Plug
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2004
- Posts
- 465
Think about it, all 3 legacies need to hire 5,000 pilots EACH within the next 7-10 years to replace retiring pilots only. Then throw in the LCCs, and there won't be enough pilots, period. The big 3 will start poaching pilots from the LCCs, and the LCCs will start hiring Regional FOs to try to keep them longer, hoping a lack of PIC will keep them around through an upgrade. They will add a training bond too (I think Frontier may have started this) to guarantee a few years on property. The other group that may fill in some hiring positions too could be the Expats that went overseas and figured out that their families wanted to come home or the Sandpit wasn't as hospitable as they had hoped. Regardless, it's gonna be interesting to watch. As the Regionals shrink the Big 3 are going to grab as many A319s or 717s as they can to cover the Regional routes.
Bye Bye---General Lee
Spot on General! At UAL we are seeing increases in A319 block hours to cover what was originally allotted to UAX because they don't have the staffing. I suspect that the trend will continue!