I hope you are right. I don't know if the majors will be picking up guys as quickly as some think within the next 12 to 18 months though. Delta is overstaffed and American/US Airways will be downsizing by probably about 12%. I think the regionals will be hurting for pilots I just can't put a finger on how bad and when.

As far as the first year pay in the regional airline business goes this is 100% the union and pilot groups fault. What most don't realize is management has figured out how to pen pilots against pilots / top vs bottom etc. and this is how they get what they want. Take a look at ExpressJet and ASA. Look at what they did to pinnacle and Comair. The list goes on and on. The pilot groups listed above are made up of good guys and in no way am I faulting them especially Comair for what they did. At least they tried to take a stand. However, management will always pull the strings until the pilot group as an industry whole takes a stand and cuts those strings. This will never happen so it just is what it is at this point.

Downsizing by 12%? Where are you getting this information?

Yeah, I'm with you and Trip7 here- the glass being half full, not half empty. Negotiating a whole new pay scale might not be in the cards-yet. FlyJSH, I know what you are saying, but this seems to be a good start. I'd like to see the flying taken back by mainline, or stronger career progression language to the parent major airline, but this is a start.

I imagine WMU has some skin in the game here, and by skin I mean money. WMU probably figures this program is a good recruitment tool for the dwindling prospective professional flight majors out there, and catching those folks is worth money. They kick in a little money to seal the deal with Eagle, and therefore secure access to a bunch of regional minded students.

I also wonder if these programs really catch on, what will be the effects? Mom and pop flight schools losing lots of business? A few big and connected universities become an oligopoly that has a strangle hold on the pipeline to the regionals---thus driving prices even higher?

From nowhere...its beer speak.

Don't kid yourself, giving an FO some $ is not going to just make the airplane obsolete. They don't pay the FO because they haven't had to. When the cockpits are empty and they don't have anyone to JM then they will do something about pay but until they can't make ends meet with what they go they will continue to do as they see fit. They can raise pay by 10K for FO at Eagle and cost them 15 mil, that's less that what they give themselves in bonuses so I think they could afford it.

Its not.

If I get a lump sum check (bonus) when I'm hired but have to pay some of it back if I leave before 2 years, or I get paid a "stipend" every month for two years; is there really a difference?
It's semantics. Although not a bonus in the traditional sense and because it's under the auspices of the collegiate requirements, it sounds better to call it a scholarship. Doesn't ruffle the feathers as much.

Probably a little beer speak but also lessons learned over time. All Legacy carrier mergers come with some down sizing. AA / USAir will be no different. The percentage, I can't honestly say, but I believe they will down size slightly more then some previous legacy mergers.

Also do not confuse down sizing with no hiring. These two things are independent. I do believe AA / USAir will down size slightly, however, they will also have to hire just like everyone else due to their large retirement numbers over the next 18 years.

So what happens when a person joins this scam, and wants out at the end?

It's always the young kids that fall for such schemes. Much better just to wait when one has the needed minimums, and THEN make a determination which airline will suit that person best.

Or wait until you have the needed minimus, then chose your scam. Like Republics 24 month $20,000 E-jet trap.

Like you said, plenty of young naive SJS"s out there ready to take the bait.

DAL downsized after their merger...Freedom Airlines, CHQ, Comair, pncl.
True, they are several hundred pilots down from 2008's numbers but, domestic capacity cuts usually hit the regionals harder. AA/US will be no different.