Yeah, but how often did you fly JFK to ATL in a 19 seat plane?

I've been to almost every destination Delta goes to in North America, flying that 76 seat jet. There is no difference between the job at 9E, and the job at Delta. Delta has bigger airplanes that pay a lot more, thus they can be more selective because they get a lot of apps. However, don't think for a second that if 9E didn't have that many apps on file, they would not be just as selective.

Moreover, starting the 15th of this month, unless a pilot is a Delta conditional job offer pilot, they can not be a new hire at 9E.

I like big trucks and I can not lie
You other brothers can't deny.......

We don't fly NDB approaches into municipal airports anymore. We fly JFK-ORD, DTW-DFW, SLC-LAX just to name a few. When I was working at Mesaba we got a call from scheduling to pick up passengers that were on a diverted DAL flight because they were not equipped to shoot a Cat II. So we did, in freezing fog down to minimums. I've covered over 4,000 miles and 5 time zones at my "regional". But yes you are correct, this is an entry level job and things are finally moving in the right direction. I graduated cum laude with a 4 year degree, over 6,000 hrs of multi-turbine time flying in and out of the worlds busiest airports in the same weather and on the same routes as every major airline in the US but since I didn't go through DAL's, AA's, or UAL's vigorous testing I don't match up to mainline pilots? And you based this on how many seats?? what is the difference? A B-717 or a E-190? And now Endeavor is going to test a flight instructor or another regional pilot and give him/her the green light for Delta over all the other qualified and experienced pilots already on property. All because they passed a vigorous test? Isn't a 4 year degree, private, commercial, multi-engine, CFI, CFII, MEI, ground instuctor, ATP, 1000 hrs instruction experience, 2000 hrs 121 turbine PIC, 3,000 SIC and a clean 9 year work history with every PC and Line check satisfactory completed enough? At my regional I had to to a sim, panel, and knowledge test, but I didn't get offered a flow to a major. Oh wait I did but they took that back.

Someone please correct me if I am wrong but in the 19 to 34 seat commuter days they were not required to mimic the mainline flying like the regionals are required or expected to do today?

The non glass cockpit recips and turboprops of the 19 to 34 seat planes are so much like the glass cockpit jet I fly now and vastly different from any mainline cockpit. I am truly sorry if I make any comparison between mainline and regional because regional pilots should know their jobs, families and livelihoods should never be as important to us as mainline pilots. In the future I will try to abase myself when in the presence of a mainline pilot and show him the proper respect.

Guys, I'm not questioning your ability as pilots. We all know that you do the same flying as we do, probably harder with the exception of the 88. That being said, you know as well as any of us that flew at the regionals that there are a lot of undesirables. Trust me, that we have a few too. You cannot deny that the hiring criteria at any regional, much less the combo of XJ, 9E and colgan was anywhere close to NWA, Western or now Delta. The regionals pretty much hired anyone who met the mins and couldn't afford to be too choosy. Delta, AA, UAL, SWA, FDX, UPS can. Like it or not they all use a way to screen(weed people out). Some use testing, some use the Astronaut physical(AA back in the day). At this time they can be as choosy as they wish. If nothing bad happens(knock on wood) and the hiring continues for years, most everyone will get their chance. We are early into the hiring and they are going to take whoever they think are the best. Not who you or I think.

To back up what Nerd what nerd said we were told in our interview and throughout training that they knew we could fly airplanes they hired us because they thought we would be good employees. Almost none of my interview questions had to do with how well I flew actually flew the airplane. And another thing I came from the regionals and we knew the game when we signed up and knew were going to have to reinterview for our major slot. Except for those whose flow got pulled we all accepted the terms when we started.

So what's your plan on getting rid of the undesirables at mainline?

The fact is that there are way fewer undesireables, and most are on a lower level of undesireable. Look at the pass rate of the SSP in the senior ranks to help confirm it... Now look at the current rate which is back to normal.

I guess you can make the numbers look anyway you want but the first few very very senior SSP candidates to interview had a very high pass rate. The interview is not about weeding out undesirables, it is about meeting the magic number. The interviewers aren't going to be able to weed out the undesirables that meet the matrix numbers in a one day interview. Plenty of undesirables have made it through, if you think they haven't then you are mistaken (plenty of quality people have also made it through).

don't fall for it guys.... this is a scheme to grown a regional and hire meat in the seat.