The answer is a resounding NO !

Flexibility will be the name of the game at the regionals in the next few years and the LAST thing you want is to be financially chained to carrier X. You may want to persue other options before the contract is up like another regional, an LCC or a legacy. You may even get opportunity outside the airline industry.

Let's face it...........a training contract is an indication of a company that is desperate and either cannot retain qualified people or attract them in the first place. It's a red flag of danger and an employment mine for pilots.

My advice is to treat them like illicit drugs and just say "no".

Is it worth it? That is up for you to decide. Should a company require one? That, too, is up to you.

Personally, I have signed two: one at an excellent 135 company and the other at a less than desirable 121 company. In both cases, I fully expected to stay for the term, but was willing to repay the prorated amount had I been hired at Marvelous Mainline.


If you sign one, be willing to live up to it either by serving the time or paying what is owed. That is what an honorable person does. Not living up to the contract, IMHO, is as sleazy as many of our upper managers.

Yes they are worth it unless you think you'll be off to a major in less than 2 years. It's a sleazy move to have the company spend $30,000+ then quit a couple months later. The rest of your pilot group will feel the pain when the company's expenses are too high and they can't win bids for flying causing furloughs.

AND it's not pro-rated. If you leave one day shy of your 15 months AFTER your checkride (unpaid during training), they have and WILL come after you. A common company tactic is to let many go into collections, then come after all of them at once. After it goes to collections, the interest rate kicks in and you'll pay closer to $20,000.

Don't be a sleazy company and people won't think about repaying the sleaze by ditching out.

I understand signing a training contract if the training provides you a type rating that you can immediately use elsewhere. No company can sustain being a training factory. Yes, they COULD be a better place to work and thus MAYBE not need one, but still, I get it.

That said, I have reluctantly signed one pro-rated contract when I was in a job bind. It's was a good company, but the a/c did not require a type.... kinda made me mad.

To each their own if they wish to sign one.

That type rating is required for me to do my duties, you want ROI then make it worth it... Screw all of you that say the regionals can't pay or I have to pay my dues.

That sounds like something a regional lifer would say. Do you want to be paid what you're worth? Then apply to Comair. They tried handing out the best contract to try and set the status quo for the industry.

It is real simple: sign ONLY if you have every intention of fulfilling your end of the (SIGNED) bargain. Otherwise don't sign it.

Really, this is coming from the kid who says "I'm ok with a crappy contract, so we continue to grow".

I'd say sign it, you will probably stay long enough just getting time in type. Our company asked for one, everyone signed.

Besides, if an employer wants you, they'll buy out the unpaid balance. I was offered just that by a potential employer who asked if I had one (it had long expired, anyway). I'm not alone in that offer.

GF