Originally Posted by
skyemiles2
So where is that? One of the “better” regionals, where things are already stagnant, it takes 6-12 months to get a class, etc.? Even those pilots are saying it’s not a good deal for new hires.
Or one of the “bottom feeders” that can’t even staff right now, has similar or lower pay, etc.?
Envoy is one of the (seemingly) better options out there where you can get a class relatively quickly. While times are good, there’s built in attrition. Unfortunately, I do need a new job within the next 2 months or so, so I need to make some decisions.
I’m not on the east coast, so that limits options more. Unless my logic is somehow flawed, I’d rather be stuck somewhere like Envoy than somewhere like Mesa, so that’s why I’m trying to get a real sense of why it’s a bad deal.
Here's some of the good things about Envoy that people always forget to mention:
Operationally we run a good show. As a lineholder, most of the time you just show up to work and fly your line. We are well staffed so we don't reassign and shuffle flying just to cover some of it, we also have plenty of reserves, so irrops most of the time are handled smoothly.
If you lose a turn, you just go home. If you lose an overnight, you get a hotel in domicile (or go home, if you live in base).
Obviously when ORD and DFW are ground stopped for wx, all hell breaks loose, but that's the same everywhere.
Our planes have ACARS, printers, and our IT systems are pretty good (as long as you learn how to use them!). (yes, DECS is actually really good).
We also have a few really good third party apps, that make daily life much easier (Quicktrade and Quickbid for example). We can pick up OT or Pilot to Pilot trips with a few taps on the (company provided) iPad.
We use Jeppesen, not some neverheard cheapest provider of garbage.
As of now, we also don't have long wait times for class dates. Training is AQP and pretty decent, unfortunately the trend is lowering though - they are aggressively hiring PSI's, and most of them are pretty horrible. You will be given plenty of "study guides" to make sure you pass the written test and the SV (oral).
You bid for your sim slot during training, they don't do BS like Endeavor with their "dynamic scheduling" or whatever they call it(basically: you sit in your hotel room, waiting for a call to go do a sim. And sometimes you sit there for a week without that phone call).
If you have to commute, I would look at Republic. They have a pretty damn good package right now. If you need a class date earlier, Envoy is not a bad deal. If you get the 145, your first year experience won't be great.