Originally Posted by rabbo

I am narrowing down what regional to consider in the DC region (pretty much equidistant to drive to BWI/DCA/IAD). I am a military rotary wing pilot that would need a RTP program to get up to speed. I am looking for any advice from folks that have gone down a similar path. It's a strange world we are living in - a helicopter pilot has options about what regional airline to go work for.

PSA - radio silent.
Mesa - internet says is terrible but IAD is junior.
Commutair - internet says is terrible but flies out of DCA; recruiter said I'd probably end up in EWR at first.
Piedmont - huge training backlog is a detractor. PHL is still sorta drivable. I was told they'd start interviewing in October for class dates "some time in 2019."

I am currently also looking at commuting to NYC for Envoy (Strong RTP pipeline with full funding, lots of commute options as far as I can tell, generally positive reviews aside from lengthy reserve times which are going down) or Skywest in LGA or ATL (The commute would be tolerable if the new TA bears fruit).

Are the complaints about Mesa and Commutair from a vocal minority or are they legit?