Majors wont be hurting/Regional on the other hand!

[Mercyful Fate]

I don't drink, it's how I feel about them. I avoid them as much as possible.

So what is your excuse for the awful spelling and typing?

 

[Freebrd]

no excuse, you win the prize, proud?

 

[Mercyful Fate]

no excuse, you win the prize, proud?

Yea, I am very proud..very easy prize to win obviously. Kind of funny how you talk down to other work groups, and yet, do it in such a poor manner. What does that say for you?

 

[Freebrd]

So, why are YOU on the regional board giving us your opinion on something that's of no concern to you. Are you one of those ex regional guys that got the call to the big league, and like that kid who graduates from HS returns the following year at FB games, dances etc, and can't let it go or stay away? Glory days? :laugh:

 

[jetstream]

In the short term the pilot shortage will be felt only at the regional level. Long term it will hit the legacy's as well. Here's how/why:

1. The legacy carriers squeeze their regional partners so much that they can barely make a profit, if that.
2. Because of this squeezing the regional pay is low and QOL is poor.
3. Due to item 2, people stop learning to fly and stop pursuing airline careers.
4. Hiring at the legacy's pulls pilots from the regionals and the regionals are unable to fill the vacancy's.
5. Regional airlines continue to exist but shrink dramatically. I see them flying fewer but larger aircraft i.e. CRJ900/E-175. Staffed mainly by senior pilots who due to age etc. choose to stay at their airline rather than start over at a legacy.
6. Eventually, legacy carriers will have hired all the pilots they can from the regionals but still need more. Problem will be there aren't any more. They have exhausted that pool of pilots, see item 3.

At this point I don't know what will happen but it could be any of a number of things.
A. Legacy's will buy their regional partners in order to obtain the pilots.
B. Another raise in the retirement age.
C. Ab-initio training programs.
D. Single pilot flight decks with the right seat filled by a person trained to run flows, check lists, QRH, and talk on the radio, etc.
E. All airlines legacy and regional alike provide the same amount of lift but with fewer pilots by serving cities with larger aircraft and less frequency.

 

[pilotyip]

Let us also not forget that the new flight and duty rules will probably make the regional lifestyle suck even more than it does now, thus reducing the incentive to work at one.

I'm thinking 10-11 days off for a lot of pilots. If you are a commuter, this is a non-starter. Unless you are single.

We need to remove the age restrictions on the F/O's let the retiring guys at age 65 guys who still want to work for whatever reason sit in the right seat. Unable to bid Captain, it would mean faster upgrade for the new hires. It would bring a wealth of experience into the regional level. I am going to be very comfortable in retirement, to be able to pick up a couple weeks of flying out of DTW would be great. It make it part time, save the company on benefits. Why not tap this source of cheap experience?

 

[CX880]

If you're already falling asleep 30 seconds after takeoff it's time to retire.

 

[wms]

We need to remove the age restrictions on the F/O's let the retiring guys at age 65 guys who still want to work for whatever reason sit in the right seat. Unable to bid Captain, it would mean faster upgrade for the new hires. It would bring a wealth of experience into the regional level. I am going to be very comfortable in retirement, to be able to pick up a couple weeks of flying out of DTW would be great. It make it part time, save the company on benefits. Why not tap this source of cheap experience?

+1. I always felt the 60+ pilots should've been in the right seat similar to the days when they could only be FEs.

 

[WMUSIGPI]

Not sure about anyone else, but Delta seems to be having most guys throw in the towel around 62 to 63. They could stay as captain and don't, what makes you think they will sit right seat in an RJ for less than their retirement pays a year?

 

[JustaNumber]

We need to remove the age restrictions on the F/O's let the retiring guys at age 65 guys who still want to work for whatever reason sit in the right seat. Unable to bid Captain, it would mean faster upgrade for the new hires. It would bring a wealth of experience into the regional level. I am going to be very comfortable in retirement, to be able to pick up a couple weeks of flying out of DTW would be great. It make it part time, save the company on benefits. Why not tap this source of cheap experience?

I know it's all relative, but there already is a wealth of experience at the regional level. At our airline, it seems the average captain has 10-15 years in an RJ, the average F/O has maybe about 5 in an RJ (unscientific observation).

At any rate, it appears that management's goal is to have as little experience here as is feasibly possibly. And with airline managements against any rules change proposal, it will never happen.

 

[pilotyip]

Not sure about anyone else, but Delta seems to be having most guys throw in the towel around 62 to 63. They could stay as captain and don't, what makes you think they will sit right seat in an RJ for less than their retirement pays a year?

Yea but if you like flying airplanes it would be a neat thing to do, a good friend of mine retired at 62 from DAL as a 74 CA, say it was not smart move, he really misses flying. He, like me, might jump on something like this.

 

[chqflyer]

I know it's all relative, but there already is a wealth of experience at the regional level. At our airline, it seems the average captain has 10-15 years in an RJ, the average F/O has maybe about 5 in an RJ (unscientific observation).

At any rate, it appears that management's goal is to have as little experience here as is feasibly possibly. And with airline managements against any rules change proposal, it will never happen.

The experience level of RJ pilots is not really comparable to that of someone with extensive experience in mainline jets. RJs are designed to be operated by the lowest common denominator pilot.

 

[wms]

There's a difference between 2 legs a day in a relatively low stress environment, three times a month not flying internationally or 6 legs a day 18 days a month in the NE corridor in airplanes with relatively no automaton. Five to ten years of one gets and keeps you proficient. The other two find you getting rusty.

 

[Oakum_Boy]

The experience level of RJ pilots is not really comparable to that of someone with extensive experience in mainline jets. RJs are designed to be operated by the lowest common denominator pilot.

I'm calling you out again. Attitudes like yours are making it impossible to get paid. 20 years in airplanes and 12k hours, with over 10k sectors; I know what I'm worth. Unfortunately, our peers don't feel the same about themselves. You should try some self esteem sometime. Vote No and let the chips fall.

 

[chqflyer]

RJs are just as automated, if not more than most mainline jets. I'd definitely agree that the stick and rudder skills of someone slogging it out in the northeast in a busted up dash 8 or beech 1900 would be top notch.

 

[chqflyer]

I'm calling you out again. Attitudes like yours are making it impossible to get paid. 20 years in airplanes and 12k hours, with over 10k sectors; I know what I'm worth. Unfortunately, our peers don't feel the same about themselves. You should try some self esteem sometime. Vote No and let the chips fall.

My self esteem is just fine. I have already decided long ago that I'm going to vote no on any POS TA laid out before me. I don't even give a ******************** anymore.

 

[Oakum_Boy]

Plenty here who flew prop 'trash' for years. The RJ is regularly screwed up from lack of experience and academic misunderstandings. 98.5% of the guys and gals I fly with can't figure out basic concepts like how speed/alt/Mach relate to each other. If we were buying our own fuel, there wouldn't be any money with the energy mismanagement I witness. Without VNAV and autothrottle, I doubt that mainline guys would know/remember either. Get in the books, vote no.

 

[wms]

......

 

[wms]

RJs are just as automated, if not more than most mainline jets. I'd definitely agree that the stick and rudder skills of someone slogging it out in the northeast in a busted up dash 8 or beech 1900 would be top notch.

VNAV, auto-throttles, etc, on an Optimized descent arrival? ERJs have even less than the CRJ.

 

[chqflyer]

I'm not knocking TP pilots at all. I'm just saying that the lack of basic knowledge and experience of many RJ pilots is appalling. I just don't believe that someone with 300 hours placed into the right seat of a jet and then moved to the left seat when their number comes up is a very good system. I don't give a ******************** that that's how they do it in Europe or Asia. Look at the three idiots in SFO that slammed a perfectly good 777 into a sea wall on a CAVU day because they forgot to add thrust.