DAL 88 Driver

Almost every bit of that is simply your opinion... nothing more, nothing less. And you take my argument to the extreme. Yes, I would love to see them completely get rid of all outsourcing. But that's not what I suggested. I do think it's possible to get rid of most of it. But that will take time because there are contracts that have to be dealt with. In any case, I still think that outsourcing is hurting our profession, results in a bad product for our customers (and therefore ultimately hurts, not helps, our company), and is a safety issue. You are free to disagree all you want. But that won't change what I have observed and what I have learned during a lifetime of paying attention to business (including a business degree and experience in business) and my 34 years in aviation. In the end, it's simply my opinion versus yours... and this is an anonymous public web board. So we can all take this stuff FWIW. Good luck to you with that management job!

JoeMerchant

That's why under the current situation, I don't advocate "raising the bar" here at ASA...I understand that economic reality, and so do many of us now...We aren't interested in "pricing ourselves out of a job"....The days of CMR type "raising the bar" are over at the regionals. Of course that will simply put more downward pressure on you guys....

iceman49

Not until he show's his birth certificate.

DAL 88 Driver

That's a complete distortion of what I've been saying. Regional pilots are some of the best qualified individuals to fly for a major airline. At my previous airline, I was a DC-9 instructor and trained new hires. In the end, the military and civilian guys both did very well. But it made my job a lot easier at the beginning of the training if I got a regional pilot to train. They've already been flying Part 121 mostly in the same airspace and environment as mainline.

What I have been clearly saying is that I don't think being a regional pilot automatically qualifies to be a major airline pilot. The hiring standards are lower (especially these days) and, with the career being worth basically HALF what it used to be worth, the profession cannot possibly be attracting the same caliber of people in general. I've already made this argument. You just want to skip past what I'm really saying and try to paint me as some mainline-pilot-snob-regional-pilot-hater. That couldn't be further from the truth! I just think it would be a huge mistake to give regional pilots a fast track to mainline without using an appropriate evaluation process to determine if the individual has the experience and the attributes to do the job to the high standards (including safety standards) this industry and its customers have come to expect. For the vast majority of today's regional pilots, that should be no problem at all... and I would fully expect to see many, many of them in our new hire classes, just like it has been for the past couple of decades.

dosbo

WOW, is all I can say.

Your must be working for your local ALPA chapter.

After being on the street for almost three years, if this is the attitude of regional pilots I should just give up on this career and move on.

JoeMerchant

You yourself just pointed out what happened to CMR, AWAC, and ACA....Horizon is quickly following....What would you have us do? Maybe when ALPA decides to negotiate as ONE, rather than 7 or 8, this can change...

scambo1

ALPA is the largest advocate of the toilet bowl affect on the career. They just can't help themselves and keep on flushing.

dosbo

Value your services as if you were responsible for $25,000,000.00 worth of equipment, and made decisions that keep people alive when the weather is $hit, dispatch tries to give you a broke aircraft, or ATC gives you clearances that are jacked up.

Until we value what our skills are and quit assuming that anyone can do this job we are just all screwed.

JoeMerchant

I do value my skills...however you made a good case for what happens when someone values their skills more than what the market is currently bearing...It was you that reminded me what happens when you get like CMR, AWAC, or ACA...You were right in that assessment you made...What are you suggesting we do? Follow in your footsteps?

dosbo

No you are right. Perhaps you should just keep working cheaper than the other guy, just for the love of flying. After all who really needs to make a reasonable return on the inveestment in an aviation career.

With your perception of reality you have reached the pinnacle of your career, congratulations.

You will be happy looking forward to a career of concessionary contracts as the current regional du-jour is next years overpriced carrier ala Comair. It doesn't matter if you get an industry leading contract or keep your low rates, because in the next contract cycle if you currently have the contract then you are too expensive.