I agree that starting wages are too little for regional carriers. But will raising the minimum number of hours change that....probably not. It's just a temporary (if even that) solution. I think alot of folks are forgetting the past few years. Here's a case in point:
My first instructor got an interview at XJT in Aug. 2001. He was to report to training in late September. At the time he had roughly 800 hours. I believe the starting pay was a little closer to the 25,000 - 30,000 range. After 9/11, he was told not to show up.
And so, for the next 2+ years he kept slugging it out in the CFI ranks. In Nov. 2003, he was finally hired another carrier when he had 2000 hours and an ATP. Starting pay: $18,000. It was as if he was in heaven.
I remember asking him about the pay, and his response was, "well, it beats flight instruction, and I'm finally getting valuable time."
I'm sure he isn't the only CFI of that period who went that route.
And so, your proposal will not work. If Congress did say, "The airlines shall hire no one with less that 1500 hours and an ATP", the results would be that in a year or two, we'd be back in the same shape. We would then have a larger pool of more experienced pilots, even more hungry to move on for crappy pay.
The only way to stop this is to have unity in the ranks. We need to go to the airline interview, and negotiate our pay. If some airline offers $18,000, simply say, "No thanks". If the guy next to you accepts that, remember him or her, and make sure their name gets out. They are whoring the industry.
Speaking of 135/91 contract pilots, many around my local area adhear to a unspoken code of minimum pay. If a pilot starts undercutting the market, his name gets out and soon he finds he's getting NO contacts and NO work. Much the same needs to happen in the airlines.
