It’s certainly not easy to choose the right regional. Even straight pay rate is a poor metric since what you actually make will depend heavily on how long you are on reserve, deadhead pay, trip/duty rigs, available open time and the incentives available, various bonuses (not just new hire bonuses), etc, etc, etc. Then you get into all of the QOL rules... It’s enough to make your head spin and while some data may be available, making sense of it all is pretty much impossible.
I agree with the above posters who recommended that you choose a regional with a *junior* base within easy driving distance of where you live, or you commit to moving to one. That’s the one constant. People make commuting to mainline work because they’re making so much money. Commuting to a regional is another animal and not having to is generally worth giving up pay and some QOL rules.
Since you asked why OO is so popular, here are some common reasons why people choose SkyWest:
It’s well managed, has never furloughed a pilot, and is considered more likely than most to weather another economic downturn without going out of business.
Lots and lots of bases if you ever get sick of where you live, or your wife gets a job opportunity elsewhere.
All things considered, pay is competitive with other regionals.
Flys for all 3 legacies and Alaska. Which means it’s less likely to fall on hard times if it falls out of favor with one of them, or if one of them starts to struggle.
Generally people are happy here, and I don’t see nearly as many “fly hard and get out as fast as you can” posts from SkyWest pilots. I turned down a hefty bonus from TSA to come to SkyWest even though TSA also had a junior base where I lived. I certainly don’t regret that decision now.
No junior manning.
Does any of that mean it’s right for you? I don’t know. I wouldn’t bank on flow or guaranteed interviews. An interview doesn’t equal a job. An interview you could only get because you were guaranteed one certainly doesn’t. And the flow is a long way down the line and will get a lot further down the line once the economy takes a hit.
I’d be careful with Mesa. Regional pilots very rarely give up their seniority to go to another regional. In fact, I’ve never personally met any who have...except from Mesa and Great Lakes. Great Lakes went out of business, and I’ve flown with quite a few former Mesa pilots who have decided that it was worth giving up years of seniority to get out of there.
You really need to say where you live and how hard it would be to move to get better advice. Good luck to you whatever you decide.