Originally Posted by
reazasassain
You guys do realize American carriers are already hiring foreign pilots. In fact there are Australian Cathay pilots who have recently been hired by Sky West. Some SOs are jumping ship for better opportunities in America. Sky West is capable of hiring foreign pilots under the US immigration E visa.
The big difference is that the regionals are
NOT career-destination airlines...merely steppingstones for the majority of people. Hence, the attitude surrounding them is less "intense"...the E-3 visa is a wholly different animal. It's remains arguable,
just as an example, whether E-3 holders will be able to "flow" from AA's three wholly-owned" regionals to mainline AA holding only an E-3 visa (and perhaps no college degree). I've not heard that the first Aussie E-3 holder has made the jump via a defined "flow".
The influx of Aussies to US regional carriers is well documented although I admit to being surprised people would leave CX to fly for a regional here.