Originally Posted by
Southern Fried
You're better off going to Envoy. DFW and flow to AA, plus its an easier commute. Don't worry so much about reserve and commuting. What's true today could be drastically different in 3 months. If you want to do airline flying, go for the base and advancement. Expect reserve and some commuting hiccups and you wont be disappointed. Life gets better with seniority and longevity. Having AA in your back pocket will be more important than you think.
Does Envoy have any sort of line improvement window or ability to massage the schedule after awarded? (I don't know the answer). Also, I think I've read that Envoy has about 30% reserve lines, meaning there's more time on reserve and overall less credited hours (on average) for everyone (line holders included). They also have forced upgrades at 1000 hrs. Under current conditions, that would make for probably at least a year of pretty heavy suck as an FO then probably a year or more of pretty heavy suck after upgrade. And I know, suck is relative, and like you said, can change on a dime, but seems like you might see an inordinate amount with Envoy vs. XJT. If the goal is to move on after, say, 4 years, that's 50% suck time, vs. maybe only 25% at a place that can get you out and on the line much more quickly. It's all a crapshoot anyway. And of course I reserve the right to be completely wrong (I usually am).