Longhornmaniac8

Hi all, thanks in advance for answering some questions. I recognize that they're all going to be subjective; I'm just looking for honest advice and opinions.

I've been spending the last year or so pondering my regional options, and feel all but narrowed down to Republic and Envoy. On the surface, I understand the contract and QOL situation at Republic is better, but I have to admit that the upgrade times there (currently 2.5-3 years) are a little intimidating. Ultimately, the goal is to fly for the legacies, with a preference right now for AA or FX; I want to build time quickly to take advantage of the considerable movement in the industry (read: I'm happy to fly, not necessarily looking for ways to game the scheduling system to maximize days off at the moment).

Currently located in the Austin area, and am looking preferentially at airlines that will provide a base option at DFW or IAH for a reasonable commute. At the end of the day, I'm not 100% against relocating, but I have a life here, and have a strong preference to stay around Austin. IAH and DFW are both easy commutes, and would probably offer a fair amount in the way of commutable lines once I get there.

So with some background out of the way, here are my questions:

1) If I were to hit my ATP mins somewhere towards the end of the year (could be late November all the way through the holiday season), what am I reasonably looking at with respect to options that would put me in DFW? I understand I'm not likely to get the 175, which is fine. All other things being equal, sure, it seems like a fun plane to fly, but it's more of a tiebreaking factor for my other priorities. So with the 145, it seems likely to get LGA out of training, which is less-than-desirable because it's a 2-leg commute (unless I fly AUS-JFK and take the Airporter). How long are people sitting in LGA before being able to bid into DFW? What about the reserve times? Is 6-9 months reserve at DFW still the norm on the 145 once you get there?

2) What is the general perception of getting hired out of order at AA? Does it happen? What does it take? Flow is fine as an insurance policy, but I'm not really looking to spend 6-7 years at a regional. I have a Bachelor's degree and don't need flow to make it to a legacy. Will Envoy provide that opportunity to keep my career moving forward, even if it's not at AA?

3) Related, what are upgrade times looking like these days? Obviously, much has been made of the captain shortage, the DECs, and the enhanced commuter policy at LGA. All of that seems to play into the hands of somebody who wants to upgrade quickly, but it's kinda tough to figure out now exactly how quickly because the DECs are skewing the newest DOH for certain plane/base combinations. How long are new captains sitting at LGA before transferring out of base? Reserve times in the left seat at the bases?

4) Has the training backlog stabilized/improved? Last I heard, people were waiting months for a training date. I want to get in and get after it!

The main selling points at Envoy to me are the perceived quicker career progression vis-a-vis Republic, and an intangible direct association with AA (AA has meant a lot to me in a past life as a frequent flyer, and that's the primary reason why I want to fly for AA over the other legacies). Pretty much everything else (pay, QOL, planes) would favor Republic, but those Envoy selling points are pretty important to me.

Anything else I should know about working at Envoy, good or bad? How do you feel about the future of Envoy? Trending up or down? Do you feel like your union leadership is doing a reasonable job on behalf of its pilots?

I'm just trying to make the best decision. I can get pumped full of sunshine by recruiters at each airline. I'm looking for a fair assessment of the good and bad (fat chance at APC, I know!). I'm also aware some of this information could probably be found, but the forums aren't especially conducive to finding it.

Thanks again!