Originally Posted by
Judge Smails
I'll second what Macjet said in a previous post...how many pilots have left AA to come to Spirit? ...and the "much like Spirit they have become the "second chance" airline of the legacies by hiring/flowing pilots who traditionally never would have made it to a legacy" quote is absurd. Tell that to the retired Air Force, Navy and Marine pilots that go there in droves, and go check out Instagram and Tik Tok to see some of the quality DAL and UA hires.
Yes, highly qualified applicants do go to AA, but that still doesn't change the fact that the barrier to entry at AA has in recent years been lower than the other legacies. I mean come on man, Mesa had a junior captain taxi into a 757 and cause seven figures worth of damage. During the FAA audit it was found that he wasn't even qualified to be a captain to begin with, and even with all of that the guy quit and still managed to get hired at PSA with the flow thru.
Also, their pilot group is severely disfunctional.
As far as AA pilots coming to Spirit? Of course not, but that doesn't mean AA is head and shoulders above everyone else.
Not trying to start a fight, but I know quite a few south florida based pilots who during this last hiring boom chose to commute to DL/UA over driving to AA in Miami.