You're not reading it right. A new group 2 would be E190/195 & A221. Everything moves up 1 number to make space at the bottom for the RJ's

Why would an existing AA guy care if there is a fence that he can't bid down to an RJ? That same fence keeps a super senior RJ guy from displacing him.

For example, the fence could go away when the first guy hired at the RJ level after date of signing is able to bid a group 3 or higher aircraft. That would take several years, and most of the super senior RJ guys would be retired. Plenty of ways of deciding when fences fall.

Pointless to get bogged down in minutiae unless/until they decide to actually work in it again.

Again why are we creating a new group for RJs? Just put them in group 1.

The biggest barrier to bringing RJs on property is the scope clauses for other work groups. Now a lot of stations will be required to be staffed by mainline. Mainline dispatch. Mainline FAs. Mainline mechanics. A few bucks an hour difference for the pilots is comically inconsequential to management.

Or just make a Group Zero.

And I suspect you’re not wrong about the ancillary costs, but what we’re seeing is fundamentally about the idea that money is not the motivator for pilots, Seniority is, in particular Seniority on a list they see being on the rest of their career.

In the end, if they want to keep meat in the seats in the pointy end, they (management) has to figure out how to meet that demand.


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it would preserve a separate fenced category for the pilots who brought the planes

Are you referring to the WO regionals as ‘the pointy end’? If so, I think you misunderstand why WOs exist. They exist to provide CHEAPER feed for AAG, not to provide PILOTS for mainline. As long as it is economically advantageous to AAG, there will be WOs, but the issue really isn’t between EITHER operating a WO or having NO regional feed for mainline. There will be WOs as long as it is more advantageous than subcontracting out the feed to Republic, Skywest, and Mesa.

Mainline has no shortage of acceptable applicants from other sources - including Republic, Skywest, and Mesa, the military, the ULCCs, the 135 world, etc.

We are talking management here. The only loyalty is to the bottom line.

Awww dammit, are we in agreement here???

No, I’m referring to the pointy end of regional aircraft. And while I agree they are there to provide cheaper feed, that only exists if there are pilots to move the metal.

My suspicion is that we’re going to start seeing LCCs start to pull directly from Universities and then it’s really gonna get crazy for filling seats at regional airlines.


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I had a spirit sim instructor on the JS a few weeks ago. He said spirit had a decent amount of people leaving for legacies/cargo and that he wouldn't be surprised if they had 1500 hour pilots in the right seat soon enough.

Agree totally, but just pointing out that there are other sources for that. It does not require a wholly owned. Not if subcontracting to other regionals remains viable. They can get feed from many other regionals and likely WILL if that’s cheaper than doing it in house.


Very possibly. But there will be no trouble filling seats at mainline - including from the right seats of the LCCs - unless bankruptcy or a concession are contract occurs. AA simply does not need the WOs as a pilot source. Not now, and not likely any time soon. Barring a collapse of all other regional flying they will have more than adequate qualified applications coming into HR.

the hemorrhoid of apc strikes