All regionals are the same. Get in there, get your time and move on. Who wants to fly a Q400 for $40/hr for 12 years? No regional is worth that!!!!

 

So that's how it works? You work at a regional for 2 years and then you get picked up by a major?

 

I never said anything about being picked up after 2 years. Regionals are a stepping stone. Nothing else

 

JNB point is that, if it's a stepping stone, what is the next stone? Lots, LOTS of pilots have a hard time finding it.

GF

 

SKW is a decent Regional. To my mind, the difference is Union vs. Non-union. Personally, I prefer Union representation. Your mileage may vary.

Many more pilots will discover that their Regional gig is their final stop than will succeed to the next level. Aviation is a pyramid, not a table mesa.

 

What an interesting dichotomy; if a regional is too bad people, people complain, and if a regional is too good, people complain! Oi vey!

 

They haven't been for about 15 years. They are kind of failing the litmus test for "stepping stone". More like "dead end". Not so much that you can never find another or better job, but in such a way that you're screwed out of earning traditional retirement due to spending so many more years than you were planning. Even McDonalds has career paths to become shift managers, store managers, etc. A true "stepping stone" job should be one without significant responsibilities where you only spend about 2 years at before moving on, IMO. It allows you to gain some experience and provide a service/work function, but not be so important that if you fail real bad things happen. This is what the regional industry would like to convince pilots that they are, but I think what they do is at least equal to what "major" airlines do, if not more challenging and worthy of compensation. Maybe that cancels out with the new aspect and not expecting to earn $300,000 the first year, but should be enough that it's considered a legit career. Until they start acting like a legit career I can't seriously think they are looking for quality pilots.

CFIing is a stepping stone to get to regionals.
Regionals are a stepping stone to get to majors.
Majors are a stepping stone to get to UPS/FedEx.
UPS/FedEx are a stepping stone to get to Boeing Test/delivery pilot.
Boeing Test pilot is a stepping stone to get to Nasa test pilot.
I'm sure we could keep going on and find something else...

 

That shouldn't make sense, but it does to me. At my company, I've flown with several check airmen who knew how to make sure you transfered the controls to do your approach brief, etc. But couldn't begin to talk themselves out of the FOM. No clue, besides what they were told to look for in check airmen training. I would hope that other carriers besides Alaska would be able to weed those sorts out. I would imagine it would be easier there though, with the close relationship they have.

 

Hey Dick, the letter actually states that its 30% of new hires... The letter is not bound by any contractual language though, it can be burned at any time.

P.S. I didn't realize that check airman were in a different class of people than us normal humans...

 

Agreed ... Most guys at the regional level will never move on, even though most are under the belief they will. The overall compensation at the regional level will never change, there are a multitude of reasons for this that I will not go into. Don't want start a fire fight lol