Lots of factors but among them is the ridiculous first year wages at some of the ULCCs. There was a long discussion on this subject on a Frontier thread back when their negotiations were going on. The pilot group didn't wish to "waste" any "negotiating capital" on bringing newbie's on board. So what did the first year FO wages end up?

$58 an hour for Frontier
$57 for Spirit
$78 for JetBlue

So if you are currently making $90-100 an hour as a regional captain, WITH YOUR CHOICE OF SCHEDULES, how hard is it to take a 45% pay cut for a year and go back on reserve in some crash pad for a couple years, because your roots are too firmly planted after a decade or so to relocate? Pretty hard. Not impossible, certainly, but it's a serious emotional barrier, and the more senior (i.e., older) you are, the smaller the carrot for doing it and the greater the carrot for just staying put.

So in a way it's the major airlines' pilot union negotiating tactics that are hurting these guys, or at least making the decision to move on more complicated than it would otherwise be.

 

Complacency is common, and people make decisions on things besides numbers. I’ve got peers at my airline who in the last 12 months have turned down interview invites from Frontier and Spirit as well as job offers from JetBlue and Fedex.

 

I hope you called scheduling on the ground and were removed. No way would I fly with someone like that. Intentional disregard for regs? Screw that.

 

To those people, I’d say “It’s called a savings account. You see, what you do is, you save money to prepare for that first year.”

Seriously, it’s a KNOWN quantity. Always has been. You’re going to take a pay cut. By year two at practicially every major you’ll be in the black. Year three well ahead of where you’d ever be at your regional. Further, by year two-three you can pretty much expect 15-17 days off. Oh, and the paint matches the paycheck.

I get if you live in IND and are at Republic, and don’t want to commute to JFK. But there are options, and many people aren’t willing to explore them. Which is great, because I am.

 

If we’re going to make this argument we should probably throw in that first year at FedEx is $78, UPS is $46, and Hawaiian starts at $36.

 

Like it’s awlays a choice.
If you’re over 40, more than 10,000 hours forget Delta, Military FW excepted of course.
AAL outside the flow or military FW, good luck.
UAL, make it through the Hogan first. I know some really great guys who have failed it twice and some losers who passed.
SWA, some have had luck, others not.
So it comes to ULCCs or cargo. Brown and Purple aren’t shoe ins.
Now I’m not saying don’t apply, but myself and others had our apps in for years and no bites. Heck, I had mine professionally reviewed a few times. The last guy was straight up- you’re too qualified. Look at some of the cargo carriers.
Fortunately K4 threw a lifeline to a bunch of us.

You guys who take it for granted that anyone can do 5 years at a regional and move on kill me.

 

I understand, but a 2nd year FO at Frontier, Spirit and JetBlue make as much or more than a 10 yr CA at the regionals. After that, it's not even close.

So is the consensus here that most lifers that are qualified and could probably move on, don't do it by choice?

 

Not to mention, by that point in life, generally people have a family, and there's more to consider than just yourself. Kids change the game a lot.

 

The bolded text baffles me.

How can you be too qualified as a pilot? What is their reasoning behind this? It makes no sense.

 

Airlines don't like to hire people they feel can't be molded to fly the way they want. It has to do with more than just total time.