Originally Posted by Hedley

Everyone is a know nothing new pilot early in their career. Nothing has suggested that the high time 121 pilots who are looking for work are entitled to those positions, or that the new people will not make fine pilots once they gain experience. It’s just the reality of what is going to be on the market. The airlines don’t have to pick one group over another, but when they do hire who do you think they will pick? Will a company like CommutAir hire the person with 5,000 hours and a proven training record flying the exact jet that they will be hired to fly, or seek out someone out of general aviation with zero jet or airline experience to give them a shot? Training is expensive. Who do you think will require more training during systems, who do you think is more likely to need extra sims, who will need extra IOE? Riding in regional jumpseats for the last several years I heard story after story about the new hire pilots requiring much more IOE than what the program originally called for. Many needed well over 50 hours before being signed off. I’m not bashing the new pilots. Jumping from a Cessna to a jet in the fast passed regional environment is a big challenge, but if you are hiring pilots, are you going to select the applicant who will be able roll quickly through training and start earning the company money, or are you going to hire the new guy that you will require much more time and money getting them up to speed?