TED74

How many (dozens?) of our new hires went into the right seat of the highest paying wide bodies? A contemplative person is forced to wonder why those positions (and 7ER Florida shuttle, 717A et al) were passed on by thousands and thousands of their peers? Maybe all actually isn’t okay in the industry?

There actually has been a better environment to be hired into, although it’s only a few years behind us. Jumping in after 2k/year of hiring isn’t going to be the same magic that the 2014-2019 hires had.

“Comparison is the thief of joy” (Theodore Roosevelt)

Avgeek7248

True, but a lot of us are still more then happy to be here. Being a PNWer I didn't have much to gain getting a WB anyways over a NB.

Nick Bradshaw

No, they flew turboprops and underpowered RJs with no autothrottle and no ability to climb above the weather in the ice for 5+ legs a day. Then they overnighted at a Holiday Inn Express in Fargo for 12 hours and did it all again the next day.

And those who came before you were the real men who wrestled DC6 and Connies. You jet kids were soft yet all you do is complain. /s

See how that works?

NuGuy

Late sixties, during the last "pilot shortage", all the majors were advertising in magazines for very low time pilots, and in some small windows, even private pilots got hired, with the condition that they get their CMEL/IA.

Every one of those pilots were furloughed in the early 70's when the gas crunch hit. Some of those furloughs were LONG, like 6-10 years.

Yes, Timbo is right, it can turn a dime.

Save money, kids, it's a short ride.

tcco94

It’s hard to even compare past generations to this generation because of the mass exodus of retirements and industry consolidation. This is just the front of the wave coming. I’m not saying the next 20-30 years won’t have hiccups. They will. But the past never had 50% of all the industries major airlines retiring in a decade. The industry will never be the same as the past. It could work out better, it could be the same or worse. We should have had furloughs during Covid, but industry consolidation and pressure for Washington to avoid unemployment may set a precedent for every next recession.

It’s really hard to say but the past pains this industry went through probably won’t be anything like the future pains this industry will have.

Gone Flying

nope, just RJ FO making less than a b scale pilot did, doing every walk around. Luckily I was not stuck doing that for a decade like some before me.

The reason NHs going to the top of the pay scale FO is new is because new hires used to not have a seat lock. I’ve flown with several pilots who told me they were hired into 727C and were ER Bs 6 months later. Now new hires have a 2 year seat lock, so thousands of current pilots were artificially held back from bidding those positions. Also you realize you are talking about like 50 pilots getting WB FO out of training, right? It was a few classes here and there and has not happened in a while and likely won’t happen again. It was a fluke caused by a perfect storm of events.

ER A going junior, all I have to say about that is ten thousand current DL pilots had to pass on that job for it to fall to new ish hires. Maybe there is a reason it’s going so junior.

we may be having good movement now, but new hires certainly won’t have the upward movement to senior NB CA or top of the payscale that 85-87 hires saw, or 2014-2016 hires have seen/will see

tcco94

I personally think 2014 hires need to be expanded to 2020 for great seniority growth. But maybe I’m wrong

Gone Flying

14 hires are probably going to do the best WRT time to hold WB A from DOH, but I can agree most pilots hired pre Covid should see pretty robust seniority movement.

BufordT Justice

10/17:

Atl 7erb
lax 7erb
lax 73nb
nyc 73nb
slc 73nb
SLC 220B
nyc 320b
nyc 220b
dtw 717b

IronMaiden17

Thanks for posting. As someone with a class soon, it would be hard to choose from this list. It’s good to see these to start thinking about what would be best for me and my family so I appreciate it.