Mr Rumbold

Is it worth giving up several months seniority at regional A that has suck pay to chase $ at regional B?
Base would no factor; I can move.
You risk being at the bottom of the seniority list, but if they hire 600 pilots and you make the move early, you're way up there.
You risk having a crap day in the sim on checkride day and being on the street.
But your reward could be a much better QOL thanks to a major pay increase.

HereToWin

I was simply trying to give my insight from the two regionals I worked for this year. A lot has changed at 9E since I was there. The pilots and people I worked with and trained with were awesome.

I will say the same for the people I have met and work with at RJET, too. Great people. I was not going on a tangent about which is the better to go to. As you can see at the conclusion of my post, the moral of my point(s) were to pick the place the does the best for you and your family/needs/dreams/etc. It is a great time to be a pilot and regardless of where you pick, the future has yet to be revealed.

Pick your job. You will be flying and getting paid. You will be an airline pilot. If one fails, there are others out there to work for. Just make a decision. Every day that passes you without a class date in hand is another day that somebody else is above you in seniority.

I remember my 9E class had 29 people. Class behind that was 32. Lots of new faces coming in back then and I am sure it is still the same up until now.

RJET, my class had 10 people. The classes behind that continued to grow until the new contract was voted in. Now, all classes are booked full at 90+ noobs through Feb (as the rumor mill has it).

As stated before...the pay for being a regional pilot is on the climb. Take your pick. Take the one that suites you best and go from there. If it doesn't work or you don't like it, go somewhere else until you find what you want. In any case, stop procrastinating and get your foot in the door. Seniority is everything in this business.

ImissXJ

Regional B has an awesome training dept. and a few months seniority is worth the move...

ImissXJ

You're right, higher pay is a sure sign of being "behind the ball" 9E is doomed! hahaha

Out Of Trim

Thanks for your kind words. After mulling it over for a couple of weeks I finally ended up going with SkyWest.It was a very difficult decision though because several others were right up there at the top of my final list ... Endeavor, Piedmont, PSA, Compass, and GoJet were particularly appealing to me although I could easily have gone with any one of the 9 if my own personal priorities and requirements were different.These happened to be the ones that best fit my own situation. And, by the way, yes PSA and Piedmont, but because of the excellent companies they are ... not because of AA flows. I personally don't place much value on that whole concept because I think anyone who wants to go will soon be able to make it there just as fast (or faster) on their own.

In the end it was SkyWest over the rest because of the opportunity to base (within driving distance) at IAH and commuting to anywhere else from south Texas can be a real pain. I also considered the strength of SW, although there are several things that SW doesn't offer that many of the other airlines do. It's definitely a juggling act when it comes to evaluating what each does or doesn't offer.

Once all things were considered, I found it to be a pretty level field. As a matter of fact, SW was my first interview and I remember leaving thinking while it seemed really good, I had a lot more lined up to visit and the odds were that at least one of them would be better. There would be at least 4 or 5 more times that I was to walk out thinking 'this is the one'. I'm glad I didn't just latch onto one right away instead of continuing on to see each of them. Not only did that help a lot toward discovering what factors actually should be most important to me, but you really do learn a fair amount about each company in the process. So, if anyone interested who is considering one or the other wants an unbiased report of what I experienced I'll be glad to share it.

The good news for us is that if you come to find out you've made an incorrect decision it's not the end of the world.It's just way too easy to quickly go back and fix it by rehiring with another.There are extremely few occupations with such easy movement between companies as there is right now in this one.

So far, I'm still satisfied that SkyWest was a smart choice ... for me. While I admit that I know nothing about the training offered at the others, I can honestly say that I've been very happy with the quality of the training so far at SW. What surprised me most wasn't the remarkable capability and knowledge of the instructors, but how much genuine care they had and how much extra they gave of themselves ... far beyond what the company requires of them, I'm sure. This was quite refreshing to see and quite unexpected in a class with 70+ people.

Gearswinger

With your situation, I agree, Skywest can't be beat. I've got to ask, why would Gojet be appealing at all? I can't imagine why anyone would have a choice of airlines and think they are a good choice. I'm not saying anything about the pilot group, I sat on a Gojet jump seat the other day and the crew was great, but the company, and how they treat the pilots? No way, not worth it.

seattlepilot

If you live in NYC area RAH has got growth in both LGA and EWR side of the house. There are more airframes added or shifted to both airports. In LGA you will only see reserve in the month you come out of training. EWR may be 1 or 2 months.

The old ways of doing business towards employees are changing in RAH. People are picking up open time left and right, company is buying hotel rooms in bulk and if you are commuter, you will get a room on company dime if it's available, anything 87 hours pays %125, anything picked up in open time is %150.
If you pick 145 as your aircraft of choice, I heard the bonus is $20K now.
Still LGA and JFK bases on that bird.

Do what it's best for you..

KYhawkdriver

What equipment is flown out of CMH and is it still junior for FO's?

Jammy

Hotels for commuters!? I'm currently looking at Endeavor, PSA, and Republic and was under the impression that none of them offered hotels. Does anyone know if that is correct?

glassnpowder98

It happens, but don't count on it all the time. If they have "extra" rooms, scheduling will occasionally give one to you. If you are the type to pick up open time, you might have better luck. Personally, I just show up when I'm scheduled to work. Sometimes either weather or my schedule gets me stuck in NY for a night without a place to sleep and I'm about 20% on asking for and receiving a room.