22 years old seeking advice
03-25-2016, 11:21 AM
#1
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Joined APC: Mar 2016
Posts: 54
22 years old seeking advice
A little about me :
I'm about to finish up my commercial multi certificate and i have recently been looking into regional airlines. I'm totally new to this ball game. I've done my best to educate myself about airlines but it all seems very tricky, kind of like they're all trying to take advantage of me and feed me lies.
I'm 22 years old with 340 hours total time, i have a paid off car, and i have a house i can live in for however long i need to. I live in West Palm Beach Florida.
Envoy offers to pay 5,000 for my CFI training at american flyers, and 5,000 in tuition reimbursement for all the training i've already paid for. Also, they claim they'll stick me at american flyers instructing while i build my hours up to ATP minimums. They want to fly me out to Dallas after i get my commercial for an interview.
All of this and in return they want me to sign a 1 year contract with them.
i've read a lot of horrible things about regional airlines, and i've read some good things. The good things mainly coming from the company.
To me this seems to be a great deal with envoy but i want to hear the TRUTH about envoy and their pipeline program.
Are there any other regional airlines that offer deals like this?
What Should i be looking for when choosing a regional airline to work for, other than pay?
Since i have a house, commuting will be my best bet. Is commuting all that bad? If i do commute, does the company offer me a flight directly to my base? I live 5 mins from PBI.
If i sign a 1 year contract with them now, guaranteeing me a job, is it possible that envoy will raise their pay afterwards and ill be stuck making $26 an hour?
I have TONS of questions, and i know there is a lot of information on this website its just very hard to seek through it all. Like i said this is all very new to me and a little intimidating honestly, it has made me wonder if i've made the right career choice.
Oh, and how long is someone looking at being on reserve? I've read that people are 5 year envoy FO's and they're still on reserve. I thought that was like your first 2 months type of thing.
What can someone as a first year FO actually expect to make? some people say as low as 1,000 a month. At that rate im better off being an instructor.
I'm looking at being an instructor for at least a year, and i know a lot of things could possibly change in that time. Is a year from now a good time to get into a regional airline? Have i already missed the best time period to get on board?
Thank you everyone for taking the time to read this, i just dont want to make a wrong decision and mess up the next 10 years of my life, i dont want to be taken advantage of and lied to. I feel like a small fish in a tank full of sharks. I appreciate any advice, thank you
I'm about to finish up my commercial multi certificate and i have recently been looking into regional airlines. I'm totally new to this ball game. I've done my best to educate myself about airlines but it all seems very tricky, kind of like they're all trying to take advantage of me and feed me lies.
I'm 22 years old with 340 hours total time, i have a paid off car, and i have a house i can live in for however long i need to. I live in West Palm Beach Florida.
Envoy offers to pay 5,000 for my CFI training at american flyers, and 5,000 in tuition reimbursement for all the training i've already paid for. Also, they claim they'll stick me at american flyers instructing while i build my hours up to ATP minimums. They want to fly me out to Dallas after i get my commercial for an interview.
All of this and in return they want me to sign a 1 year contract with them.
i've read a lot of horrible things about regional airlines, and i've read some good things. The good things mainly coming from the company.
To me this seems to be a great deal with envoy but i want to hear the TRUTH about envoy and their pipeline program.
Are there any other regional airlines that offer deals like this?
What Should i be looking for when choosing a regional airline to work for, other than pay?
Since i have a house, commuting will be my best bet. Is commuting all that bad? If i do commute, does the company offer me a flight directly to my base? I live 5 mins from PBI.
If i sign a 1 year contract with them now, guaranteeing me a job, is it possible that envoy will raise their pay afterwards and ill be stuck making $26 an hour?
I have TONS of questions, and i know there is a lot of information on this website its just very hard to seek through it all. Like i said this is all very new to me and a little intimidating honestly, it has made me wonder if i've made the right career choice.
Oh, and how long is someone looking at being on reserve? I've read that people are 5 year envoy FO's and they're still on reserve. I thought that was like your first 2 months type of thing.
What can someone as a first year FO actually expect to make? some people say as low as 1,000 a month. At that rate im better off being an instructor.
I'm looking at being an instructor for at least a year, and i know a lot of things could possibly change in that time. Is a year from now a good time to get into a regional airline? Have i already missed the best time period to get on board?
Thank you everyone for taking the time to read this, i just dont want to make a wrong decision and mess up the next 10 years of my life, i dont want to be taken advantage of and lied to. I feel like a small fish in a tank full of sharks. I appreciate any advice, thank you
03-25-2016, 12:01 PM
#4
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Dec 2015
Posts: 416
At 22 years old, probably 24 by the time you get hired, you should be able to survive on first year pay. Yes there are others out that will pay more, but trust me, if you're young and don't have a lot of expenses it is more then doable. As for your question about whether you would be stuck at 26/hour if first year pay goes up, the answer is no. Whatever the current pay structure is, is what you're paid.
I would look down the road a few years and choose a regional that is offering a solid career path moving forward. Envoy sounds like a good option, as does Endeavour. Both are one-leg commutes to base and both offer a positive outlook on their future.
If your intention is to live in south Florida for the long term, then envoy would be good as AA's most junior base is MIA. Right now a new-hire is expected to flow to AA in 5-6 years after joining. That would put you over there before you're 30, which sets you up for a very nice career.
I'm not too familiar with the pipeline program, so I'll let someone else chime in on it. All I can say is study hard because its a long and arduous journey to finally making it to the majors, but hopefully it will have all been worth it. Good luck.
I would look down the road a few years and choose a regional that is offering a solid career path moving forward. Envoy sounds like a good option, as does Endeavour. Both are one-leg commutes to base and both offer a positive outlook on their future.
If your intention is to live in south Florida for the long term, then envoy would be good as AA's most junior base is MIA. Right now a new-hire is expected to flow to AA in 5-6 years after joining. That would put you over there before you're 30, which sets you up for a very nice career.
I'm not too familiar with the pipeline program, so I'll let someone else chime in on it. All I can say is study hard because its a long and arduous journey to finally making it to the majors, but hopefully it will have all been worth it. Good luck.
03-25-2016, 12:07 PM
#6
Line Holder
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Mar 2016
Posts: 54
At 22 years old, probably 24 by the time you get hired, you should be able to survive on first year pay. Yes there are others out that will pay more, but trust me, if you're young and don't have a lot of expenses it is more then doable. As for your question about whether you would be stuck at 26/hour if first year pay goes up, the answer is no. Whatever the current pay structure is, is what you're paid.
I would look down the road a few years and choose a regional that is offering a solid career path moving forward. Envoy sounds like a good option, as does Endeavour. Both are one-leg commutes to base and both offer a positive outlook on their future.
If your intention is to live in south Florida for the long term, then envoy would be good as AA's most junior base is MIA. Right now a new-hire is expected to flow to AA in 5-6 years after joining. That would put you over there before you're 30, which sets you up for a very nice career.
I'm not too familiar with the pipeline program, so I'll let someone else chime in on it. All I can say is study hard because its a long and arduous journey to finally making it to the majors, but hopefully it will have all been worth it. Good luck.
I would look down the road a few years and choose a regional that is offering a solid career path moving forward. Envoy sounds like a good option, as does Endeavour. Both are one-leg commutes to base and both offer a positive outlook on their future.
If your intention is to live in south Florida for the long term, then envoy would be good as AA's most junior base is MIA. Right now a new-hire is expected to flow to AA in 5-6 years after joining. That would put you over there before you're 30, which sets you up for a very nice career.
I'm not too familiar with the pipeline program, so I'll let someone else chime in on it. All I can say is study hard because its a long and arduous journey to finally making it to the majors, but hopefully it will have all been worth it. Good luck.
I'm not even all that obsessed with going to a major as fast as possible, as long as i can get to captain at a regional and make 70k a year, i dont see a problem with that.
Thanks for your input
03-25-2016, 12:19 PM
#9
Covfefe
Joined APC: Jun 2015
Posts: 3,001
The regional landscape will be vastly different by the time you are ATP eligible (2 years?), so any advice on which route to go now is as useful as advice on betting who will win the Super Bowl in 5 years. Just too many variables between now and then to make little more than a barely educated guess.
03-25-2016, 12:25 PM
#10
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Thread Starter
Joined APC: Mar 2016
Posts: 54
What are you going to do when you lose a medical, a recession hits in the next 2 years, age 67 happens, another 9/11 happens, oil goes to $150 a barrel, and/or there is more shrinkage, stagnation, and no one is hiring? I'd get a useful real degree (i.e. not professional aviation) and make a plan B. If that isn't your thing, gamble with ENY/PDT and pray the flow works out as advertised, but statistics and past performance show it won't. That said, the way things are going with projected retirements, you won't be at any regional for more than 5 years if you have a degree.
The regional landscape will be vastly different by the time you are ATP eligible (2 years?), so any advice on which route to go now is as useful as advice on betting who will win the Super Bowl in 5 years. Just too many variables between now and then to make little more than a barely educated guess.
The regional landscape will be vastly different by the time you are ATP eligible (2 years?), so any advice on which route to go now is as useful as advice on betting who will win the Super Bowl in 5 years. Just too many variables between now and then to make little more than a barely educated guess.
Those are all valid points. I never have planned on getting a bachelors degree in anything having to do with aviation for those exact reasons.
I understand i have a while before i'm ATP eligible. That being said, the only reason i'm here bringing any of this up is because envoy wanted to interview me when i get my commercial multi, which is in less than 2 months from now.
One more question. If i plan on commuting, how can i tell how many legs my commute will be? Do i literally just go to american airlines website and see if they have direct routes anywhere out of florida to my base?
Thanks for your input and advice
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