Originally Posted by
319wisperer
However if you take the first available upgrade ( which looks like its running under a year), then you are where most FO's are pay wise at places like Skywest, Republic, XJet, etc where you wouldn't upgrade until 2017 at the soonest.
The potential for a quick upgrade may be a consideration for someone that is thinking about working for a regional. There is a great deal of unpredictability in this industry, so saying Great Lakes is a better choice than one of the "top tier" regional airlines is purely subjective. However, claiming that Great Lakes Captain pay is comparable to SkyWest FO pay is flat out incorrect. On 3rd year CRJ pay you would make $10/hour more (assuming a nice mix of 200/700/900) trips than you would flying left seat at Great Lakes. When you also consider the difference in per diem and the availability of open time for additional income, the two don't even come close. Again, there are lots of other factors to be considered, but from a purely financial standpoint, there's no comparison.