Originally Posted by
Ultralight
I thought the whole point of going to a regional was to do your time and get the hell out of there as quickly as possible. If so, you need to go to the place where you will fly the most (least time on reserve) and the one that will get you that lucrative PIC turbine time the quickest. No-one has a crystal ball but it safe to assume you will upgrade quicker at TSA than you would at SkyWest.
However, if QOL is at the top of your list and you are happy to grow roots at a regional, then SkyWest would be my first choice. Only problem with that is, if you are a 10 year captain at a decent company and life is dandy, will you still want to make the jump to a major and start all over again?
I fully expect to be called names for this comment, but the crappier the regional, the quicker you will get to where you ultimately want to be. Get in, fly your ass off, do your time, and get the resume out there. A year on reserve is pretty much a year wasted. You get credit for hours flown, not years served.
The problem is that upgrade times and time on reserve changes so drastically. Look at GoJet, Silver and GLA. Airplanes will be parking by the hundreds in the next two years and the large RJ on property will likely change hands. RAH screwed United with the Q400 flying and so did Delta via Pinnacle. I wouldn't be surprised to see airplanes from RAH making their way to SKW.