Originally Posted by
fortyeight
Republic guy here who recently upgraded and will never see Chicago again. Sick of sacrificing way too much of my personal time commuting to LGA where it’s actually starting to affect things outside of work.
Obviously ORD is a big 170 base, but my goal ultimately is to move west. What’s your furtherst 170 base? Honestly, how do you like your company? I get it, it’s a regional they all have their pros and cons. But OO blows YX away in terms of base options and it’s not even close. I’m now convinced living in base is the highest QOL factor above everything else.
We have a lot of bases, especially west of DEN, but they are NOT easily attainable as a Captain. The ERJ is definitely the worst in terms of trying to get a west coast upgrade- easily 5+ years right now. PNW shrunk. LAX shrunk. SAN/SFO stagnated. Etc. If you want to stay ERJ, expect a 3+ year upgrade to get reserve in ORD or LGA. Holding a line will take an eternity.
CRJ has a lot more movement. You could be a "forever" reserve Captain in PSP, LAX, FAT, SFO within 3 years. I would definintely choose this plane if you want to try to be left seat on the west coast.