Looks Like 1500 Hours May Become the New Hiring Minimum Among Other Things:

[JumpersAway]

I think this is great. The regionals will have to bring up pay, since pilots with 1500 hours or more will be high time instructors, or cargo dogs flying Caravans. Those Caravan pilots often make pretty good money (to keep them there flying in the "sticks"), and they won't leave for a $16,000 a year job flying a CRJ. This will also make regional flying more expensive for the legacies, which may make them rethink about dumping smaller mainline planes for 76 seaters. A win win for everyone---higher pay for new FOs, on fewer regional planes. The passengers will like it, (no more sitting next to huge Samoan dudes on 3 hour flights in smaller RJs) and the flight crews will like the higher pay.

Next, could we get a mandatory retirement age for stews?


Bye Bye--General Lee

Your thinking is flawed. This only works if DELTA ALPA sets the standard, and the limit, to who flies for Delta as a connection carrier. If one regional ups the pay, and thus isn't competative anymore, Delta simply finds another regional carrier. Or, they simply start another just to fit their business model (Compass and Mid Atlantic). Either way, the wages stay low. None of the flying that was lost by any of the other "non competative" regional carriers ever went back to mainline- and there have been plenty that have tanked and provided the opportunity.

General, this is something that BOTH sides of the fence have to work on......it's the simple, ugly truth and the only fix- period....

 

[Bringupthebird]

How many EAS routes are there? I'd suspect about 100 in the country. (actually 106 plus about 40 in Alaska according to Wikipedia). Not a whole lot in the grand scheme of things.

Long term this could be a good thing, but there will be more short-term pain at all levels that folks are ignoring.

 

[cjdriver]

What does 1500 hours min do? It keeps away the 250 hour "Empty Nipple" rich kid wonders. Boy, Gulftream INTL will go away after this is implemented. Wages will go up, and FedEx Caravan pilots will be in high demand at all of the regionals.


Bye Bye--General Lee

There's four great reasons to do it.

 

[waka]

Case in point? Almost every regional would have been unable to fill classes the last 3 years of hiring before this recession if the ATP would have been required. Be patient, you'll see...

nah, the only reason that is true is because of the low pay and QOL and more experienced pilots didn't want the crappy jobs. There are/will always be plenty of pilots with an ATP.

 

[macdu]

How about some standards to regulate flight schools. One of the reasons why pilot salaries continue to decline is that there are UNLIMITED supplies of pilots. There is always a 22yr kid with no obligations ready to take your job for $20K/yr. Look around, there are 3 or 4 flight schools on every field. Anybody with $40K can be a pilot. Toughen up on the flight schools and toughen up on the FAR141 standards will not only improve safety, but also limit the supplies of pilots (which will improve salaries in the long run).

It's simple economics. I agree. The flight schools need to some how be restricted. I have no idea how you might be able to do that in our country but it is just plain too easy to get technically "qualified" to work at a 121 carrier. Maybe limit the commercial and ATP tickets to a select few schools in the country, but, allow the current private, sport, instrument training to be pursued at your local FBO.

Here in China, where I am now. Two flight schools, that's it. It's simple economics!$

 

[pilotyip]

SAT score

It's simple economics. I agree. The flight schools need to some how be restricted. I have no idea how you might be able to do that in our country but it is just plain too easy to get technically "qualified" to work at a 121 carrier. Maybe limit the commercial and ATP tickets to a select few schools in the country, but, allow the current private, sport, instrument training to be pursued at your local FBO.

Here in China, where I am now. Two flight schools, that's it. It's simple economics!$

We could cut down the number pilots by making an SAT score of 1300 the minimum to get an ATP. That would thin out the ranks.

 

[tmac3333]

1500 hours after 10 years of military service is pretty weak. Sounds like someone who was more interested in sitting at a desk instead of progressing in a flying career. In any case, tough. Mins are the min.

Hey draginass...you might have a little more firsthand knowledge before spouting off about something you obviously have no idea about. Wrong, wrong, and wrong.

 

[s3jetman]

Am I missing something here. Everyone is talking about how the 1500 hours will save everything and that if everyone has 1500 hours then there will never be a crash and so on. Well if we look at the pilots in question, did'nt they both have atleast 1500 hours? So how will making sure every pilot has 1500 hours change anything? It doesnt make sense the FO was a CFII, not sure on the MEI, and had over 1500hours, it just drives me crazy that everyone thinks if you have a CFII and over 1500 hours you will never make a mistake. She had little to no actual, nor had she ever seen ice to that extent, but she had over 1500 hours????? I do not think it is a matter of amount of hours but quality of hours that one needs. Where and how is the pilot supposed to gain those hours I do not have the answer but I think looking at just a ,total time, requriment will not solve the problem!

 

[Poahi]

Ultimately this will be good for Southwest. It will be harder for the legacies to feed from smaller markets that their cost structures won't support.

 

[General Lee]

Am I missing something here. Everyone is talking about how the 1500 hours will save everything and that if everyone has 1500 hours then there will never be a crash and so on. Well if we look at the pilots in question, did'nt they both have atleast 1500 hours? So how will making sure every pilot has 1500 hours change anything? It doesnt make sense the FO was a CFII, not sure on the MEI, and had over 1500hours, it just drives me crazy that everyone thinks if you have a CFII and over 1500 hours you will never make a mistake. She had little to no actual, nor had she ever seen ice to that extent, but she had over 1500 hours????? I do not think it is a matter of amount of hours but quality of hours that one needs. Where and how is the pilot supposed to gain those hours I do not have the answer but I think looking at just a ,total time, requriment will not solve the problem!

It sure doesn't seem like those 1500 hours they each had (more for the Capt) were quality hours. They lacked basic airmanship skills. You don't pull back on the yoke during a stall. You don't put the flaps up during one either. That plane pancaked straight down on ONE house. You have to set a new standard (a higher standard) and go from there. To the pilots, I say RIP. But, something has to be done here.


Bye Bye---General Lee