Personally I don’t mind his videos and see them as well produced and selectively informative for the purpose they serve. However I am clearly not the target audience these are heavily pandering towards others (ie..CFI with SJS and flight sim “pro pilots”.) These videos provide positive reinforcement to those who want their beliefs of the industry verified and not challenge. Like msnbc to liberals or Fox News to conservatives it is nothing more then an echo chamber giving the uninitiated a very one dimensional view. I try to listen to and understand both sides of an argument before forming any belief or opinion on the matter, and believe those coming into this field, need a unbiased and comprehensive overview on the reality of this industry, not the white washed, flight school narrative these candidates are bombarded by flight schools and reenforced throygh recruitment Depts.

In short Envoy pilots and all pro aviators should always desire there to be a shortage of prospects waiting in the pipe. It is one of the main forces that drives the current trend of salary and QOL improvements. Pilot shortages are great for pilots and bad for management. Low pay and bad contracts, the supply dwindles and flights cancel, pilots leave the field for more lucrative careers. Pool then dries up so management must now improve pilot salaries and benefits to attract qualified pilots. The smaller the pool of pilots the harder management must work to improve salaries and QOL to attract pilots away from their competitors. Conversely a large pool allows management to cut and wipesaw pilots against each other till they gut the elure of the profession causing many guys to leave and others not to pursue , the pool shrinks again, wash and repeat and thus the cycles of the airline industry the last 70 years. In my experience as long as pilots keep showing up for class (a large pool) management sees no reason to improve wages or conditions. Why would they? Cutting cost and doing more with less is in their job description. However, if tomorrow envoy stopped filling the training classes (small supply, large demand) it would make your head spin how fast management can find money to increase wages and QOL of their pilot group. One could make an argument that these videos only nominally help increase Envoys hiring pool (Large supply). That may be true but his channel is definitely not helping the MEC with the important negotiation leverage that empty classes provide. The regional business model is built in a way that empty training classes provides the greatest leverage to counter the management negotiation tactics of maintaining status quo. When the inability of the recruitment dept to fill it’s class sizes occurs, the exec’s perk their ears up and offer change. To management this loss of supply represents solid financial proof that current pilot wages are not insync with the present market factors influencing pilot supply and demand. As shown many times over then, and only then, will management submit to pay and QOL improvements. As long as Envoy can fill their seats, and they are thanks in part to glossy recruitment ads and Swayne’s videos, management will drag its feet on negotiations, thus saving money and pleasing investors. The day tangible evidence shows current contracts are below market indicators things will improve but not until this point. At its worse, and not necessarily my personal opinion, one could argue, these videos can be construed as misleading management propaganda that paints a inaccurate or incomplete picture of the career compared to what many have experienced. IE serving the interest of management over labor. That coupled with with the whole society stigma many over the age of 35 have against “social media influencers”, helps create a perfect storm drawing disdain, complaints and ire from his peers and other experience airline pilots. For years management salivates and utilize these types of videos to toe the company line and undermine its unions. In summary if you are not helping you are hurting and Swayne is definitely not helping.