You should get paid decently by working and without being a scheduling loophole guru.
And I want a pony.
On topic though, this is a tough one. I mean, I
hate RAH, and this is a tough one. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see RAH try to furlough again this fall, just because that seems to be their go-to position when they don't know what the Hell else to do. On the plus side, that would mean all bets are off as far as the training contract goes. Then again, on the infinitesimal chance that the pilots get released to strike, first-years with no union protection could be faced with a "scab or you're fired" scenario.
By all accounts, PSA and (especially) XJT are better places to work. Again, OTOH, how firm are these deals with the poolies? This wouldn't be the first time in airline history the company geared up for a hiring rush early in the year, somehow fail to take into account the annual post-summer doldrums, and told everyone not already on property to pound sand.
I'd rather upgrade quickly to captain and move on to a major than spend over a decade at a regional just to hit halfway-decent earnings.
Then I don't know what to tell you. The time of the two-year RJ upgrade is over, and there are a lot of layoffs, consolidations and retirements to go at all levels of the industry before it'll even be a possibility again. RAH is a disaster for junior pilots, and if you go there, you will be miserable. That is pretty much a given. If I was still there, I would still be a fairly "junior" pilot, going into Year 5 on property.
edit:
he acknowledged that its operating division, which include Republic Airlines, Shuttle America and Chautauqua as well as Frontier, are all independent corporate entities and that each could become independent from the holding company.
I would add "But it would get
reeeeally ugly for all involved." to that statement. Bedford pulled a lot of crap to force the "one company, one list" language, and breaking it up again would be almost as much of a mess as putting it together was.