Probably, a few Mesa guys I know say its really not that bad, it's just another regional.
Whats with this regionals bashing as well? I talked to some regional FO's and they said its not as bad as "the people on the internet" make it out to be.
It depends on what regional you're at.
There are a lot of things that will factor into what a person thinks about their company such as...
-Do you live in base?
-If you don't, how far away from your base are you and what's the commute like?
-What are the work rules like?
-How's the pay?
-Reserve or line holder?
-Are you getting extended constantly? How does this factor in with your commute?
-Are you getting junior manned constantly? Are you stupid enough to pick up your phone?
-Are the crews you fly with cool, or a bunch of ###### bags?
-Are you going to furlough? How's morale?
It's an incredibly complex equation that folks don't want to think about. Folks want cut and dried, simple answers, but those don't exist. There are a lot of factors that go into whether you're happy at any company, whether it's in aviation or not. If those factors don't line up to give you the kind and quality of life that you're after, you're going to be miserable.
Some guys are quite happy flying their night runs at Amflight in the 99 from Burbank to Oakland every night for 7 years straight. Some guys would hang themselves if they had to do that. Some folks like the regionals, some hate them. Sometimes it depends on what company you're at.
I WILL tell you this, the whole "every regional is a giant sack of ####" argument is complete ########. ExpressJet and Air Wisky have better work rules than Airways, Northwest and Continental. We don't have anybody on these forums that's sitting on reserve in the 737 in Newark at Continental right now, but holy crap if you wanna see abused, go talk with those guys (but talk with them fast because they're all about to get furloughed). I get treated MUCH better on the Express side of things than those poor guys do.
