Originally Posted by
rod_1986
I can’t understand why the US majors haven’t simply pressured the US Government to open up more visas for experienced pilots and the FAA to start cross-recognising other regulator’s licences. This (amazing and impressive) virtuous pay spiral will cost them billions of dollars in the long term.
Or is the lobbying power of ALPA (et al) so much stronger than we have with unions this side of the pond?
Genuine answers from our American colleagues welcome! In the meantime I’ll just look on in awe.
my wife is from Europe and currently flies for a US carrier… as do I. Clearly things are trending in the right direction over here, but American is still waiting for a contract.
I can remember years ago when I wanted to fly in Europe, and there was no way for me to easily convert a license or get employment. I think there may be a shortage at the regional anirlines over here, but not at the legacy airlines. That may change in the next year or two, but not currently.
I think we’d have benefited from no direct entry captains, and not having different contracts for different groups. We are all one at each airline. It is like a marriage over here.! Get your number and stand in line. It can be painful, but in the end, I think it benefits the pilot group as a whole. I speak with my friends at Lufthansa and I hear how they have different pilots hired in different years with different contracts. Crazy!