Originally Posted by
ToiletDuck
Mulva they could simply do what they've done already with the Midwest and Lynx guys. They're hired on at RAH, have been through class, and are flying then when they get their SLI seniority spot they can take advantage of what their seniority can hold. Hopefully the SLI and single carrier status will be completed in Feb here so none of this even becomes an issue.
There must be a lot of confusion on how this process works. Chances of F9 hiring off the street are pretty high. Hopefully we can hire some unemployed YX folks if they want the job. It was actually comical when I heard RAH guys talking last summer about bidding to the Airbus by Christmas. Well it's Feb now and we still don't have an SLI determination yet! Like it or not, this is going to take some time... maybe 1 year, 2 years, 10 years, or never. Yes, never! We may never get approved by the NMB as a single carrier!
Also, think about this. Lets say BB (5 years from now) sells Chautauqua and shuttle because the contracts weren't renewed (thus furloughing a large portion of your pilots). Republic would, by then, only be flying under Frontier paint. So then we are finally approved as a "single carrier". However, the Frontier certificate took on 40 new 320's over the course of 5 years and hired off the street to fill those seats. Is it too far fetched to think that at that point we may have to go through a whole new SLI? Possibly. You would have a furloughed 145 FO senior to a line-holding Airbus FO if we didn't. Or maybe when those furloughed pilots get called back, they may go straight to the left seat of the airbus. WHo knows?!
The point is, I could give you 50 different possible scenarios and all of them would probably be wrong. This thing is a loooong way from being over. The most likely outcome is that this whole thing blows up and we are out of business. I hope not. I hope we all look back 20 years from now and say "man, what was I so worked up for? This turned out good for me!"