Trislander
How's that a bad career move if they have already proven that they're business model works?
It has nothing to do with business models, it has to do with your marketability as a pilot, should you want to move on at some point. If, for example, you base closes and you choose to move on rather than change your place of residence, you are going to find how many openings for an EMB-rated pilot? Virtually none. So now you will probably have to go and buy a 737/A320 type rating to become employable. That's why I used the word "career".
Flightrider
There could be any number of reasons why the 737 trial was right at the time but perhaps isn't the right method for the long-term future.
But there aren't. All the research that showed a 150-seat aircraft as the best choice, is still valid. There are many reasons why the Embraer is a bad choice, and only one reason that it is a good choice - the price.
By the way, I'm not angry at all. I've always liked flybe as a company, despite some severe provocation over the years, and I have a lot of respect for JF. But I'm not blind, and I do have some well-placed "sources". It is absolutely obvious that flybe wanted the bigger aircraft, but simply cannot pay for them at the moment. The Embraer is like the Q400, a new aircraft that the manufacturer is desperate to establish a market for. Deals will be done with early customers, and that is why these aircraft are coming our way.
I'm sure it will be well equipped and nice to fly, but it will never be a good career move for those that actually have ambition beyond flybe.
girt big un
What is it about you guys, you work for a good company, you get paid on time so why dont you just fly and shut up about your needs for YOUR future.
Spoken like a true company man...
The reason that some consider their needs and their future, is because they know that the company won't (and can't). Much as I like some aspects of flybe, they have a terrible record of displacing people at short notice, closing bases at the drop of a hat, and generally screwing people around. You have to look after yourself.
The bottom line is that I do have needs, and I do care about my future, and I have to act to protect that. If you want to end your career poling a Q400, then good for you. Most of us want a little more from our careers, and it is becoming increasingly clear that the company will never be able to satisfy that need. The carrot of a 737 rating was a potential career progression path, and the semi-carrot that was the "narrow body jet" payscale was another - the implication being that a wide-body jet was coming.
Having heard JF say many, many times that the company needed a 150-seat jet to move the business on, I am convinced that the Embraer was not the first choice - but the only choice left to them. The market has not changed in a way that would make the Embraer a good choice - if anything, it has moved the other way. The other LoCos recognise that the 150 seat aircraft is the smallest practical proposition for that business model - it has nothing to do with fuel burn either. We will have to carry several extra crews for the same pax numbers, for example. There are other costs - more landing fees per pax, more engineering per pax, and so on.