PSA vs CommutAir?

Burrito

Burrito

Position And Hold My Beer
Curious what the general population here thinks. Currently weighing both options after interviews earlier this week. I know, I know, rah rah rah regionals practice witchcraft, but for a 26-year-old getting into the game, any and all advice is appreciated.

Much and many thanks as I sit in this fuel truck waiting for the cold front to let my next plane land.......
 
Is CommutAir all turboprop still? I haven't kept up with the regionals any, but it is generally better for your resume to have jet experience vs. non-jet experience when trying to get to a major, so I would probably go with PSA if I had a choice, since they appear to be an all jet operation. From other threads on here, it's not a bad place to work, although management leaves something to be desired...but that can be true everywhere in the aviation industry, not just regionals.
 
I'd say PSA, I have no horse in the race, but it is a larger more complex operation, and there are some perks to being at a wholly owned.
 
PSA. Don't pass up jet experience of its offered to you.

Not to mention PSA is picking up Envoy work as they are drawn down, so PSA fleet expanding rapidly.
 
manniax said:
it is generally better for your resume to have jet experience vs. non-jet experience when trying to get to a major
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I'm not saying you're wrong, but I'm curious if this strikes anyone else as a pretty useless distinction. Dispatching Part 121 is what it is, no matter which type of motor powers the aircraft. Now, if what we really mean is that the workloads at most non-jet companies simply aren't going to prepare one for the kind of workloads found at major airlines, I might buy that. But it seems dishonest to veil that with some supposed difference between dispatching a CRJ and a Dash 8. Maybe that's not what you were going for, but I have heard other people say this in pretty pejorative terms before.
 
kilo said:
I'm not saying you're wrong, but I'm curious if this strikes anyone else as a pretty useless distinction. Dispatching Part 121 is what it is, no matter which type of motor powers the aircraft. Now, if what we really mean is that the workloads at most non-jet companies simply aren't going to prepare one for the kind of workloads found at major airlines, I might buy that. But it seems dishonest to veil that with some supposed difference between dispatching a CRJ and a Dash 8. Maybe that's not what you were going for, but I have heard other people say this in pretty pejorative terms before.
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Well, for one, jets fly higher, faster and for longer distances then do turboprops. That is a significant difference when considering flight planning and enroute decision making. Jets generally operate in a different navigational environment then turboprops, have completely different performance in all regimes of flight and operate in environments aloft that turboprops do not. There are SIGNIFICANT differences in the two from a dispatch perspective.

No one here is saying 121 jet dispatchers are better then 121 turboprop dispatchers. Trust me, I started my career pushing 1900's all over the landscape, and it was the most challenging dispatching I have ever done in my career. What we are talking about is experience that will move you up the career ladder faster.
 
I would also agree with PSA, they are one of the few regionals that are growing so you can move up quick in seniority. I started at number 14th in seniority, and within 3 months was number 6. Also one of the perks of being a wholly-own is when you non-rev you get the same standby priority as a mainline employee.. if you can get on a flt.
 
Burrito said:
@manniax 21 Dash 8s of assorted variety, but no Q400s yet
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Dash 8's are a fun plane to work with, but the jet experience is definitely better on the old resume. All this being said, I have known people hired by majors who only had experience dispatching turboprops...so Commutair would still be worth checking out if you didn't get a PSA offer. The most important thing is to get some 121 experience. It's vastly easier to get a dispatching job with experience vs. no experience.
 
As much as it pains me to say this (based on previous experiences with Pol Pot at the Blue Streak of Death), go with PSA. But, you need to keep studying on your own. They do a hodgepodge of training there; how they satisfy the Feds is beyond me. But, like @pljenkins said, there are VAST differences between props/jets when it comes to dispatching.
1)The big one is navigation. CRJs operate with FMS w/GPS, and VORs are slowly going the way of the dodo.
2) PSA just recently starting to fly in LGA, which may compete with Mogadishu for efficiency.
3) They'll yell at you for putting extra fuel on for situations like a summer day in CLT. Guess what, technically, CLT doesn't need an alternate per 121.619, but a good education and training will indicate otherwise. Learn from Obi-Wan, young Skywalker, the OIS is your best friend, as is the ATC arrival demand charts, but the greatest chart out there is a simple Lifted Index; Especially in the summertime for the Southeast USA.
4) Repeat after me: LEARN THE LGA 123 RULE: for every 1 cloud in the sky, 2 airplanes on the ground or in the air, expect 3 hr delays.
 
Hate to beat the dead horse here but they're all right. It's not simply a difference in engine type that will help you but more so the experience in dispatching a jet over a prop. They fly higher and further meaning you will encounter way different weather and navigation skill sets. Trust me it will help you down the road. And if you're looking to push you knowledge limit you can always drive an hour away to Southern. A whole other beast to learn.
 
Hate to beat the dead horse here but they're all right. It's not simply a difference in engine type that will help you but more so the experience in dispatching a jet over a prop. They fly higher and further meaning you will encounter way different weather and navigation skill sets. Trust me it will help you down the road. And if you're looking to push you knowledge limit you can always drive an hour away to Southern. A whole other beast to learn.
 
deltabobo said:
...
4) Repeat after me: LEARN THE LGA 123 RULE: for every 1 cloud in the sky, 2 airplanes on the ground or in the air, expect 3 hr delays.
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Ah, the Triangle of Hell!

Also, is it clear and a million in DEN? Is there not a radar return within 500 miles of the Front Range? Is it summer time? If you answered "yes" to all of these questions and proceeded to ship your DEN flight with min+reserve, you lose. Enjoy your CYS diversion burning into reserve fuel!

Here's another fun DEN pop quiz! It's 5pm local at the airport. The temp/dew point is 33/M03 and SCT120... You arrive at 6:30 local. What can you reasonably expect at arrival time?

A: Clear and a million
B: Only going to get hotter, watch performance
C: Surprise! Here's your hold, EFC next Wednesday.
D: Godzilla! Let's run!
 
LEARN THE LGA 123 RULE: for every 1 cloud in the sky, 2 airplanes on the ground or in the air, expect 3 hr delays.
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I could have sworn the 1-2-3 Rule was: for every 1 cloud, with 2 drops of rain, expect a 3 hour delay
 
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pljenkins said:
Ah, the Triangle of Hell!

Also, is it clear and a million in DEN? Is there not a radar return within 500 miles of the Front Range? Is it summer time? If you answered "yes" to all of these questions and proceeded to ship your DEN flight with min+reserve, you lose. Enjoy your CYS diversion burning into reserve fuel!

Here's another fun DEN pop quiz! It's 5pm local at the airport. The temp/dew point is 33/M03 and SCT120... You arrive at 6:30 local. What can you reasonably expect at arrival time?

A: Clear and a million
B: Only going to get hotter, watch performance
C: Surprise! Here's your hold, EFC next Wednesday.
D: Godzilla! Let's run!
Click to expand...

E:
upload_2015-8-22_7-40-7.png
 
deltabobo said:
As much as it pains me to say this (based on previous experiences with Pol Pot at the Blue Streak of Death), go with PSA. But, you need to keep studying on your own. They do a hodgepodge of training there; how they satisfy the Feds is beyond me. But, like @pljenkins said, there are VAST differences between props/jets when it comes to dispatching.
1)The big one is navigation. CRJs operate with FMS w/GPS, and VORs are slowly going the way of the dodo.
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Commutair operates with dual FMS and are capable of doing RNAV approaches to LNAV/VNAV mins.

I don't know much about the dispatching side of the house, but I do know that C5 has pretty slow turnover of dispatchers if that tells you anything.
 
N519AT said:
Commutair operates with dual FMS and are capable of doing RNAV approaches to LNAV/VNAV mins.

I don't know much about the dispatching side of the house, but I do know that C5 has pretty slow turnover of dispatchers if that tells you anything.
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I've heard about the really slow turnover although dual FMS will save you from so many problems.
 
PSA....definitely stick to jets. Everything everyone has said here is true....including the assessments of both LGA and the DEN weather patterns.
 
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