Originally Posted by
spacecadet
That is part of why I am interested in these three. I understand that there's a lot of justifiable skepticism about the program, but my old man is a CA at United and he seems to think it's legit and has told me the company has been hyping the program internally. He obviously has rose-colored glasses and has been out of the regional game for 30+ years, but he seems to believe the program is worth pursuing.
That said, I know that 2yrs/2000hours service is far from a guarantee, that Aviate is meant to staff the regionals and not the mainline, and it may be closer to 4-6 years at the regional. But, I have a college degree and a clean nose, so I think there's a chance the program might be in my best interest despite the reasonable suspicions many people have about it.
So it seems like you know what you want and that you've done the research for it which is refreshing to see as a lot of people come on here clueless as to where the next steps lay. It's also commendable to see that you realize that your father has been out of the regional game for 30+ years, that the aviate program is created to staff the regionals, and that there is no guarantee with the 2 year/2000 and then still passing the interview. All that being said, I see the logic in leaning towards a United branded regional carrier for the reasons you mentioned. What I will say though is I would not rule out an AA WO like Envoy for example. With upgrades at 950 hours, 29 people being skimmed off the top of the seniority list every month, and 2 175's coming online every month, there is a lot of growth happening. I 100% understand you wanting to follow in your fathers footsteps which is admirable but what I would also say is that thats a benefit that you can use to apply from Envoy straight to UA once you're competitive enough. Worst comes to absolute worst (barring the economy doesn't take a dump, airlines keep hiring, {the potentials that affect all carriers}) you have to opportunity to flow to AA. And even then if you're so compelled to, you can still leave AA for UA. Not saying for you to do one or the other but its definitely something to think about.