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New hires haven't stayed there in quite some time, and that rat trap it is a Motel 6 now.
You want to go back Sleepy?
You miss those calls from crew scheduling don't you !
I would not recommend XJET to anyone, especially a friend. I think the poop is going to hit the fan this fall. Heck, I also think we are going to implode on these summer schedules. But, back to fall. When these dozen or so 200's go to the desert, I expect displacements in large order. ATL will become quite senior when 50-75 more positions go away. It will leave many with a choice to commute or go back on reserve. Those on reserve now will have to choose between maybe commuting to reserve or finding themselves getting comfy with a senior right seat assignment. Jr FO's, start looking at commuting or moving. Maybe even going to the ERJ. Upgrade, ha! I think we just saw about our last upgrade award. This place is going to be forced to shrink. This is the pilot shortage. Call it what you will, but there are simply not enough pilots with the proper qualifications to work for the wages and benefits we offer. I recall Texx predicting a few years ago that this place was on its way to being 1000 pilots. I thought it was BS at the time, but now I see it to be true. At the same time, I see it to be true for all regionals. There are enough "lifers" at each regional to keep it going, but the upgrades will be retirement based not attrition based. ASA has about 100 retirements coming in the next 10 years.
So, what could change this? Here is my list:
1. Congress/FAA come up with lower flight times, i.e. repeal law, lower ATP, create MPL, etc.
2. Major airline partners begin to increase funds to their regional partners for recruitment and retention.
What this all comes down to is what size does each Major want their regional feed to become? Delta has spelled it out that they want bigger guage aircraft running less frequency. American has gone and said they want to be the premier carrier for USA and have been inking contracts to increase their regional feed. United has yet to really make a significant move. The race to the bottom is about over for the regionals. It worked great when they had thousands of resumes and could simple "replace" you. But now, you could not "transfer" ASA's planes to "name the airline" and expect them to be able to recruit and retain enough crews to take on the work. I have heard we are no longer accepting additional flying becuase we can not staff.
If nothing changes, then the regionals will "right size" themselves. Upgrading won't matter because Majors will just hire FO's. Eventually, as in not real soon, but not forever, the shortage will trickle up to the majors. It simple costs too much to learn to fly and get an ATP for the wages and non-existant travel benefits being offered. The military would rather train drone pilots than real pilots. And, they still have a real pension for now. So why get out?