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Old 12-02-2019, 02:47 PM
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rickair7777
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Originally Posted by mkitrn View Post
If the LCC/ULCCs started hiring at 1500 what would that mean for regionals and the scope issues?? Wouldn’t this also benefit the LCC/ULCC in that the more regional(cheap) flights the LCC/ULCCs take away in pilot capacity from the legacies regional networks the more market share they can take in those secondary markets. If they began to collude and focus on secondary markets that mainly regional airlines serve.

From an outsider it looks like the only price advantage legacies have is the regionals and if the LCC could find a way to end regionals they would have a major price advantage (scale still being an issue for the LCCs).

Also as an outsider it seems rather counterintutive for pilots to in one hand want scope protections but in the other hand complain when hiring minimums are lowered? This doesn’t make any sense? From looking through these forums it appears most pilots want to see younger pilots go through the regionals because it is what they had to do yet the same pilots complain about scope?
The regionals serve many markets which simply can't support ULCC VFR-direct city-pairs. Also MANY pax want to use their miles for a vacation to CDG, not IWA.

The legacies fly a large majority of US pax and there's a reason for that.

But the legacies can easily fix it if too many CFI's go to ULCCs instead of regionals: Enhanced flow programs. Almost nobody would swing gear at a ULCC when they can lock in a legacy seniority number.

But it would have to pretty defined, something like five years and then you get a number and mainline narrowbody pay regardless of what you're actually flying. Otherwise people might roll the dice to shoot for ULCC CA pay sooner instead of cooling their heels waiting for a legacy number on some unknown timeline.

They could also hire away all of the ULCC's pilots and put them out of business... that might happen anyway when they get desperate.

Alternatively, they could simply refuse to hire ULCC pilots, which would discourage most folks from going there to build time.

Nuclear option... bring the regional flying in-house.
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