Originally Posted by robthree

Living in base makes all the difference in the world.


In ORD you will not sit reserve as soon as there is anybody junior to you. The latest perm bid is calling for 95 ORD ERJ FOs. In other words, Eagle has about 25% fewer FOs in ORD then they need. You will fly, fly, fly.


Historical upgrade times are like historical stock prices, past results do not guarantee future performance. RAH's 19 mo upgrade will only stay that low if they continue to experience the same level of attrition and growth that they have for the last 2 years. Eagles' upgrade times will drop by 2 years overnight very soon. There were no Eagle new hires between 9/01 and March of 04(?) (Somewhere about that time frame anyway.) Eagle has not grown, and is not likely to in the near term. Attrition is accelerating. Flowbacks are being recalled to AA. Flowthroughs have won arbitration and so will also be going up to AA. The Legacy carriers are hiring Eagle FO's. Point being, today's gap in upgrade times is unlikely to remain. Eagle upgrades will be, if not on par with RAH's, much closer, by the time you get ready to upgrade.

Eagle has a minimum of 12 days off for lineholders. Practically speaking, you should hold a line with 14-15 days off in short order. I've never been Jr. Manned, except on a weather day where they couldn't get me home before I timed out. 14:30 max duty day. 10:00 off in base. No trip rigs, but that's not currently an issue - schedules are very productive due to tight staffing. Hotels are middle of the road. Mostly just OK. A few really good, a couple not so hot. No training contract, if you don't like it you can leave. Pass bennies are OK - fees variable by mileage; BOS-DFW is about 15ow Coach, 35 First. Unlimited passes for you, spouse, & dependents. Limited for parents. After 2 years limited buddy passes are available. Medical is standard HMO type, available either on day 1 or after 30 days. 401k matching.

Eagle is not a bad place to be right now. Unless you really like to sit in the back of airplanes, and enjoy sharing a room with 14 other guys, I'd pick EGL over a commute.