Debate: stay at a regional, or go to a major?

And what airline do you make over 100k in the second year at? Would they hire someone who doesn't have an in-company recommendation? Why do you think your situation applies to everyone else?

The fact is that most major airlines that are hiring right now make around $60/hour in year 2. See www.airlinepilotcentral.com.

I am willing to 'face it,' that I am outsourced labor. I just don't care. It is a reality of the business. The lifers at Eagle made the choices they had to make with the situation they were dealt. Most of them started at smaller regionals that were bought by Eagle and they have done okay for themselves. There's no reason to be a jerk about it. You have a bit of an inflated self-importance.



UPS. We've hired plenty recently with NO internal recommendations. I never said that it applied to anyone else.
 
ORDinary, make your own decision. Let others make theirs. It sounds like you're trying to justify a decision to stay, and trash all the majors as being horrible places to be. They're not! I left Eagle after 6 years in 2001 to go to AA. I got furloughed not once but twice but AA. Even knowing how it ended, I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Some people want to stay, some people want to leave.

I've made my decision and I agree that everyone will have to make their own as well. I'm just curious to hear other people's views about it because it is probably the biggest career decision that a lot of people will have to make.
 
You mean lifer? Face it, you ARE outsourced cheap labor. The EXACT same reason that the call centers in India exist. Except the jobs in India are high paying!

And what airline do you make over 100k in the second year at? Would they hire someone who doesn't have an in-company recommendation? Why do you think your situation applies to everyone else?

The fact is that most major airlines that are hiring right now make around $60/hour in year 2. See www.airlinepilotcentral.com.

I am willing to 'face it,' that I am outsourced labor. I just don't care. It is a reality of the business. The lifers at Eagle made the choices they had to make with the situation they were dealt. Most of them started at smaller regionals that were bought by Eagle and they have done okay for themselves. There's no reason to be a jerk about it. You have a bit of an inflated self-importance.

Ding Ding Ding.........even as a JC noob [size=-4](not meant in a derogatory way)[/size].....you got that one right. I don't think I've seen a single positive post by BX since he's been a member [size=-4](<---term used loosely)[/size] of the JC community. :rolleyes: :whatever:
 
[SIZE=+2]Yep, taken from APC hiring section of UPS:[/SIZE]

Pilot application window closed since May 10th.

Interviewing M-F. Projecting approx. 230 new-hires in 2007. 1 to 2 classes per month.

Last posted minimums:
1500 TT
1000 PIC jet and/or ME turboprop
ATP or ATPw (current)
FE or FEw (current)
Bachelor's degree "preferred"
Transoceanic crossing experience as either PIC or SIC

Second year FO pay in
2008: $112/hr
2009: $122/hr
2010: $132/hr
2011: $143/hr
2012: $149/hr

Also seeking ground school instructors. MD11 instructor application.


We've been hiring pilots without transoceanic crossing experience too. I guess you could call the our "token commuter pilots". But most of them have to start out in the light twin.
 
We've been hiring pilots without transoceanic crossing experience too. I guess you could call the our "token commuter pilots". But most of them have to start out in the light twin.

Hey BX....thanks. I think that might have been your first positive post! ;) You're on the road to recovery! Just continue to follow the 12 step process and it'll all work out.
 
Ding Ding Ding.........even as a JC noob [SIZE=-4](not meant in a derogatory way)[/SIZE].....you got that one right. I don't think I've seen a single positive post by BX since he's been a member [SIZE=-4](<---term used loosely)[/SIZE] of the JC community. :rolleyes: :whatever:


You expect everyone to blow sunshine up your butt saying that everything will be OK and that you all will live your life at your dream job that you fantasized about during flight school?
 
Keep in mind that there is no guarantee of anything in this industry. The regional job that seems really great right now, may simply not be there for a variety of reasons 5, 10, 20 years from now. The major/legacy job may not be there either! Just ask the PanAm, TWA and Eastern guys about guarantees!

Bottom line: Make the best decisions you can, based on the information you have available to you at the time. It's all you can do. If you make it through an entire career without seeing a furlough or company dissolvment, you're doing very well. Most people will face some sort of setback in their career. You deal with it best you can and move on.
 
You expect everyone to blow sunshine up your butt saying that everything will be OK and that you all will live your life at your dream job that you fantasized about during flight school?

Nope, not in the least. However, you seem to continually berate any and all people on here who haven't followed in your footsteps to achieve our career goals. In repeated posts by you....you mention how the regional pilots/ airlines are the root of all evil in the industry today. How we shouldn't try to improve the airline we work for....since it's not a career. Yet, you admit that there aren't enough major jobs for everyone, so we need to accept the fact we'll be 'stuck' here at the regional level. I ask you this: shouldn't all PROFESSIONAL pilots try to improve the industry across the board? We're all in this together....and although you might like to think you're safe in your ivory tower that is UPS.......what happens at one airline affects us all, some more so than others.

You post from your high and mighty position at a job many would like to have. But, instead of doing ANYTHING to help....you take your ball and go home. That is VERY, VERY contradictory to the mission statement of JC.
So, when you posted a fact that UPS has hired people w/out transoceanic time, despite what the hiring mins state.....that was positive....albeit, barely....but coming from you, that was a start.








By the way, I'm still waiting for your contact information......you know, so I can get that recommendation for UPS. ;)
 
It's a lot more complicated than just "do I go to a major over a regional?" Where will you be based? How much of a paycut (most CAs going from a regional to a major are gonna see one) will I take? How long will I be away from my family at a time? How stable is the major I'm going to?

All are questions (and some others) that need to be asked before making the jump. A few months ago, I wouldn't have even applied at NWA over upgrading here at PCL. Now that they're on the road to recovery contract wise, I might consider taking a job there (not that I'll get an offer, but the app is in anyway). I probably wouldn't make NWA my final career destination, but with PCL management playing head games and "hide the financial results" all the time, I see NWA as more stable than this particular regional. XJT's got a good thing if the gamble pays off in the end, so that's a regional I can see guys staying at for a long time. We've got guys that are more or less "stuck" here at PCL b/c they've either overstretched themselves financially to the point they can't afford the pay cut (albeit temporary) to go to a major or they just don't want to commute and live in MEM. Living in MEM and not commuting sorta limits your options.

My personal #1 goal is to get back on at SWA as a pilot instead of a ramper. In order to do that, I'll need the TPIC (coming next year), internal recs (working on that one as we speak), a 737 type rating (know where I'll probably get it that, but awaiting a "scouting report" on how the training is) and a lot of luck. Now, if while I'm working on that someone like CAL or DAL calls, I'd probably take that and shift my goals. DAL, Airtran and even jetBlue are all viable alternates b/c my goal is to move back to MCO. All are fairly easy commutes from MCO (ATL and FLL, even if Airtran and jetBlue don't open the rumored MCO bases). CAL is a little trickier, and I'd probably wind up moving to Dallas for that one and commute from there. I wouldn't mind FedEx, but I just don't want to live in MEM the rest of my life. United is a little shaky for me. They have no growth plans and no aircraft on order. To me, that's a prime candidate for a merger with someone else, so you run the risk of getting hired only to be stapled or going through an ugly merger with another airline.
 
We've been hiring pilots without transoceanic crossing experience too. I guess you could call the our "token commuter pilots". But most of them have to start out in the light twin.

You guys need to hire more freight dawgs i.e. Starcheckers and AMFers. You'll make my mom a very happy woman. She's more infatuated than I in flying for the big brown one day.:)
 
You guys need to hire more freight dawgs i.e. Starcheckers and AMFers. You'll make my mom a very happy woman. She's more infatuated than I in flying for the big brown one day.:)


I'd love to help any of you guys out.
 
Would you really tell that to a 47-year-old regional captain making 110k with 16 days off a month? We have a lot of those at Eagle.

It's the 'in between' time that's the kicker.

The problem with regional flying is that AMR can decide that it's paying for too many 47 year old $110K RJ captains, issue an RFP for that flying and suddenly, they're only paying for 27 year old $45K RJ captains at a much lower cost at a different airline.
 
Brand X

"You mean lifer? Face it, you ARE outsourced cheap labor. The EXACT same reason that the call centers in India exist. Except the jobs in India are high paying!"

"You expect everyone to blow sunshine up your butt saying that everything will be OK and that you all will live your life at your dream job that you fantasized about during flight school?"

"I'd love to help any of you guys out"

I won't be holding my breath buddy..,:yup:
Gotta love the attitude of this guy.., way to be a Mentor.., Sarcastic antagonism mixed in with ALOT of condescension!
Yeah, this is the professional I want our young folks to model themselves after.., way to go B-X, way to pay it foward!
 
Whoah whoah whoah.

Folks this isn't fightinfo, chill the hell out. Don't be the first yellowcard on a sunny friday morning in Scottsdale at 1017am.
 
I'm just trying to figure out why you are working on the answer to a problem you don't have. You are really defending the position to stay Eagle for these guys. Why? I have enough of my own choices to make right now, I can't imagine wanting to figure what someone else will do in a difficult situation.
 
I think going to a "major" should be the obvious decision. Personally I would love to but I am not yet qualified, so I will keep grinding it out at the regionals much like that Triple A baseball player who may or may not one day get the call.
 
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