And I want to to thank everyone for participating in the poll. The question of first year pay comes up more often than not and there are lots of opinions.

Me personally - if I was at a regional with offers from the Big 3 in hand, 1st year pay would probably be a few notches down my priorities list: pay at all 3 airlines evens out over the span of a career. Number One, or close to it, would be, "Where do I want to live and which airline has a base there?"

I do see quite a few opinions centered around which airline has the best management (no question about it: Delta), and believe it or not, that would also not be in my top priorities - for the simple reason that "best managed" today can change in a heartbeat.