You mean like when they were in college or brand new LTs?

If you are just getting into aviation now and are under 30 why would you care about the regionals? You want to work for a regional for your whole career? The question you should be asking is whether or not the major airlines as we know them now will be around when you are 60. Or are you going to have to fly to Asia to interview for a US "mainline" job. I'd prepare myself for a possible career change, there are too many forces working against pilots in the future.

Why are veterans better than non veterans in terms of a better employee? What an asinine remark.

Who will be the first regional to fail? Air Wisconsin - future seems cloudy? Expressjet erj side contract comes to an end in 2017? Gojet - horrible performance and making daddy d mad? Silver? I see the wholly owns doing ok, Skywest filling classes just fine, Mesa with their crappy pay is still filling classes, Republic -who knows how they will emerge but they will emerge leaner and better suited to fulfill their contracts... TSA would be better off if they didn't bite off more than they can chew being unable to staff their newly added flying. Endevor is filling classes. Eventually someone is going down.

Johnny,

Please look at the last 40 years, or 40 weeks, of legacy hiring and that should prove Mesabah's point. The airlines seem to prefer ex-military pilots.

GF

I think the reason he said that is because of EO laws and such. Showing a certain percentage of veterans on the roster is good PR. Besides im fairly certain that the companys get a level of tax breaks for having veterans on property. In that case yes the veteran may be the better candidate.

Of course Im probably wrong, so disregard the ramblings of another regional pilot ;)

In that respect, that's a good point. Which is why I asked him why.

It's just politically correct to do so. They're every bit as inferior though as any new hire fo.

I'm not sure. Entitlement doesn't discriminate though. Not saying there aren't the 20 something year old CFIs who think they derserve to be at Delta within two years. National seniority would help solve this IMO.

I feel for the guys and gals that got burned with 9/11, 2008 and age 65.

As an AA CA told me, the entire culture of the mainlines will change with retirements. Numbers speak for themselves, will be no choice but to have the majority of pilots coming from the civilian world over the next two decades. The people retiring now are mostly former military, the people doing the hiring of tomorrow will be mostly civilian.
One should not worry about these details however, effort is better spent making yourself more attractive to the mainlines.