Originally Posted by
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Perfect way to get young energetic FAs, give them the tool to make more money (a degree), so they are motivated to leave after a few years to use their degree to make more money. Rinse, repeat. No actual discrimination against older people, but clearly a way to target young ones and churn them, and potentially avoid unionization as a side benefit.
Overseas airlines which only employ young, hot FA's get rave reviews for quality of service. Looks like Neeleman is getting after that, and it's worth some expense for him...
I think he's less worried about cost and more worried about the eventual impact of old, grumpy FA's on his customer experience and brand image.
If he just paid regional wages, he'd get regional FA's. We all know that's pretty hit and miss.
Also might help attract pilots, better onboard dating pool than most places.