No idea how often but that last orientation group was broken down into 2 different classes.

The music always stops for periods of time. Good for you in being able to take advantage of the current hiring opportunities. In my period in aviation, I have seen the industry tank numerous times. The first Gulf War and recession, 9/11, the Great Recession, Age 65 Rule stagnating hiring, Covid. Build a savings account to mitigate the effects of a furlough. It is HIGHLY likely that will happen to most folks at least once in their career. I have always had a backup career outside of aviation and also avoided going into debt for my training. I realize that is hard for most folks. It helped my family survive the ups and downs of this industry and low pay when I first started.

3 classes 11/14, 11/28, 12/12…don’t mean to be that guy. Kinda surprised there’s a December class

Typo on my part that I can't seem to correct. 3 was the magic number.

What's surprising about a December class?

I'll second this. The airline industry, over the long term, is consistently unstable and typically only knows feast or famine. Very few have the luck to ride the right wave through their whole career without having the bottomed fall out at some point. My Dad did 32 years at Delta and never saw a furlough but he'd be the first person to tell you it had nothing to do with superior decision making on his part. In fact, when he got hired at Delta in '72, it was his last choice compared to the juggernauts of the day. As it turns out, most of his friends that got hired at those juggernauts were out of a job a few years later and many wound up on the seniority list at Delta far below him. When I got hired at Comair in 2004 we were the bell of the ball; highest paid pilots in the regional industry and seen as having put our foot down on behalf of the entire regional world by striking to get that contract. A lot of my coworkers looked down their nose as companies like Chautauqua (now Republic) as being operations that were undercutting the work the Comair pilot group did to raise the regional bar. 2 years in I was one class away from upgrade to CA. Then the great recession hit and when I took a buyout and quit in '09 I was 300 numbers away from upgrade and about to go back on reserve. Meanwhile, my piers at Republic were getting TPIC and most have gone on to places like DL, SW, UPS, FedEx, UA, etc. and are now Captains there making ungodly money with pretty good QOL.

I said all that to say 2 things:

1. Today's Cinderella airline is quite possibly tomorrow's wicked step sister so be careful casting stones in what may be a glass house.
2. Whatever company you decide you want to land at, get on that seniority list as quickly as you can. Every stop in between should be seen as simply a conduit to that end. Don't get too caught up in pay rates, shiny jet syndrome, etc. at the way stations.

Unsolicited grizzled old pilot rant over.

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Golly - "Envoy is pleased to offer a new Experienced Pilot Bonus for Part qualifying First Officers who receive a conditional job offer between Nov. 15, 2022 and Dec. 31, 2022, and receive a class date as early as January 2023. This limited-time offer will give $100,000 to qualifying pilots with more than 950 flight hours, and $75,000 to qualifying pilots with between 500 and 950 flight hours. The full amount of these bonuses (after taxes) will be paid on Day Zero – the day before training – for pilots in class by March 1, 2023."

While this may be a shuffle of previous bonuses it makes you wonder what the non-wholly owned carriers will do to keep people.

2023 is going to be an interesting year. In the rest of the corporate world, mass layoffs are being announced. Maybe they're hoping to spend some money now to keep things patched together till the recession hits hard and management can get the upper hand in the contract negotiations at the mainline carriers. Then they have two years of reserve CAs that can't leave and they move around as needed to get through the hard times. The non-wholly owned will either sink or swim.

Looks like it's all three of the AA regionals are offering these bonuses. I would think the non-wholly owned will have to offer some outstanding retention bonuses. Merry Christmas, Captains :D

I suspect that $100,000 bonus will require a three year commitment or full repayment. How many pilots will be willing to commit to a regional for that long in this hiring environment? I bet they will entice more early retirees out of retirement, but most regional pilots would be better off aiming for their final career goals.

Republic is offering “up to $100,000” in bonuses for DECs. Commutair is offering a $75,000 DEC bonus and Endeavor is offering a $40,000 DEC bonus. SkyWest is focused on their mandatory upgrades.