Originally Posted by
Ihavenoidea
Sorry to bump an old thread but I am in an almost identical position to the OP with the only exception being that I’m in my early 20’s. I live in DFW but have family in ORD (both junior bases at ENY and SKW). I’d love to stay in Texas long term at either AA, SWA, or UAL and don’t really have a preference for which one I end up at. My concern with ENY is that flow time seems to only be increasing and may be greater than the time it would take me to get hired somewhere other than AA. On the flip side of that, even a 10 year flow to AA would mean a 30+ year career for someone my age. To sum things up, I wanted to get y’alls opinion on both paths. Thanks!
My 2 cents.
First, don’t confine yourself to these two. I think XJT would be an option as well. Go where you can build hours.
Second, if you have no current social attachments, move to ORD or NYC. You’re young, supposed be poor. Learn to find the cheap eats such as 2 Bros Pizza ($1.50/slice) in NYC and the happy hours for cheap drinks.
Learn to fly out of these bases. A regional should not just be checking a box, it should be about learning. Deicing. Hand flying the Expressway Visual 31 in gusty winds without the benefit of RNAV. Dealing with the cluster $$&? of LGA during a melt down. What it’s like to operate out of ORD.