Originally Posted by
echoaviation
You're right it is a marathon. The only reason Compass does not pay for a hotel during initial is because they can. Pilots will still show up and bend over for two months in hopes of a quick upgrade. Doesn't sound like a "marathon" when you put it that way. It sounds more like a 40 yard dash.
I didn't put it "that way", you did. I'll lay it out more clearly.
If you want an airline career and have a choice between a large regional with moderate attrition from all seniority levels and maybe a little growth who pays for training and a small regional with known, large, metered attrition from the top of the seniority list who doesn't pay for training it probably makes sense to go to the large attrition company. In a career that typically spans 30+ years you should choose a company that will get you a seniority number at the next level sooner.
You can't predict the future but history has shown upgrade at a regional as a good predictor of getting hired at a major. In that context hotel for training is an irrelavent factor when choosing a regional.