I don’t want this place to be focused on lifer goals anymore. I want us to be viable for attracting new pilots and moving the list. If a lifer can separate themselves enough to balance the equation, I’m willing to be open minded. So far, I’ve heard nothing to convince me of that from anybody who is content to stay on the JV squad.

 

Outside of Xjet, how many pilots are still wit the regionals after 20 years (unless they are 60 or older)? This problem is unique to Xjet.

 

I think if you peruse the WO sections with flows you see issues with “part time” MEC chairmen who don’t seem to be concerned with improving the lot of current pilots.
Frankly, as long as Inc owns us I don’t think there will be any attraction here for new hires. If that changes and incentives are given for new hires they will come.

 

The simple fact that we view anybody with less than 10 years at the company as “part-time” is a huge problem. I’ve been here longer than 10 years, and I can honestly say that I haven’t seen an MEC chairman do anything the whole time I’ve been here. So maybe it doesn’t even matter who we elect, because the power to affect change seems to be extremely limited anyways.

 

Not so much that I necessarily view a person with less than 10 years as temp help, it’s that a person with less than 10 years has not seen and experienced the cycles of this industry. Yes, I have seen a boom like this before where we had street captains soon followed by 9/11. I’ve seen great companies such as ACA and Comair go under. I’d appreciate someone leading the MEC who has seen some of these things before. That’s all. It’s not to say the right person who has not been here less than 10 years can’t be a good MEC chairman, not that a person with over 20 years will be the right person.

 

I have a better idea, Blackhawk. How about we both get hired by an airline that sells its own tickets, and we can dispute the leadership of THAT company. In the meantime, I just want this place to stay afloat long enough to make that happen. I’d be lying if I said my intent was anything but that.

 

Dude, I’m working on it. Each round of bad news I expand my search farther. I prefer pax Ops, but will probably start looking at cargo as well.
I’m hoping to bid over to the ERJ as soon as possible. Maybe another type will help.

 

I doubt an RJ type is going to be the difference. I am typed in the CRJ-700 and the ERJ. Legacy carriers aren’t ringing my phone off the hook.

 

I’ve been told that I have been in the same seat too long and am considered “untrainable”; that another type might help. I had one recruiter even suggest I make a lateral move just to get a different type. 🙄
Psychologicallly I also have some issues. I’ve been married to the same woman for 25 years, my kids don’t hate me and I’m not over weight. Also, aside from the dark cloud hanging over our future, I still enjoy my job and my fellow employees. Not sure what to do about that.

 

While it shouldn't be a blanket statement, there is evidence on why you'll hear that from hiring departments. I left for a major at the end of last year and in both my class and the class ahead of me, the two that struggled with training the most were the two most senior pilots in each class with one of them not completing training. Again - certainly doesn't apply to everyone but training centers have seen trends with RJ pilots who have been in the same seat of the same airplane flying to the same airports under the same ops specs for a couple of decades and know those pilots can be a bit behind the learning curve when it comes to a totally different airplane and company. It just is what it is for some people in that situation that when you've done the same thing for so long, change doesn't come as easy. I think if you know you're not that person who will struggle though, you just have to embrace the stereotype in the interview and be up front that while you've done the same thing from the same seat for a long time, you're completely confident you're ready for change and will breeze through training because it's what you want to do right now more than any point in your career.