Another angle too is that a lot of the regionals aren't really airlines any more (many don't own aircraft, do not have reservation systems, don't own routes, have no advertising, etc), but more of a 'capacity provider'. United needs 50 seats from ABC to XYZ and CHQ, YV, SKY all 'bid' on that flying. The lowest cost gets the route.
So you can get on with GoJets, be at the top of the seniority list and then if that contract isn't renewed because they can't competitively bid on flying because of CheapJets pays their pilots even less and underbid all of GoJets bids, you're back on the street looking for a job.
...and still having to pay all of that PFJ/PFT debt off.
Then, at that point, you may have a wife, a couple kids and a mortgage only to realize that the only jobs available pay welfare-eligible wages for a family of four.
Anger.
Dismay.
And then the realization. They're paying low wages because there's a line of 500 hour pilots with cash in hand, willing to pay their way into a job to get that seniority number as fast as possible.
So to answer your question, yes there are other ways to get into the cockpit rather than the military or traditional methods of civilian time building. But if you drop some cash to buy yourself a job, you have no one to blame but yourself when the average burger flipper at In-N-Out burger earns far more than a new CRJ FO.
|