Originally Posted by
Bucking Bar
The show painted with a very broad brush. Some regionals are a lot better than others. ASA, IMHO had an outstanding training department. Their record has been outstanding too. The only losses of life the airline has ever sustained was the result of massive mechanical failures which rendered the airplane incapable of remaining airborne. Even then, by all accounts the crew performed admirably.
Also, the mainline operations are not the model of perfection which would make much of a contrast with the regional world. Southwest's corner cutting is legendary and it sounds like American in about to get a lot of press they do not want.
Hey, everyone can't be Delta
( I keed, I keed, but it is pretty good here compared to other places I've flown )
I agree for the most part Bar;
ASA, OH, SKW, Mesaba, Pinnacle, Piedmont, etc are established regionals with very good training programs. Heck I would even submit that Freedom, and Mesa have good training as I know a few of their APD's. Training is very important, but what IMHO is more important is the quality of the candidate coming to the interview.
We have a major problem in this industry,that no one wants to see. Majors have cut pay and bennies to the point that a smart kid will look at and say, "Heck for 150K a year in 20 years I can go be a dentist, a Anesthesiologist Tech, a Doctor, Lawyer, business man, government servant etc." Why would anyone in their right mind sign up for 15K a year for three to five years, then 50-70K a year for another five, then 30K at a major to get to senior FO when they are 40 making 100K and if they are lucky by the time they are 45-50 make 140K + ?
With all of the pitfalls and risks in this industry bight ppl are bright enough to avoid it. Add to it the banks do not want to lend money to students that want to join aviation. They are a bad debt risk.
The problem really is top down and bottom up. Give a bigger bone to shoot for you may be able to snooker some qualified pilots in to the pipe line. Up regional pay, everywhere and you will not see crazy stupid cross country commutes, horrible crash pads etc. Give pilots decent money so that they have a little expendable cash.
Problem is we are making a market wage in an industry that is not truly open to competition, and not regulated to the point that profits can be made across the board. The LGA slot swap is a great example. Airlines are trying to find new ways to make money. Not necessarily to pay pilot better, but to quit losing their shirts. If we can start to make money the QOL of the employees better come back as well.
The government is as much or more to blame than the airlines. Airline managers are ruthless and will pay exactly what gets ppl to arrive at the doorstep, but the government needs to either open it up completely( no slots etc) or regulate the entrants and everything else so that what they deem a national asset can perform as such. Not a half working broken system that by the grace of god does not kill more people that it does.
IMO without a major change the next generation will not be of the caliber of pilot that I want driving my family around. We have about four years to turn the ship.
Rant over!