're through training, and the training program at Piedmont is pathetic. Its horribly run with long delays. It takes months to get through, and they don't let you fly the line while you wait. FOs had to take a pay cut to go into upgrade training (several months of minimum guarantee pay) with no ability to pick up extra flying.

So, the company started a Direct Entry Captain program. The offered the DECs a massive sign-on bonus, and gave them captain pay from day one, while paying FO minimum guarantee pay to the internal upgrades sitting next to them in class. It was a big slap in the face for someone who has already put up with the hellacious PDT quality-of-life for a couple of years.

DEC programs are almost always the result of the company trying to find a cheaper way to get CAs on the line, to the detriment to those already on the seniority list. It's cheaper to pay out one cash bonus to someone from another airline that is desperate for some turbine PIC, than it is to raise the pay and quality-of-life enough to make FOs want to upgrade.