deltajuliet

Of those, my suggested order of preference would be:

1.) Mesa (obviously, I picked it)
2.) TSA
3.) Republic

Mesa: Quick upgrade time, seems like we're constantly getting more contracts and planes (i.e. sustained upgrades), and the company's outlook is stable and bright, so don't expect to be furloughed or laid off.

TSA: Quick upgrade, I hear almost as fast as Mesa's, but they operate ERJ-145's which aren't long for this world. Trans State Holdings has some Mitsubishi regional jets on order, and while it's possible they could go to one of the other subsidiaries, I hear they're going to TSA, solidifying its ability to continue operating profitably. If anyone else can confirm or deny who's getting those MRJ's, please do.

Republic: Really advise against them. Everyone I know who's worked there hated it. In fact, some of our new-hires quit Republic and came here since their upgrade time is 5-7 years. With staffing problems and labor relation issues, it might not get any quicker, especially if the majors lose confidence in RAH's ability to perform.

That's my humble 2 cents. Hope it's helpful.

sevenforseven

Hey guys,

Is DFW > IAH commutable? I'm sure there are tons of flights back and forth, but I'm equally sure those flights are full of commuters. I'm wondering because if things keep going the way they are at my job, I may be headed that way.

tunes

isn't that about to change with CLT closing and shifting to DFW?

Waitingformins

Ive been reading pages ans pages on here and it looks like Mesa will have a base in both DFW and IAH. I never considered MESA just because I wanted no chance of HNL and now it looks like out of the 4 cites my town serves 3 will be Mesa bases.

PiperPower

I was just hired too for the 175. Can anyone give a rundown of how ground school has been going lately? Any delays to get to sim? Do they get you to training or are we on our own for that? I meant to ask them that. Any details on the process would be great.

deltajuliet

That's why I said pretty much, giving that 0.1% chance it might not be. I've been wondering that myself. Nobody seems to want to go to IAD due to living expenses, but once CLT's gone in a year will East coasters transfer to Dulles or commute West?

I'd imagine it will become a little less junior, but still holdable, at least after a little while.

blaine

Just a side note if it hadn't been discussed already. I was told during my interview that the 175 out of IAH will do majority of its trips to Canada. Long flights, good amount of hours per trip and awesome overnights! They also said the trips being built for the 175's have been desirable by the pilots and that the response has been good. Productive long haul trips equals more pay in the wallet. I don't know how long it would take to get from Houston to Canada in a 175, but I imagine you couldn't fit more than one leg per day without timing out on the second. So it sounds like 1 or 2 legs per day, great block times and less hassle than you would have with multiple cities.

PiperPower

I heard the same thing. Sounds awesome. A lot better than what I do now.

flapshalfspeed

Plus remember the planes from ORD are going to IAD Sept. 20th.

There's too much going on now to make any valid predictions ya'll:

1) People constantly upgrading, cleaning out the FO ranks with the exception of PHX/CLT lifers
2) LAX & DFW opening, ORD & CLT closing, 20 planes moving ORD->IAD
3) IAH EJet base consistently expanding with possibility of EJets in ORD
4) We're somehow still filling classes and upgrading like crazy, but if attrition picks up in the CA ranks, they might go so deep on the seniority list they start hitting the guys with <1000 hours 121 time.

If we start having street upgrades in IAD this Fall, new hires there will be in the strange position of losing relative seniority in base b/c the guys below them are leaving.

All I'm saying is this whole picture is too blurry to predict anything for anyone, and you should have low expectations and eyes wide open in this industry, especially going into 2015.

deltajuliet

And yet, things are positive.