Originally Posted by John Carr

I stand corrected, thanks.

Were there any in the second Feb class?

Those 2004 hires in March must have just scratched the surface.

Originally Posted by phishhman

No. We were all 2001 hires. A buddy of mine in the March 6th class was the last 2001 hire from XJT.

Originally Posted by Itsajob

What exactly would United gain in a purchase that is desired or that can’t be had for free? They don’t want 50 seat jets, they want big rj’s. The only reason that the 50 seat flying is at the current level is that scope is maxed out and the MEC has said loud and clear that relief is not for sale. The pilots can be had by simply inviting them to interview. All of the regionals are struggling to hire pilots and the quality of what they are getting is scary. Multiple failures in the sim, 100 hours of IOE, etc. There has never been a guarantee of a job with the majors. There has never been job security once you are there. Just look to Eastern, Pan Am, Braniff, etc. The regionals are stepping stones and a great place to gain high quality experience that simply qualifies you to apply to the majors. There has never been an entitlement to a job after a certain number of years in the trenches. The pay and working conditions while building that experience has always been bad, but it seems now that people aren’t willing to “pay their dues”. They want a defined path with a guaranteed result while having a comfortable quality of life during the whole process. This entitlement mindset is resulting in a serious staffing problem at the regional level. My guess is that after UAL signs a new contract with the pilots we will see a significant order for the max7 or CJ series type jet which will park the bulk of the 50 seat fleet. That will stimulate mainline hiring, but it won’t guarantee seats to employees of specific regional companies. The other option is for the company to buy another fleet type that would allow up to 60-70 more large rj’s under the current contract. If the company bought another fleet to replace the 50 seat flying, and if they gave all of the new large rj’s to ExpressJet, the company would be over staffed. I think that a more likely and cost affective outcome is that they would be divided between the companies that currently fly them. This would free up the recently displaced 50 seat pilots to seek employment at the surviving regionals or seek employment elsewhere. This is just a business and better companies have gone away only to be missed by the former employees and aviation geeks.

Originally Posted by pilot90

Its people like you that got pushed over and settled for less that messed up this industry for many years. What’s wrong with having a good quality of life at the regional level. Sure pay is decent compared to the 15/hr is used to be qualifying you for food stamps but yet again they did not have to pay 700+ monthly for student loans. Do you know how much it cost to get all your certificates and up to 1500 hours nowadays? 100k+ if you include an undergrad. If there is a qualified pilot shortage and the regionals have to bend over to accomodate to those pilots why are you mad and against the fact that your fellow pilots are getting treated slightly better than they did 10 years ago?

Originally Posted by Bozo

And how long have you been a PART 121 pilot?

Originally Posted by pilot90

Three years.

Originally Posted by Bozo

How about before you open your mouth you talk to pilots that when they started out, at the regional level, what the quality was of the motels they stayed at. Or the amount of rest they received after a 7 or 8 leg day. Or about the quality of the pairings/trips they flew. About how many hard days off a month they received. About the food stamps that they had to live on starting out.

These are pilots that did what they could to improve conditions not just for themselves but for pilots after them. That means you too.

Originally Posted by DirkDiggler

Let's not make martyrs out of regional pilots working for food stamps. If anything, the overabundance of idiots willing to fly a shiny multi-million dollar airplane for $10/hour is the main reason wages and QOL were kept low for so long. The simple laws of supply and demand apply here. For every 1 guy flying there were 10 more willing to do your job for less. Nowadays that’s obviously not the case. Maybe this new generation wizened up. Perhaps new pilots no longer have a sparkle in their eye over a shiny jet and realize it’s just a job. Now, the regionals either need to adjust to market conditions or die.