Because CAs are generally older, more senior, have greater longevity, know how to work the soft time rules, have more sick time, longer vacations, etc., they are usually able to fly fewer block hours than FOs. Yet because an FO can’t fly 121 at all without a CA sitting next to them, the normal (back when regional flying was normal and major hiring was slow) ratio of CAs to FOs was 52-53 CAs for every 47-48 FOs.

But now isn’t normal. With CAs leaving before 1000 hours of TPIC and even low and mid time FOs getting hired at LCC/ULCCs, most regionals have more FO applicants than they can use. Until/unless they can get enough CAs to gainfully utilize the FOs they currently have, they don’t really NEED more FOs, because if they have more FOs than they have CAs they are still limited by the CA hours of availability being 1000 a year. If those hours are spread over a greater number of FOs it slows the rate at which those FOs can themselves become CA eligible, increasing the risk that they will go elsewhere - perhaps to some LCC/ULCC where they can fly their butts off since senior ULCC CAs are now(or will soon be) pulling $320k a year and will be sticking around while their FOs fly their butts off and accumulate the resumes that will get them to the Big Three with a $340k (+16% 401k DC) job as a backup should they never get the call from the Big Three.

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