I work for a company operating under part 91 (general operating rules as opposed to charter or airline) flying King Airs. We had one captain who was determined to skip going to the regionals and instead to go directly to Southwest. After long enough of not getting the job, he came to the conclusion that in order to get to the major airlines, the only way is through the regionals, and I must agree that for most of us, that is the only way a major airline will hire you. It is not just a matter of speed, but also making your career happen at all. Also, the pay is a huge factor in everyone wanting to get to a major carrier as quickly as possible. When the regionals keep pay low, that keeps pay in the whole industry low.

Interesting Mark, in Oz it's possible to get into Qantas or Virgin without using the regionals, but then again, the regionals in Australia are set up a bit differently.

I'm not defending the practice of a F/O upgrading after 9 mo's.I too would be uneasy if I knew the experience level in the cockpit was so low. But look at why he progressed so fast-who's seat did he upgrade to? Where did that Capt go?
It's all about building time so you can move up to the majors and eventually earn the big bucks.Who in this world gets paid top dollar first day on the job?
And a pay raise from 21K to 70K!!!!
Again I'm not defending the company -there should be standards in place to insure proper experience level up front.I just think the whole story should be told.

Agreed Al, but a big problem in the industry is our love for flying. Because we all love it and want that big airline job so bad, we will do anything to get it, even if that means work for a wage that even Mcdonalds workers would question.

I do now see the attraction, a fast track to the airlines is nice, but in doing so they are selling their skills short, we are pilots we either just paid 100k+ for our education or spent 10+ years in the service of our country! Lawyers don't sell themselves short to land the big law firm job.

This started say 10 to 20 years ago, when pilots began accepting slightly lower wages, then we kept accepting lower and lower and lower because of that promise of a jet job. In another 10 to 20 years we will have to work pro bono to get a start!