Republic vs. Commutair

T

Taylor814ce

Well-Known Member
Please share your experience/opinion.

-I have zero 121/135 time.
-Base don't matter as I'm already packed.
-Base matters because of the cost of living in IAD(C5) vs IND/CMH(RAH).
-With RAH, only 1 training for awhile. With C5, 2 training within short time as Q200 pilots will have to transition to 145. To a person who dose not have any 121 exp., I'm not sure if this should matter but it definetly makes me think.


Questions:
-Many say airplane don't matter, but does it really not? E175 and Q200 differerence seem big even within regional world.
-Up to 4 legs a day with RAH and I hear up to 6 legs a day with C5. Do these difference matter much in terms of burn out?
-40 145 going to C5, will this happen for sure or can United cancel this?
-Will PIC time matter much in 2-3 years?
-What are the maintenance standards at these two airlines?

***And for the question of the day, whIcn of these two would you seek if you are starting your 121 career today? :)

Many Thanks!
 
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When people say "the airplane doesn't matter", they're mostly speaking with respect to how it will impact your ability to get hired at a better airline in the future.

Different airplanes definitely build different types of airmanship and experience.
 
Does the plane matter? Generally not. With RAH it shouldn't be too hard to go into it straight into the Ejet. The 170/175 is a great airplane to be on right now because everyone has a hard for them. They are the IT aircraft for the codeshare partners. Over the next few years I would expect to see more and more of them replacing 50 seaters. And that's what makes me Nervous about Commutair. Sure they are getting jets, but they are the 145s which seem to be last years prom queen.

If you are going can for sure move to a RAH base, they wouldn't be so bad...For now. Their contract is pretty good and you will make more there your first couple of years than most other places. The problem is it's an expensive contract, and I have my doubts as to whether or not RAH can afford it. I would not be surprised if there is a bankruptcy in the future.

When I was flying with S5 I would say I averaged about 3 legs per day. Lots of one or two leg days, and VERY rarely would fly up to 5 legs (Delta Shuttle out of LGA). Yeah I say it makes a difference. My limit is about 3 legs. Anything more than that and my level of exhaustion goes up rapidly.

MX? I never had any issues with it at RAH. Sure we had stuff break and flew with things deferred, but I don't think I ever saw shoddy work done, nor was I ever pushed to fly a broken/unsafe airplane.

Will PIC time matter? Crystal ball, man. I don't know...I think it will always be a help on an application, but I don't think it's going to be as weighted as it once was. I've noticed more and more people getting picked up out of the right seat with no TPIC. Initially it was interns, legacies, and military guys, but more and more I am starting to see regular guys getting the call. Not often, mind you, but it's still happening.

My time at RAH, was a good time for the most part. I left only because their future looked rocky, and I think it still does. With that said, I could be way wrong, though. I hope that helps you some.
 
If you look at the type of guys getting called off the street at the better carriers, what really helps is training department background work. Maybe some time as an FO teaching new hires procedures, then time as a line check guy. That is basically a guaranteed call from UAL provided you can check all the other boxes (degree, etc.). With that in mind I would go to the growing carrier, CommutAir, IMO.
 
C5. Great group of pilots. Everyone knows everyone. Chief pilot is one text away and will actually hang out with you during ground school, and it's a different CP than when I was with C5 but I guarantee it's still the case. Those guys deserve all the good fortune coming to them.
 
There's rumors floating around that United purchased a 40% stake in C5.

It hasn't been announced officially but members of management have talked about it. If it's true, it speaks a lot about the security of the company and where we're heading. The idea of us having 50 seaters doesn't bother me one bit. The leases on those are actually a little under half of what it costs to lease a Dash. Obviously don't base your career around rumors, but I feel I can speak for everyone here when I say that I believe C5 has a very bright future ahead of it.

The airplane doesn't matter. The Dashes will be gone by 2018 so if you come here now you'll still fly the jet so long as you stick around at least a year and a half or so. The Dash is an extremely enjoyable and humbling airplane to fly. The airplanes are old, but most of the fleet just came out of C-Check in the past year and a half or so, plus all of the planes are getting new carpet it seems, so they're not really showing their age as much. We've had plenty of people get picked up by United, Jetblue, a couple to Delta, Frontier, Spirit, Alaska, corporate, you name it. I would come here just to say that you flew a 121 tubroprop before they're all gone in the US, but that's just me.

With training for two different airplanes, that wouldn't bother me either. We have an excellent training department run by very good people. It's a program that's designed to get you through. Even before all of these announcements, the training department was one of the bright spots about this company. A couple of years ago I went to the sim I think five times in a year long period. Two FO Proficiency Checks, One LOFT, my ATP checkride and Upgrade. Other than having a training bid basically every other month, it didn't phase me. With that also being said, if you would like to teach, the opportunities are there. It seems like about twice a year (might be more with the influx of newhires) that they post an opening for instructors. They have hired everyone from FOs who have been here less than 6 months to Captains who have been here 15+ years. C5 is a good place to get the training department on your resume.

I wouldn't worry so much about the legs per day. 6 leg days are rare here and even when we had them regularly (2 years ago) they didn't bother me that much. I had a two hour drive home back then, and I never stopped on the drive home because I was too tired to drive after flying 6 legs.

MX is finally back on its feet here after moving from CLE two years ago. We had some very dark times after that happened, and I'm pretty sure we've rebounded pretty well from that. It used to be that as a rule you were flying around airplanes with 2-3 MEL's regularly. Now it's switched... The majority of the airplanes it seems like lately have no MELs on them.

It is expensive to live in IAD. A one bedroom apartment will run you $1100/mo on the low end. There are plenty of people here that have roommates though, so that might be a good option. I'll echo what Rob said and say that this company is very family oriented. We're very tight knit (though that will most likely change a bit with the growth) and we are all friends with each other. I've said it before but to me the camaraderie is such a huge selling point for this place. I wouldn't hesitate to give the shirt off of my back for any employee here, and I know that they would do the same for me should I need it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a company cheerleader by any means. We have our issues, there will likely being growing pains with the jets, but C5 has been good to me. I've been here for four years. Upgraded in two. It worked for me.
 
I'd go with commutair. You want to go with the one who is going to grow the quickest right now. Once the music stops all regionals get very ugly.
 
C5 without a doubt.

I think RAH has a rocky couple of years ahead and I think it will ultimately shrink.

C5 is growing, and provides a clear path to UA (if that is your goal).

That being said, I would also strongly consider Piedmont and Endeavor.
 
I say C5. Seems there's a but more stability there and the preferential interview is a nice thing to have in your back pocket while pursuing other legacies or LCCs. Plus, turboprop flying is hands down the most fun flying. 6 legs can get old, but in the end, you'll be glad you did it. If we got the ATR back, I'd go back to it in an instant.
 
Why endeavor?
Endeavor defiantly has the highest pay including the bonus. But probably 6 months reserve and 3-4 years to upgrade.
Republic on the other hand zero reserve as of now and 1.5-2year upgrade.
 
mile_hi said:
Why endeavor?
Endeavor defiantly has the highest pay including the bonus. But probably 6 months reserve and 3-4 years to upgrade.
Republic on the other hand zero reserve as of now and 1.5-2year upgrade.
Click to expand...

Well you're right about the virtually no reserve but the upgrade is now under 4 years, not 1.5-2. June 2012 DOH is the most junior 170 CA. We'll see on or around the 9th how much that changes.


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