06-08-2021Quote:
In summary, the hiring numbers have a greater likelihood of the demographics of the pilots at those regionals and their preferences than SWA playing favorites by association. No different than thinking you need to go to ERAU to get a leg up.
This makes sense for sure. My main goal is southwest as well and I thought I needed to go to SkyWest to have a better chance. I’ve changed my mind and realized that choosing a regional that will be better for me and my family is more important than choosing a regional that LUV might hire like hiring from. plus as others have said, it seems like they’ll hire from anywhere as long as you have what they are looking for.Originally Posted by saturn
Insight on the pie chart. SWA puts a lot of weight in total time that other majors do not. I would wager the average age of a pure civilian off the street hire at SWA is noticeably higher than other places. This simply favors those who have been in the industry longer. Some regional carriers have a higher ratio of seasoned pilots (Expressjet, SkyWest, Republic) and many that I see making the jump have 8+ years and up in the industry. Whereas the AA wholly owned carriers are flowing the top of their lists, and the commuterairs, compasses, mesas, & TSAs have much younger groups. Also consider that SWA has a regional homecourt advantage with a lot of these regionals they are drawing from. No surprise you don't get a lot of Horizon and Endeavor, since SWA has a tiny SEA/PDX, MSP/DTW/NYC footprint. In summary, the hiring numbers have a greater likelihood of the demographics of the pilots at those regionals and their preferences than SWA playing favorites by association. No different than thinking you need to go to ERAU to get a leg up.
