Originally Posted by
Duffman
This is true if you wait for the flow. With a 4-5 year flow, PDT knows how to dangle carrots at the right time to keep you in. When the timeline is 1 yr to finish OE, 2 more years to upgrade, then 2ish years as a CA making close to 6 figures and you know you're going to flow, there isn't a lot of motivation to bust your butt on overnights after 6-leg days to polish your resumes so you can maybe get the call 6 months earlier. But because COVID gave everyone so much time and threw so much doubt in the flow, I think a lot of pilots did the prep and got their apps out. Because the flow time is now highly speculative, I also think we're gonna have a hard time attracting new hires if we wait until everyone else is hiring. I also think COVID made LCCs a lot more attractive because we all saw how well their business models work.
It's all about how you play the game. I know Piedmont guys who busted their tails on overnights and did everything they could to get out. That 6 months you mention could very well be the difference between a wicked commute or a leisurely drive, furlough or continued employment, career captain vs career FO.... you get where I'm going. When the music stops, there's always that first guy to get kicked to the street, stuck in the right seat, or forced into a 6 hour flight across the country to get in position for short call reserve in LAX. You never know where that line is going to be drawn, but every number betters your odds. Again, it's subjective but in my book the goal was to get through that door as fast as possible. If AA is your goal, there are limited avenues to get there. Flow, military, WO hired outside of the flow are the three best chances in my opinion.