Originally Posted by
metro3
I have offers from both Envoy and Commutator.
Envoy: bigger company, wholly owned, bigger bonus, slightly higher pay
Commutator: base at IAD 30 mile drive....no commute, faster upgrade likely, partially owned by UA
I am getting back into commercial flight after a long absence.
The only thing that scares me about Envoy is that I hear their schedules are terrible for commuters.
Can anyone confirm this?
Any insight is appreciated as I have to decide real soon which one I am going with.
Thanks!
I don't know too much about Commutair so I'll just speak to some of the pros and cons to Envoy.
The pros: Pay is great, it's about time to earn a livable wage as a first year FO. Upgrade time is dropping like a rock. The current vacancy bid closes in a week and that should drop the upgrade time to somewhere between 3 years and 3 years and change. There will still be 200+ CA vacancies over the rest of the year. By the end of the year we should be seeing upgrade time of around 2 years. Flow is a great backup plan to have in your back pocket if you can't get to a legacy before then. Envoy is 100% owned by AAG which adds an extra layer of protection and stability over the next few years when the majors start retiring crazy numbers and the regional market starts to get very interesting.
Cons: Biggest issue without a doubt are the schedules. Envoy's schedules are not good at all right now. I can't speak to the commutability, but overall they are low credit and low days off. QOL compared to some of the other regionals out there is lacking. I don't know how Envoy QOL compares to Commutair, but it's definitely inferior to Skywest and some other places. And I'll keep this in the con column, there is going to be growth on the horizon. Lots of talk of more bases opening up. Now, growth may seem like a good thing. And it is good when you're talking about certain things. But when it comes to staffing, more growth equals more strain on staffing. More strain on staffing equals more hits on schedules. More hits on schedules equal hits on QOL.
Like others have said, you can't beat driving to work. It makes the job 100% different compared to having to throw in a commute. Without knowing many specifics about Commutair, my initial thought would be to go there if it means driving to work. Commuting sucks. And lakehouse makes a valid point. There's about to be a lot of shuffling in the UAL regional feed. IAD could be there for the long haul for Commutair or it could not. I assume your goal is to get to a Legacy ASAP. If you have anything sketchy that may prevent you from getting to a legacy on your own, i.e. no 4 year degree, have a degree but low GPA, etc. then Envoy's flow may be your best bet.