If we start seeing an eventual upturn in travel here like what is happening in some regions overseas, Rex will inevitably start seeing an ‘exodus’ and ‘mass poaching’ of pilots from their turboprop and fledging jet operations.
Don’t be fooled though.
As much as we’ll see the inevitable whinging about pilots being ‘stolen’, the reality is that it’s all in the best interests of the Rex business model.
They didn’t buy a 737 sim for ease of access.
Twelve months from now if pilots (or long suffering Saab crew) want a 737 gig they’ll just need to stump up 70k for the endorsement and line training, hell they may even go down the route of offering an endorsement and a couple hundred hours on type for a bit more cash as a revolving door method of keeping the right hand seat warm.
As for the cadets, those writing the best motivational letters and picking the most weeds at AAPA might be offered the coveted chance of going straight to the 737.... for a few extra 10s of thousands of dollars and extra years of commitment!