One thing is for sure. You'll never know if you made the right decision, or picked the right airline, until that day after you retire.

I like where Compass has headed, but I would consider a few things; Compass is not as senior as XJT, ENY or SKW. So they are able to be cost effective to their mainline partners, thus seem to be getting good lift contracts. BUT, today's greatest regionals are tomorrow's punching bags, so it seems. Compass provides a great deal of DAL lift, and DAL is the king of longevity resets amongst its feeders. Parker Is attempting the same thing with his feeders too (ENY, PSA & PDT). And since Compass just got a new contract to provide feed to AA too, then it begs to ask the question, How long before DAL and AA force a longevity reset, or lower caps on pilot pay at Compass too.

Messa has been getting picked on for a while now about their crappy contract / pay rates, although, I personally don't know what they are. But they've got their hands full with a lot of contracts to fill, and as long as they can staff them (that is the question) then they'll probably be around for a while. Doubt they'll be beat up by UAL or AA any time soon, as they are already, the hated words "cost effective".

Skywest has probably one of the better contracts out there. They, like Compass, and Messa, are not wholly owned by their respective mainline carriers. (Although Compass is owned by Trans States Holdings). Skywest is in fact the parent company to XJT and ASA. They own most of their airplanes (from what I understand) and have PLENTY of contracts to keep them going for quiet a while. They have plenty of bases to choose from, and a wide range of aircraft in their fleet. What the future holds for them, is anyone's guess. But they seem to be having the least of staffing troubles and are still hiring. Most people I talk to there are happy.

It's a tough call, but personally, I'd go with SKW, and then Compass. But it all really just comes down to what ever fits his personal situation the best.