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Old 04-23-2014, 03:04 AM
  #121  
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Originally Posted by slumav505 View Post
I don't think we'll be BK, but I do see us using CHQ as a staffing agency till we get a real TA. (I think we'll see something after the disaster that will be this summer here) Once you get the time plug in and see where everyone is at. Everything is up in the air. Let people bid on you rather than the other way around.
The chq staffing idea was in the plans anyway as the 145 is on borrowed time. He used the "drawdown" as propaganda. People thought it was a threat, but twas no threat at all; the fact is that chq is not long for this world and this has been known for sometime(just look at DAL 50 seat outlook).
I did think it was comical the way that the propaganda ministry parked 7 or 8 "dormant" jungle jets against the Alph gates fence at sdf the week of the vote closing.
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Old 04-23-2014, 06:59 PM
  #122  
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Originally Posted by Bzzt View Post
First off I never said I got hired with less than 1000 hours, I didn't.

Second the only reason I didn't get the ATR is because I wasn't one of the youngest guys in class.

Finally here is something to consider for the OP. on average the money you have invested in the stock market doubles every 7 years. If you were to take the money you got from your inheritance and invest it while working at an engineering job (even aerospace if you truly love airplanes) you could easily scratch your flying itch with your own plane on the side. For argument's sake lets say your inheritance was 80k since that's what you'll be spending on your flight training, and let's say you would have spent 42 years in the career.

Years 1-6: 80,000
Years 7-13: 160,000
Years 14-20: 320,000
Years 21-27: 640,000
Years 28-34: 1,280,000
Years 35-41: 2,560,000

So you're looking at $2,560,000 just on the money you would have spent going to flight school, this isn't counting your salary at an engineering job (which would most likely pay better than an airline job). In this scenario you could still fly and on your own terms. Flying for a living takes a lot of the fun aspects out of aviation. So my question is why chase the career when you could spend much less getting a private and instrument and still fly whenever you wanted?
how dare you use logic!!
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Old 04-23-2014, 10:19 PM
  #123  
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Originally Posted by DreamToFlyy View Post

I am a kid trying to pursue a career I know what I am going into, no matter what anyone says. I was just trying to get advice about a specific airline. It is upsetting because I feel like I am being attacked for being curious and open minded. I posted about pilots being pessimistic and not pursing opportunities because I see it in every field of work. I have been open minded from the start. You all know that there are pilots out there who are truly happy from the stuck at regional FO level to the widebody captain level, they are happy, so why are you trying to rain on a kid's dreams.
I know it sounds corny, but if you got the flying bug, you owe it to yourself to listen to your heart, give the career a shot, and don't let anybody tell you otherwise. And let me say this: if you go into a non-aviation career path for the money, then you will find it becoming harder, every year, for you to give up the money and go do what you love. If you go into aviation at a young age, without ever having known what it's like to make a bushel of money, you won't mind the low pay nearly as much.

I was exactly like you from about the age of 3 onwards -- all I ever wanted to do was be an airline pilot. When I graduated college at age 21, however (way back in 1994), not even Amflight would talk to anyone with less than 2,000 TT. The regionals, such as they were, wouldn't talk to you without 3,000 TT and 1,000 ME.

So I went into a non-aviation career track instead, and chose to use my income to afford all of my ratings through ATP. I've spent the past 18 years (I am now 40) working in the corporate world while flying and instructing on the evenings and weekends. I'm married, own a house and a rental condo in one of the most expensive cities in America, and own and fly a rather splendiferous high-performance turbocharged piston aircraft. Financially, it's been a great decision.

But...I've also spent the past 18 years looking up at every single airliner that passes overhead, thinking "Damn, I should be up there in the pointy end of that thing." That feeling has never ever gone away. In fact, it's only gotten stronger. So this year, I finally decided that was enough was enough, and now I've got a regional FO job offer in hand. Fortunately I've got a bunch of cash saved to tide my family over the years it will require for me to get back to a reasonable income level in aviation. I just wish I'd done this a LONG TIME AGO. Had I done this at age 25, or even age 30, it'd have been easier. You, however, have the advantage of youth. Don't let anyone talk you into throwing that away.

Because the longer you wait, the tougher it becomes to abandon a well-paying job and start out in commercial aviation. You get used to a certain standard of living. You acquire things, like houses and cars and a once-a-year tropical vacation habit. You realize that your desire for those nice things is preventing you from doing what your heart knows you should be doing.

So honestly, dude, go chase your dream. If it works out for you, awesome. If you get a few years into it and decide it's not for you, then as long as you have a college degree in something other than aviation, you can switch to another career. You're young. You have all the time in the world. Use it to explore what's really right for you. Don't wind up being the bitter 55-year old who's spent 33 years hating his life in some miserable cube, looking up everytime you see an airliner and thinking, "If only."
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Old 04-23-2014, 10:29 PM
  #124  
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Well said friend! Hope all works out for you, happy contrails to you
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Old 04-23-2014, 10:59 PM
  #125  
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Well said, kfahmi.

Being 33 years old and having spent the last 7+ years at a legacy, I've had a pretty good run in the airlines, and it's good to set targets from early on. I went for the building block approach, and honed in on the next step once reaching the previous step, being mindful of the end game. e.g. I got my initial licenses, looking for a good place to get my hours (expecting it to take at least 1500+ hours to get on with a regional)... once I got my CFI job, I sharpened my understanding of the regional picture at the time and figured out where i was going to focus my networking for that... and so on.

Things to consider:

1. Live in base, if at all possible. Your life and ability to pick up time is drastically easier.
2. I'm going to get crap for this, but when given a choice between a QOL regional with a long upgrade and a regional with a much shorter upgrade and growth... always always always go to the one with the shorter upgrade and growth (within reason, of course- I'm not saying scab or go to some super seedy operation). For example, I believe the guys going to TSA right now are making a very good move. I went to Pinnacle back in 2003 vs guys that went to comair and others for the QOL. I made captain in a year, and as such made it to a legacy in 3 years. Let's compare overall QOL and earnings with one who took a QOL regional.... The difference in QOL between a junky regional and a good regional is not much. The difference between the best regional and the crappiest legacy job is significantly weighted to the legacy side. Big picture!

Times change, but don't take some moralistic stance between the difference of 25,000 and 30,000 dollars as a regional FO. Look to the end game...and that game is getting to a career carrier.

The regional bubble is in the process of bursting, so things are really in flux right now...even moreso than usual. Keep your options open and flexible, and first and foremost strive to be the utmost professional and highly proficient pilot that you can be. Don't forget to include with that how you deal with those that you work with.

Despite what others have said on here as far as jobs available... literally everyone from my newhire class at my regional back in 2003 has "had" a chance to move on... not necessarily to a legacy or big time carrier as not everyone is material for that, but they have virtually all had the chance to go to a higher paying career gig.
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Old 04-24-2014, 04:00 AM
  #126  
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Kfahmi,

Good luck to you(and I sincerely mean that!); but check back in with us after toiling at a regional for a few years(or ONE year according to some delusional on this site) and let's see if that enthusiasm, passion if you will, is still there. Ok?
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Old 04-24-2014, 04:07 AM
  #127  
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Originally Posted by spaaks View Post
how dare you use logic!!
Spaaks: do not EVER change your avatar! EVER!
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Old 04-24-2014, 07:14 AM
  #128  
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Originally Posted by 80ktsClamp View Post
Well said, kfahmi.

Being 33 years old and having spent the last 7+ years at a legacy, I've had a pretty good run in the airlines, and it's good to set targets from early on. I went for the building block approach, and honed in on the next step once reaching the previous step, being mindful of the end game. e.g. I got my initial licenses, looking for a good place to get my hours (expecting it to take at least 1500+ hours to get on with a regional)... once I got my CFI job, I sharpened my understanding of the regional picture at the time and figured out where i was going to focus my networking for that... and so on.

Things to consider:

1. Live in base, if at all possible. Your life and ability to pick up time is drastically easier.
2. I'm going to get crap for this, but when given a choice between a QOL regional with a long upgrade and a regional with a much shorter upgrade and growth... always always always go to the one with the shorter upgrade and growth (within reason, of course- I'm not saying scab or go to some super seedy operation). For example, I believe the guys going to TSA right now are making a very good move. I went to Pinnacle back in 2003 vs guys that went to comair and others for the QOL. I made captain in a year, and as such made it to a legacy in 3 years. Let's compare overall QOL and earnings with one who took a QOL regional.... The difference in QOL between a junky regional and a good regional is not much. The difference between the best regional and the crappiest legacy job is significantly weighted to the legacy side. Big picture!

Times change, but don't take some moralistic stance between the difference of 25,000 and 30,000 dollars as a regional FO. Look to the end game...and that game is getting to a career carrier.

The regional bubble is in the process of bursting, so things are really in flux right now...even moreso than usual. Keep your options open and flexible, and first and foremost strive to be the utmost professional and highly proficient pilot that you can be. Don't forget to include with that how you deal with those that you work with.

Despite what others have said on here as far as jobs available... literally everyone from my newhire class at my regional back in 2003 has "had" a chance to move on... not necessarily to a legacy or big time carrier as not everyone is material for that, but they have virtually all had the chance to go to a higher paying career gig.
I didn't realize you made it to a legacy in your 20s, that's incredibly fortunate, congratulations. I think your story is far from the norm, but then again there will always be winners and losers, it's obvious you won.

Anyway I've made the best argument against this career I can, I hope it works out for you guys hell bent on flying for a living. For a lot of us it didn't, but maybe times are changing.
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Old 04-24-2014, 07:37 AM
  #129  
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At's why
Originally Posted by Loon View Post
Kfahmi,

Good luck to you(and I sincerely mean that!); but check back in with us after toiling at a regional for a few years(or ONE year according to some delusional on this site) and let's see if that enthusiasm, passion if you will, is still there. Ok?
Well, the thing is, it's vital to have a backup plan, just like it's always vital to have a diversionary plan on any route you're flying. So if the regional life turns out to be not what I had hoped, I can always go back to my old career. That's why I strongly advise younger guys to get a degree in something non-aviation, so that if aviation doesn't work out, they can get a 'regular' job and fly for fun. In this day and age, focusing on one career path to the exclusion of all other possibilities is just asking for trouble...
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Old 04-24-2014, 08:00 AM
  #130  
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Originally Posted by kfahmi View Post
At's why

Well, the thing is, it's vital to have a backup plan, just like it's always vital to have a diversionary plan on any route you're flying. So if the regional life turns out to be not what I had hoped, I can always go back to my old career. That's why I strongly advise younger guys to get a degree in something non-aviation, so that if aviation doesn't work out, they can get a 'regular' job and fly for fun. In this day and age, focusing on one career path to the exclusion of all other possibilities is just asking for trouble...
Very good advice. Getting an aviation degree is a very bad idea.
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