Originally Posted by
kaputt
What was it that kept the regional airline industry hiring moving back in that 2003-2007 time frame when most of the major carriers still had thousands of pilots furloughed?
Genuinely asking, as I was in middle/high school at the time. However as an aspiring pilot I remember regionals were constantly hiring (some even at 250 hours!), but I also remember the major airlines were doing pretty poorly.
Not suggesting that will happen again this time around, just genuinely curious from those that were in the industry then what it was that kept regional hiring going when the rest of the industry was still not in great shape.
What the last guy said and I'll add this was the time the majors were in bankruptcy. They realized 50 seat jets could fly the same routes as the 727's and DC-9 for a fraction of the cost and new pilots would work for pennies as well. Not to mention the public didn't really like turboprops either. Since they were in bankruptcy, they could force giving up scope so they could make it happen. I'll admit, some efficiencies needed to be made. DC-10's and 767's would fly shorthaul routes all over the place. 727's and DC-9's would into the smallest of cities. But the 50 seat jets went too far. I remember flying the CRJ-200 on routes like ORD-JFK or CVG-SAT and BOS-JAX. Some regionals exploded in growth during that time when they were awarded lots of shiny new jets with eager pilots to fly them for $19 an hour. I haven't heard the term "shiny jet syndrome" in quite a while.
