Originally Posted by
watch
Basically it sounds like a toss up. I feel like commutair isn’t as flashy and the airport reserve will suck, but it’s the more conservative choice with existing growth and continuous movement in the entire seniority list.
Expressjet would probably be a great choice- better training (as I’ve heard), flights to Mexico, $15k more per year just starting out. But if it keeps contracting like it has been in 2018, it is the wrong choice. I would be putting at least some faith in the pilot group’s hope that things are going to get better.
I have a week or so to decide. Keep letting me know your thoughts. Thank you.
I'm at C5. Two comments:
1) Airport reserve at C5 does suck, but
- it's a trade-off (8 hours vs 14 hours duty for short call)
- you won't be on reserve long here (maybe a month at EWR and two at IAD)
- you will actually be used on reserve so it's not like you're going to the airport simply to sit on your ass.
2) I can't speak to XJET's training but, having experienced training at a top tier regional that had more money to throw at the training department than C5 and XJET combined, I have come away from C5's training feeling far more competent in my responsibilities as both an FO and future CA.
Going in I was admittedly concerned about having only three GFS lessons utilizing trainers which lack visuals and realistic controls, but I found the lessons far more rewarding mostly because the instructors were extremely competent, patient, and even fun to work with. I felt confident going into sims. Of course, I had prior experience so that obviously helped, but my sim partner did not, yet he did equally well.
Where C5 training excels beyond many carriers IMO is that they now provide 13 sims to all students out of the gate and ultimately more if you need them.
Additionally, the current sim schedule consists of groups of 3-4 sims, followed by 1 or 2 days off, depending on whether you use the last sim in each group (officially declared as an "additional sim"). This results in a bit more than 3 weeks in sims but this is a much more tolerable schedule because it allows you to decompress, absorb what's been learned, and brush up on any weaknesses.
The current training footprint is:
1 week indoc (IAD)
2 week systems (IAD)
1 week sit (IAD)
1 day oral (IAD)**
3 weeks GFS & sims (CVG or HOU)
** Your oral wil be in IAD and prior to sims if you have 1500 hours required for the ATP (or you have your ATP already). This is preferential to having your oral after you get the required time via sims because you can focus exclusively on flying the airplane vs studying for the oral.