The bashing is stupid. Gulfstream offered a service and some pilots took up on that service for a cost. Gulfstream has also hired street pilots, both CAs and FOs in its past history. I know many pilots who have successfully launched their careers at Gulfstream, moved onto airlines like Pinnacle, and then onwards to Fedex, Continental, etc.
There is no "lowering the bar" if you go to Gulfstream Academy. The real bar-lowering has been done with ALPA's ineffectiveness post-9/11. Anyway, Gulfstream is a safe, legit operation and anyone who uses this FO program to say it's unsafe is only using an emotional reasoning, not a factual one. Gulfstream is one of the few regionals to have a 100% safe fatal-free record. It also offers a path other than CFIing or banner towing to get to other regionals. To each his own, but lets end the unnecessary bashing.
