Originally Posted by
A Squared
...there are plenty of captains at plenty of regional airlines who would be more then happy to retain their seniority, and not move, or have to commute, if the pay scale and work rules were better. Not "same as a major airline" better but enough better that the disparity was not so wide that they were willing dive to the bottom of a much larger seniority list, move to a different city, go back to the right seat (probably for a long time) all to gain the better pay and working conditions.
AxA,
I agree.
While I don’t have complete seniority data from all the regionals there are undoubtedly many folks who’d be quite happy with a career at the regional level if things like pay/retirement/etc were better. A good lifestyle is a good lifestyle regardless of the airplane one flies.
However, in the current environment and organization of the major-regional relationship, the regionals are in a precarious position that may or may not be a suitable choice long term regardless of the pay structure.
As a mere example, the only seniority list I’ve seen in its entirety is the post-integration ASA-XJT list. The top third of that list had been there 15 years or more.
I frequently see these folks called “lifers”.
I’m not much on political correctness but the use of that term has a distinct pejorative ring to it: loser is the message. I’m not willing to disparage the career circumstances of hundreds if not thousands of people about whom I know nothing. What I do know is the profession is heavily driven by cyclical influences beyond the individual’s control…and mainline airline hiring mindset is nothing but erratic. We all have personal knowledge of mainline’s quixotic, whimsical behavior; they can just leave a great candidate in the dust by no fault of his own (and hire a bozo instead).
A regional career should be a viable option but at the moment, it’s a riskier choice than mainline…and that’s unfortunate.