Originally Posted by
Excargodog
So get 200 hours of turbine ME and put in apps everywhere. Unlike the regionals, the ULCCs NEED FOs because they lose a lot more FOs to the legacies than they do CAs. By the time they are a CA at NK they are now making north of $270k plus 15% and the golden handcuffs are starting. It becomes more and more difficult to give up what you’ve got, for sure once you are a lineholder to go back to being an FO on reserve at $100k, even if it’s a better deal in the long run. So while regionals are bleeding CAs and have a surplus of FOs, the ULCCs are bleeding FOs. So get your 135 hours now and you can soon get all the 121 hours yiu want at an LC/ULCC. And if the next black swan hits and the music stops, an LC/ULCC seniority number is better than a regional one.
The problem with this solution, from an F9 perspective, is management is getting wise to this. They are realizing that “Experienced” FOs come to get an A320 type rating and then immediately get picked up and leave.
The majority of applicants going forward are probably going to come from partner programs (ATP, Riddle, Perdue). Until the legacies start hiring right out of flight school, these guys will have to give it at least a +1 year to get some time experience. Unlike their experienced counterparts who leave very quickly.