Originally Posted by
Sliceback
Percentages matter. 1,000 with a pilot corps of 16,000 is 6%. At it's peak AA in the mid 1980's was hiring 1,000 a year and the initial pilot corps size was 5,000. That's 20% in one year. The next year it's 1000/6000 = 17%, 1000/7000 = 14, 1000/8000. We got to 8,000+ and some newhires thought they'd upgrade in 5 years like the Captains did that they were flying with. Where you slot into the hiring curve matters...
Percentages matter a heck of a lot less in an airline with multiple types on multiple payscales than they do in someplace like AS, WN, NK, or F9. Especially when you have so many senior people quite content to be a WB FO until they are senior enough to be a WB CA. That's why they are giving out upgrade slots in intro.