Lives on west coast and turns down a growing airline with two west coast bases in favor of a commute two time zones away in Texas. ... There must be a woman.

 

orrrrr he values himself as a pilot and wants to work for a decent contract. Like he said, out of the cockpit for a while. Probably just a mil guy getting current and off to UAL/AA/DAL he goes! If not, then who cares? he's building your seniority and making you closer to upgrade. Thank goodness theres an influx (however little) of guys coming to new hire training, makes it easier for us to bid for more flying.

 

Both right. There are actually 3 women, a wife (who is currently bringing home the bacon) and 2 daughters. Im retired military, ive got the min hours for a major, and most of my time is PIC, but like I said, nobody is beating down my door. I was pretty confident that I was going to be getting the call from SWA this week, but still haven't heard anything (no offer, no rejection), so it's time to get current, build hours, and get some Part 121 experience.

 

Congrats. Hope your stint in this squalid corner of the profession is brief and productive. Your family has probably waited long enough for some stability in the family life. Commuting to Texas won't bring it, but you're in the home stretch. SWA, or insert legacy here, sure will.

 

This seems like an excellent way for XJT to spend money on training... Getting mil guys current to move on in 6 months!!?!?
Does anyone in recruitment even care? Or do they just want butts in seats?

 

I know the guy in charge of recruiting. They do care and would like to hang on to someone for more than six months, but in today's hiring environment if they can get a good candidate for 6 months that is better than no one at all.

Somehow some way regionals have to pay people a much better wage. I know the way the mainline pay us is jacked up in how they pay the regionals, but the old system of make crap so we can go to a major is broke. I don't care if you are in an rj or a 757 we are flying mainline passengers in and out of major airports doing the same thing the majors are doing. I don't expect 757 wages since an rj doesn't produce the revenue that the 757 produces and both airplanes have two pilots onboard. No one should start at this job for less than $45 an hr - I know I'm dreaming for the new comers.

Ultimately it's up to the company to find ways to attract and retain pilots. If someone finds something better then good for him or her.

 

Well said. I don't take the prospect of short timing a company lightly, it's not my style, and I've tried to avoid that. At the end of the day, just like everybody else, I must act in the best interest of my family.

 

Please don't take my comment as a slam against you.

My point is, recruiting can look at a guy like you and know that are a short term guy, yet they are willing to spend the training money to get you current so you can move on.

Instead of saying "hey, why don't we take some of that money, invest in better wages to attract more applicants, and choose people that have a better likelihood of sticking around for awhile".

I get that nothing in life is a sure thing, but if you had one more spot to fill in class, does it go to the high time, ex-mil with lots of TPIC who hasn't flown in 6 months? Or the part 135 guy looking to make the next step in his career? I know who I'd choose if I wanted my training dollars to last more than 6 months.

 

Hear hear. I think ALPA needs to get behind some sort of universal pay formula for ALL carriers. Something like an FO starting at an hourly wage equal to half the seats in the plane, and the Captain at a wage equal to the seats in the plane.

 

Anyone notice that there just so happens to be more airplanes going to delta (and RJs), as well as EFBs coming out, and contract negotiations all at the same time? In all honesty if this is the umph, that both parties need to get things rolling, then thank sweet baby jesus. Maybe they can negotiate some money into the deal to attract longer staying FOs and CAs. *fingers crossed*