Regional Airline Jobs Questions

[Future Cpt Kirk]

Hello Everyone,

My name is Mike. I've been on JetCareer Forums for a few years now.. Don't post much (I did do a running blog of my training experience when I was in flight school at ATP), but I do try to keep up with current news as much as I can. I am currently a CFI, CFII, MEI with roughly 1100 TT and am starting to look into which regionals I will be applying for. I estimate I will reach 1500 TT within six-seven months max.

I am hoping that current airline pilots on here could provide me with some insight to their hiring experiences and what led you to choose your selected airlines. I have been told many different things to consider when looking for my airline of choice (it's great that the industry is strong enough now that we even have a choice)... The one piece of advice I get that consistently stands out is to apply to regionals that will ultimately provide the opportunity to secure a home base. I live in Northern Virginia, so this limits my selection to the following:

Mesa (IAD)
Trans States (IAD)
Air Wisconsin (DCA)
Republic (DCA)
Piedmont (CHO)
CommutAir (IAD)

I've been told to consider contacts, upgrade times, pay...the list goes on. I've also been told to avoid turbo-props as that could slow my progress towards a major (have no idea if there is any truth to this or not).

I have done as much research on my own into these companies as I can... Here are a few things I have come up with:

Mesa: I have several friends at Mesa. I hear very good things. My concern is that they have been on a hiring spree for a few years now, and I fear if I signed on with them, upgrade times might be longer as there would be a lot of FO's above me.

Trans States & Air Wisconsin: I have heard good things about TSA and understand they are currently undergoing rapid expansion. On the downside (maybe or maybe not), both TSA and Air Whisky operate 50 seat airframes... Until recently I was told to stay away from 50 seat operations as they were to be largely phased out. With the decline in fuel prices, it seems that maybe this phase out isn't happening anymore? Also, I have heard that Air Whisky upgrade times are very long. I'm not looking for any freebie, unrealistic upgrade times, but also don't want to be stuck in the right seat for years on end. Air Whisky does seem to have nice pay when compared to some of the others...

Republic: Haven't heard great things, but haven't heard much. What I have learned is that no cancelation pay is offered with his company and that a "concessionary contract" was signed by the pilots. Any thoughts?

Piedmont & CommutAir: I see that Piedmont is one of the highest paying regionals out there... CommutAir not far behind. Is there any truth to the comment I received that I should avoid turboprops to help my career progression? I was always under the assumption that majors desired turbine time with no differentiation between turboprop or turbofan.

Any insight to these airlines and/or factors that I should consider when choosing would be very much appreciated. I am excited to take the next step in my career!

Sincerely,

Mike

 

[thevideographer]

You basically just listed all the worst regionals, except for AWAC.

 

[A300Capt]

IDK...trying to plan which airline to fly for is much like the stock market. Pass performance does not guarantee future earnings.

Go with the one that offers you the job. Get your time in and move to the next big thing. If you're young and single be flexible.

Good luck!

 

[Vector]

IDK...trying to plan which airline to fly for is much like the stock market. Pass performance does not guarantee future earnings. Good luck!

But we live in a society where everything is analyzed and decision making is very scientific. Can't really blame him for asking those questions.

 

[mshunter]

Get the one that bases you closest to home. Commuting sucks. Regionals suck. That being said, I like my job at the regional level. It's easy, fun, and I get to meet people from all walks of life. Just because the company you work for is a regional, doesn't mean you can't enjoy your job.

Edit to add: In all honesty, regionals aren't really that bad. It's just the pay that needs to change.

 

[Mark815]

Agree with the above post, commuting sucks. I live on the East Coast and chose Skywest for a handful of reasons over the ones that are based more locally. At the time I felt it was the best fit from where I was coming from, and what I was looking for. This industry changes very quick though, so today's decision might be entirely different tomorrow.

Be careful with places that don't have cancellation pay. It can be pretty huge, especially for East Coast based companies. I have a good friend at RAH and he's lost out on quite a bit of money already because of this past winter, and other factors such as mx cancellations.

If you live in base the regionals really aren't that bad. If I was living in base my only complaint would be lack of money.

 

[cmhumphr]

Can't go wrong with any of those since you live in the DC/NOVA area. I did CommutAir and enjoyed my time there. Don't worry about the turboprop time. They have a decent flow of pilots getting hired at various places with jets.

 

[Cal Goat]

My suggestion would be Compass right now. I realize that misses your target of domicile close to home, but in the current state of the industry, it could be your most efficient on ramp to a career in the airlines. It's often said "don't chase the upgrade", but it seems from the outside looking in that they have a number of other desirable traits in addition to quick upgrade:
- big, modern jets, which should translate to easier work days in general (i.e. not 8 legs in turboprop)
- respectable pay. Obviously the FO pay sucks at all of these places, but it's not bad at Compass and of course you stand to make captain pay much quicker than other airlines.
- good (last I heard) relationship with Delta. No more flow through but I believe they still get some kind of preferential deal for interviews.
- happy crews. I jumpseated on them many times a year ago and these crews were not belly aching at all about the company. That says a lot in my mind.

 

[Old Dominion Flyer]

My suggestion would be Compass right now....I believe they still get some kind of preferential deal for interviews.

That's more of a rumor than anything official at this point.

 

[Future Cpt Kirk]

My suggestion would be Compass right now. I realize that misses your target of domicile close to home, but in the current state of the industry, it could be your most efficient on ramp to a career in the airlines. It's often said "don't chase the upgrade", but it seems from the outside looking in that they have a number of other desirable traits in addition to quick upgrade:
- big, modern jets, which should translate to easier work days in general (i.e. not 8 legs in turboprop)
- respectable pay. Obviously the FO pay sucks at all of these places, but it's not bad at Compass and of course you stand to make captain pay much quicker than other airlines.
- good (last I heard) relationship with Delta. No more flow through but I believe they still get some kind of preferential deal for interviews.
- happy crews. I jumpseated on them many times a year ago and these crews were not belly aching at all about the company. That says a lot in my mind.

At this point I have made the decision to shoot for a home base airline, leaving the list above my final choices. Appreciate the insight to Compass, but I don't want the commute (neither does my wife). Really appreciate the comment though.... Please keep them coming!

 

[Future Cpt Kirk]

You basically just listed all the worst regionals, except for AWAC.

Reasons?

 

[Vyse]

+1000 to "don't commute".

That said, my 0.02:

Mesa/TransStates: in 6-7 months you will have likely missed the major hiring wave for a quick upgrade. There will still be good movement for attrition though. Between these two, Trans States has the better contract. I have two buddies there who are happy.

Air Wisconsin: Best labor contract on your list, but the contract for most of their flying is up for renewal this year. I believe it's their option to renew, but not sure how long the option lasts. But should be an update by the time you're ready.

RAH: It's not so much they signed a concessionary contract, as it is that it's still the same contract from 2003. Yes, no cancellation pay. Negotiations for a new TA are going along at a snail's pace. Both Captains and FOs are leaving in large numbers.

Piedmont: If American is your goal, you can flow in probably 7-9 years. They're getting EMB-145s so there will be a choice between that and the Dash.

CommutAir: Quick upgrade, and if you do choose to commute, they have the best commuting policy.

 

[N519AT]

Where at in NOVA do you live? Are you closer to DCA or IAD? With traffic around here that can be your deciding factor right there. You're doing the right thing by looking at regionals with bases where you live.

I'm at CommutAir and I live in Sterling. Reserve at this company is CAKE when you live in base.

With regards to C5:
$30/hr to start
2 year upgrade holding steady
The Dash will make a man out of you
~4 months to get a line as an FO right now
Two types of reserve: Airport (at the airplane in 15 minutes), Short Call (at the airplane in 2 hrs). FOs have the potential to fly a lot on reserve if that's your thing.
Ground school is in IAD, sim is in SEA.
Awesome crews make awesome overnights.
Company paid parking
Our contract is amendable at the end of the year. Negotiations start in the fall.


The rest is commuting stuff that doesn't really apply if you live in base. But, 4 company paid for rooms per month that (for the most part) they let you use at your leisure. I have yet to use a commuter hotel because I live so close, but it would be nice if your drive is over an hour to IAD.

PM me if you have any more questions.

 

[badtransam97]

What about PSA? Not sure how close that is to you vs the others, but they seem to be haveing a decent upgrade time ans I was told the "wave" there is projected to last for a good while. Anybody with info feel free to chime in on that.

 

[Soku39]

I would probably see what airlines still have DC area bases in 5 months and decide then.

 

[woodreau]

Although looking for regionals where you can live in base is nice. As far as regionals go, domiciles come and go all the time at the regionals. What may be a domicile one day may not be another.

I was @ Mesa for 24 months. In those 24 months I was in 9 different domiciles moving only involuntarily due to displacements.

Mesa was a 3200 pilot airline in 2007 in less than 2 years mesa was down to less than 1000 pilots. I started at 2100 in 2005. By the time I left in 2007 I was #950 and if I had stayed I would be around 450-500 today.

Long time CLT Pilots are looking at being forced to commute for the first time in decades.

TL-DR. At a regional if you live in base don't be surprised that you'll still have to commute because your base closes due to mainline flying assigned going away.

 

[badtransam97]

How terrible would a one leg commute be? Say MEM-CLT?

 

[Future Cpt Kirk]

What about PSA? Not sure how close that is to you vs the others, but they seem to be haveing a decent upgrade time ans I was told the "wave" there is projected to last for a good while. Anybody with info feel free to chime in on that.

I don't live in base for PSA... I have two friends in training with them now. Really trying to avoid the commute though.

 

[TexasFlyer]

I worked at PSA. Great place to be. Not perfect, but nowhere is. I advise anyone to go to PSA if they live near or would have an easy commute to DAY, CLT, or TYS. I actually want to go back to PSA now that I decided the airline industry or high end corporate world is my cup of tea. I do not qualify for high end corporate, so a regional is where I need to be.

So why am I not back at PSA? One answer. The commute. After living a year in TN I missed my home a lot. So now I can live at ho e and work for Mesa. Mesa compared to PSA. Well I would rather be at PSA due to better contract, better pay, better QOL, and a promising outlook for getting into American when my number would be called.

So again, why with all those better things would I decide to go to Mesa? I live 3.5 hours from my base. I can commute by plane amd be there from door to door in 2.5 hours. Or I can drive it door to door in under 4. Commuting is so bad, I choose to drive it.

So I pick Mesa due to the commute. That Mesa commute eliminates a need for random hotels when I can not get home. That saves money. That commute also increases my QOL since I control when I get home, not standby and jump seats controlling it. Plus at the en of the day, Mesa is just as good a place to get quality experience and end up in a better place down the road.

Hope that helps.

 

[badtransam97]

I worked at PSA. Great place to be. Not perfect, but nowhere is. I advise anyone to go to PSA if they live near or would have an easy commute to DAY, CLT, or TYS. I actually want to go back to PSA now that I decided the airline industry or high end corporate world is my cup of tea. I do not qualify for high end corporate, so a regional is where I need to be.

So why am I not back at PSA? One answer. The commute. After living a year in TN I missed my home a lot. So now I can live at ho e and work for Mesa. Mesa compared to PSA. Well I would rather be at PSA due to better contract, better pay, better QOL, and a promising outlook for getting into American when my number would be called.

So again, why with all those better things would I decide to go to Mesa? I live 3.5 hours from my base. I can commute by plane amd be there from door to door in 2.5 hours. Or I can drive it door to door in under 4. Commuting is so bad, I choose to drive it.

So I pick Mesa due to the commute. That Mesa commute eliminates a need for random hotels when I can not get home. That saves money. That commute also increases my QOL since I control when I get home, not standby and jump seats controlling it. Plus at the en of the day, Mesa is just as good a place to get quality experience and end up in a better place down the road.

Hope that helps.

So how would the commute from MEM to CLT or BNA to CLT be? I'm not really able to move, and I am about 2hrs from BNA and MEM. Was thinking about PSA. The TYS base would be a 6hr drive.