WEACLRS

Not completely true. Colgan has had close to 35 captains (about 20% of the pilot roster starting last year) hired by majors and cargo carriers in the past year - 5 to date to Continental mainline (both 737 and 757 and one heading to class this month), over 10 to Airtran, 2 or 3 to Southwest, several to UPS, ABX, Gemini, Polar, North American, JetBlue, Netjets, and several others. I know of no captains who have left to get pure jet time at a regional. Almost all of the captains who have left for bigger airlines were hired since 2001...so about 3 to 4 years with Colgan. Most are getting interviews with between 1500 and 2000 hours of PIC time in the Saab.

Upgrade is still running 12 - 18 months depending on your total time when hired. With your times and experience, I would expect your upgrade to come in a little over a year. I flew today with an FO upgrading next month, 12 months after his hire date.

First year pay will run in the $22k range, a little more at IAH because of the per diem. Second year FO pay is mute because...well we really don't have second year FO's. They're captains. Captains average $42 - $52 first year depending on how much you are willing to fly. In the northeast you'll be home each night. In IAH you'll mostly fly two to three day trips. Reserve lasts for a month...maybe. Most are holding lines immediately or within a month. Colgan spreads reserve around. You can still catch an occasional day even with 2 or more years seniority. You can usually get the base you want within 3 months or so.

Colgan is a great little company. Still growing, very good Mx, and a great group of people. It's nice to call crew scheduling and be called by name! That said, AWAC is also a great company and with their part ownership of USAir, they could be set for some expansion in the next few years. Both are good choices.