Skywest will give you seniority in your class date. Also it will be your date of hire as far as benefits go (which will increase your pay first year with the the quarterly bonuses). That's the point of Skywest's cadet program. You will only beat out your class and you'll go against the other cadets. No contracts, so if you go to Envoy, Endeavor, etc. you owe nothing to Skywest.

Envoy's program gives you benefits and flight benefits and puts you in their "flow" program but does nothing for seniority. So you're right the 26 year old would beat you. Also, if you want out of this contract $$$$$$$$$. The whole point is they get guys trapped into the "5 YEAR FLOW...2 YEAR UPGRADE" at 250 hours because you guys want to say you have an airline job waiting. When in reality you can have any regional you want in the current market and highly doubt that will change at all by the time you're ready.

I'm not telling you what to join but just giving you a suggestion to not sign a dotted line for a contract at your low hours. If you find programs like Skywest's that are no harm no foul then great. You get a free trip to SLC paid for. I know guys who just did it for that honestly. If you sign something now with your low hours it would be idiotic (sorry to be blunt).

You could sign up for the Envoy program with 100 hours to go and you'd still be in the same boat without having those flight benefits...which lets be honest, would save you a couple hundred dollars. Is gambling 2 years of your life worth that until your contract is up? You decide.