Another "which regional should I choose" thread....

chrisreedrules

chrisreedrules

Master Blaster
I have offers from several:

PDT
PSA
SKW

My situation: I own a house in and will be commuting out of JAX. I'm stuck here for the foreseeable future. So an easy commute means a lot to me. And pay does as well, but it is secondary to an easy commute.

My impression/thoughts on each:

PDT... Probably left me with the most favorable impression of their airline. They genuinely seemed to want all of us there and were very open and honest about the future of the airline. They said that there is a possibility of getting jets starting in 2015. But they also said that wasn't a guarantee. Good pay and good health benefits for me and my family. Definitely a 2-leg commute from JAX. I'd likely have to commute to either Charlotte or Philly and then to my domicile. This would certainly eat up some time off.

PSA... Very straight forward interview. They didn't sugarcoat or downplay anything. In fact, they didn't really tell us much of anything about the company. It seemed as if they basically assumed that everyone interviewing already knew everything about the company. Average pay for a regional and apparent growth. The biggest plus to me is that holding CLT shouldn't take long, and it will be a short one-leg commute from JAX. Maximizes my time off will likely leave me happier overall.

SKW... Great airline. Really long sit in the right seat for an upgrade. Plus is that I would be making great pay (for a regional) while I sit in that right seat. Likely ORD based flying the new 175s and I've been told to realistically expect a 12+ month sit on reserve. That sounds about as unappealing as it gets. ORD wouldn't be a totally horrible commute from JAX (at least it's a 1-leg commute) but it's still halfway across the country so the chances of Wx and other factors impacting my commute increase.

So what would you do in my shoes?
 
killbilly said:
I just wanted to say congrats. I've been following your interview travails. This is a good problem for you to have.
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Yea I really can't complain. My friends who have been at the regionals for a couple of years now have told me when they were trying to get a job, one a small handful were even hiring. For me, everyone was hiring, and I got quite a few offers. These are the 3 I wittled it down to. CommutAir is one I am still sort of considering but I think I would choose PSA over them right now.
 
A few things.

First, Skywest doesn't pay great for a regional; they pay average. The TA that XJT turned down was worth millions more than the SAPA agreement, and that was an overall pay cut from the current ERJ contract.

Second, go to PSA.
 
PSA.

The new contract wasn't all bad, and as far as upward mobility and future of a company go, PSA is one of the best right now.
 
From what you've said, PSA would be the most logical choice to maximize your QoL plus they seem to have an awful lot of movement coming up which will only help your commuting situation.
 
PSA, PDT, SKW. Im guessing the PDT base structure will change when they get the Jets, but go with the more sure thing.
 
Psa is the jelly of the month, perhaps tsa next month. Maybe another the month after that. Jax can be a tough commute. I know a few guys who drive down to orlando so you may want to think about having to do that. As a commuter you probly want to consider min days off on reserve and as a line holder as a factor.
 
cstewart6 said:
Psa is the jelly of the month, perhaps tsa next month. Maybe another the month after that. Jax can be a tough commute. I know a few guys who drive down to orlando so you may want to think about having to do that. As a commuter you probly want to consider min days off on reserve and as a line holder as a factor.
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Yea I figured that was going to happen at least some of the time. I talked to a USAir CA who lives in JAX and he said even though there are 6 flights a day from JAX to CLT on company metal, he still runs into situations making the commute difficult from time to time. I guess a ton of airline pilots live in JAX.
 
chrisreedrules said:
Yea I figured that was going to happen at least some of the time. I talked to a USAir CA who lives in JAX and he said even though there are 6 flights a day from JAX to CLT on company metal, he still runs into situations making the commute difficult from time to time. I guess a ton of airline pilots live in Florida.
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FIFY.

There's nowhere in Florida that is an easy commute.
 
I'm another vote for PSA. Guy I used to fly with started there in March and is very happy. He had offers from them and Republic. The schedule manipulation that is available once you hold a line is unbelievable and the movement means you won't have to wait long to take advantage of it.
 
Commute to CLT really shouldn't be too much of an issue with the new check in rules. Just be ready to check in right at 24 hours prior and you should be good to go.

For the love of god DO NOT force yourself into a 2 leg commute.
 
Movement seems pretty good at PSA right now which means you'll get off reserve quickly. Remember, with the rapid movement your goal is to get your 1000 121 time to be upgrade eligible (@desertdog71 can talk about that I think) and then get your 1000 TPIC so Southwest will take you (hahah). Once off reserve, PSA will provide more scheduling flexibility than any other regional out there right now through SAP. The commute from JAX to CLT isn't great but a) it's going to FCFS for non rev and b) if you need to you can always drive down to DAB or MLB and catch the jumpseat on a PSA flight.

I was mostly happy for the 8 years I was there and from what I see, things are 1000x better now than they were then.
 
BobDDuck said:
Movement seems pretty good at PSA right now which means you'll get off reserve quickly. Remember, with the rapid movement your goal is to get your 1000 121 time to be upgrade eligible (@desertdog71 can talk about that I think) and then get your 1000 TPIC so Southwest will take you (hahah). Once off reserve, PSA will provide more scheduling flexibility than any other regional out there right now through SAP. The commute from JAX to CLT isn't great but a) it's going to FCFS for non rev and b) if you need to you can always drive down to DAB or MLB and catch the jumpseat on a PSA flight.

I was mostly happy for the 8 years I was there and from what I see, things are 1000x better now than they were then.
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I would almost just drive to dab off the bat to get to CLT personally. 2 legs is hell.
 
BobDDuck said:
Movement seems pretty good at PSA right now which means you'll get off reserve quickly. Remember, with the rapid movement your goal is to get your 1000 121 time to be upgrade eligible (@desertdog71 can talk about that I think) and then get your 1000 TPIC so Southwest will take you (hahah). Once off reserve, PSA will provide more scheduling flexibility than any other regional out there right now through SAP. The commute from JAX to CLT isn't great but a) it's going to FCFS for non rev and b) if you need to you can always drive down to DAB or MLB and catch the jumpseat on a PSA flight.

I was mostly happy for the 8 years I was there and from what I see, things are 1000x better now than they were then.
Click to expand...

There's no way you were happy there for 8 years because the internet hates PSA.
 
jtrain609 said:
There's no way you were happy there for 8 years because the internet hates PSA.
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The internet should stick to what it knows best (porn) and not pontificate so much.

And what are you doing on JC? Shouldn't you be reading about brutally assaulting a horse or something?
 
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