Best Regional to work for???

flyguy25

flyguy25

Well-Known Member
So say you got an offer to every regional you applied for and you had to make the choice of which one to work for. Based on pay, days off, company, etc….. which one would you choose and why? And which ones would you absolutely avoid?
 
I think it depends on what you want. Living in the Detroit area, I view Compass, Expressjet (ASA), and Pinnacle as being the best because they'd allow me to live in domicile. Obviously not many people would currently list Pinnacle as the best haha. I wish that was a question with a straightforward answer, but as pilots, we'd find something to complain about at any of them. With that said, I can't recall ever hearing anything negative about Air Wisconsin, and on the flip side, not much good about Republic. It's all perspective though.
 
melltimejr said:
I think it depends on what you want. Living in the Detroit area, I view Compass, Expressjet (ASA), and Pinnacle as being the best because they'd allow me to live in domicile. Obviously not many people would currently list Pinnacle as the best haha. I wish that was a question with a straightforward answer, but as pilots, we'd find something to complain about at any of them. With that said, I can't recall ever hearing anything negative about Air Wisconsin, and on the flip side, not much good about Republic. It's all perspective though.
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Yeah, you'd think that.

Unless you're on the ERJ.

Or unless you're a new hire that's put into the CRJ-200 and then equipment locked.

I fully expect to bid DTW when I'm working with Derg before I am able to bid the CRJ in DTW.
 
SeattlePilot said:
The one that hired you
The one that is close to home
The one that has good work rules
The one that pays the best

The order of these will depend on the person who got the offer
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This^^^

The one that hires you and is closest to home is the most important IMO.
 
This is like asking which stripper is the hottest.
Not because they're hot, but because they are hot, and you aren't going home with them.
So the question really is moot.
 
Pick the regional that works best for your values. If you don't know what you value yet, think about it. Let me say this though - it is great that you are in a position to "pick" your regional.

For me, I did not want to commute more than anything else. It sounds cool at first, but it takes up a lot of 'off' time. It takes me 20 minutes to drive to the airport, park my car, ride the bus to the terminal, and get inside to sign in. Some people can take literally a day to get that accomplished. I also wanted a stable airline with a decent upgrade time. In the time I have been at the Beagle, that has changed, and is a good point to make as well: The regional industry in general is very unstable.

I think one thing a lot of potential new hires do not evaluate enough is contract language. For example, if you just looked at pay, you would think Republic versus Eagle is not that bad. Republic has no cancellation pay though. That means every time a flight cancels (Wx, crew, Mx), you don't get paid. In the winter you could go every day with cancellations. At Eagle, you get paid for your schedule.

Just some things to think about.
 
Like loadmaster said, pick a regional that HAS cancellation pay. I'd rather have cancellation pay than a signing bonus (especially if you're based in EWR).
 
* Driving to work is the best.
* Being a lineholder is awesome.
* Good reserve rules will make commuting suck less.

Act accordingly.
 
Jed1087 said:
Like loadmaster said, pick a regional that HAS cancellation pay. I'd rather have cancellation pay than a signing bonus (especially if you're based in EWR).
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One the note of CBAs, some things that are important to have

-CNX Pay
-Block or Better
-Min Day/Duty Rig/Line or Trip Guarantee (blocking 70 hours and crediting 100 is pretty nice)
-Affordable Insurance (if you are going to need a plan)
-100% Deadhead pay
-Some sort of 401k that matches more than 5% in higher longevity years
-Solid (minimal gray area) scheduling language
-Solid (and active) grievance language so that when the company does violate the above areas, you can get it taken care of
 
In my opinion the regional that will allow you to live in base would be the best choice. All other factors will have less of an impact on your QOL than living in base. The pay is dismal as an FO no matter where you go. I'm at one of the "best" regionals and the pay on reserve is barely livable even on 2nd year.
 
DenverPilot8 said:
In my opinion the regional that will allow you to live in base would be the best choice. All other factors will have less of an impact on your QOL than living in base. The pay is dismal as an FO no matter where you go. I'm at one of the "best" regionals and the pay on reserve is barely livable even on 2nd year.
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You gonna do the mci commute?
 
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