Frontier, Alaska, or Allegiant

E

EWR

Well-Known Member
Out of these 3 airlines which one would you pick?

I am leaning towards Frontier in Denver. I feel it's a better fit over Allegiant because it has a bigger operation.

Alaska seems like it would be a better decision over

Frontier... But their cost of living is super high.

Does UA/DL/AA/WN/5X/FX prefer to hire dispatchers more from F9, AS, or G4?
 
I personally would pick allegiant for the better weather and CoL (and I like to gamble).

My major has hired basically from every airline since COVID and plenty of internals too. There are 3 airlines they have hired a lot from though.
 
It depends on your career goals. If you look at it as a stepping stone, whichever hires you first.

If you want a long term career then I would go with Alaska. If the merger goes through and operations combine, lots of dispatchers wont be making the move from Hawaii to SEA. Your seniority will become very good and there will likely be a joint contract which increases pay. Merger pay raises can be significant.

The legacy majors do hire from LCCs but in substantially lower numbers than regionals and ops center internals. Some of that is because many do go to the LCCs as a career destination and fewer apply to the big boys.

If a legacy airline is your goal, go work for ENY. There is a very high chance of getting to your end goal. Unless you have skeletons in your closet or do something dumb like get promoted, you are basically a shoe in at AA. SWA also hires a decent amount from ENY as well. Friends like to hire friends.
 
I don't think there is 1 answer. It all depends on where you want to live. Do you want the mountains of Colorado, the desert and lights of Vegas, or the PNW. COL is probably similar in all three with neither Nevada nor Washington having a state income tax. $80k to start is enough to live off unless you have a ton of student loans or pay $1000/mo in car payments. 75% of your life is not at work so look at what the cities have to offer and make a decision based on that. But still apply to all you think you would like to be.
 
I had offers for Frontier and Allegiant.

Alaska sent me a
“We know it’s been a little while since you’ve heard from us about your application for the Dispatcher opportunity. We are in a holding pattern but will provide you with a status update soon.”

I don’t want to ruin my chance with Frontier while waiting on Alaska.I think I will accept Frontier. It seems to be the best option for me at the moment.

When you adjust for Cost of Living: $39 an hour in Denver = $54 an hour in Seattle.
I think Alaska starts at about $43 an hour?

I plan to use one of the three as a step to the majors.
 
It also depends on your experience thus far. If you don't have any dispatching experience, you're probably not going to get Alaska. You could go through Horizon first but pay is very low for COL. Even experienced dispatchers didn't get callbacks on the last 2 Alaska openings. I'm not saying don't try, just saying have realistic expectations when you apply and don't be too disappointed if you don't hear back.
 
flygirl142 said:
It also depends on your experience thus far. If you don't have any dispatching experience, you're probably not going to get Alaska. You could go through Horizon first but pay is very low for COL. Even experienced dispatchers didn't get callbacks on the last 2 Alaska openings. I'm not saying don't try, just saying have realistic expectations when you apply and don't be too disappointed if you don't hear back.
Click to expand...
Thank You!
 
I got an offer from Frontier, an upcoming interview with Allegiant, and
Alaska sent an email to me today:
"We know it's been a little while since you've heard from us about your application for the Dispatcher opportunity. We are in a holding pattern but will provide you with a status update soon."

I am right out of dispatch school-I finished school at the end of October.

I think what helped my chances:
I have 2 degrees: A BA and a BS. I have prior Washington DC area FAA contractor and Airline analyst (one of the big 3) experience (non-dispatch)
 
EWR said:
I got an offer from Frontier, an upcoming interview with Allegiant, and
Alaska sent an email to me today:
"We know it's been a little while since you've heard from us about your application for the Dispatcher opportunity. We are in a holding pattern but will provide you with a status update soon."

I am right out of dispatch school-I finished school at the end of October.

I think what helped my chances:
I have 2 degrees: A BA and a BS. I have prior Washington DC area FAA contractor and Airline analyst (one of the big 3) experience (non-dispatch)
Click to expand...
My own experience in dispatch has been that you should take a hard offer over an interview or a possible interview. Take what you can get for sure, and look for better later if you're not happy with it.
 
Smash that accept button at F9. Fun place to work. Denver is amazing. When I started there it was 39k a year. We were poor and still made it work and still enjoyed being in Denver. Your resume sounds interesting, but Alaska is going to be very competitive. I think it is improbable to get hired there without prior experience. W/ F9's latest contract you can make it a career if you want to or head to a major. Its a good feeling knowing you will be fine if you never get the major call.
 
Honestly, if your goal is one of the Big 4, pick the one with the location you prefer, you'll be 12-18 months from a Big 4 interview whichever one you pick. They are all finally viable career options, and with as grim as the future of legacy seniority looks, you could decide to stay at the place you choose. AAY definitely wins COL, they also only send around 5-15 domestic flights per day, so it's a very low stress place to live and work. Either way, I'd go with location choice, that will be worth more than any difference in jobs themselves, especially with the pay between them all being fairly close.
 
Got Offer? Go Work There!

Work to Live, my guy. The kickoff and first few years may be chock full of OT and exhausting coverage but it really does get easier. Don't hold out if your goal is just to use the experience as a stepping stone. Take the definitive offer over the interview.
 
I enjoyed my time at F9. This was before they became an ULCC. I had a house up in Loveland and yes drove down to Tower Rd. I25 between Denver and Ft Collins has exploded growth wise. If you don't care for the city aspect, maybe head out east. We had a dispatcher that lived in Strasburg.
 
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