Upgrade times at Eagle are comming down quickly, they're running something like 40 a month through the quick course. And remember there are no 6 year FOs - Eagle didn't hire off the street for quite a while after 9/11. So 4 and 5 year FOs will be upgraded in '07. Barring major changes in the Airline environment, if you're hired at Eagle today, you could reasonably expect to see an upgrade in 3 to 5 years.

Reserve at ORD is minimal. I had a pal hold a composite line after 3 months on line. In BOS I'm holding a composite line after 6 months on line.

The CRJ is a senior aircraft, there are only 25 CRJs in the system, half in ORD, half in DFW. (There will not be any new aircraft at Eagle until AMR & APA sign a new contract, which will take years.) So it is a much smaller community than the ERJ fleet, which means fewer options in terms of lines, open time, trades, etc. But the CRJ-700 is a very nice airplane. I found the transition from the CRJ to ERJ to be not too difficult. The hardest part was forgeting the call outs from my previous carrier, and remembering the Eagle calls instead.

However, its a moot point, Eagle allows you to choose your domicile, but not equipment. You will be assigned the ERJ or CRJ in ORD depending on Eagle's immediate needs. There are no lateral equipment transfers at Eagle. You can go from a prop to a jet, but not prop to prop, jet to prop, or jet to jet. You can go from any FO to any CA, but not vice versa. As CA you can go from the SAAB to ATR, to ERJ, to CRJ, but never backwards.

I quit PSA and a commute to CLT, to fly for Eagle and be based at home in BOS. I do not regret giving up a year and a half seniority and going back to 1st year pay, again, because the benefits of living in base so far outweigh those considerations. The ability to proffer for reserve trips, short stay on reserve, and vasttly superior crew scheduling are all bonuses.