Originally Posted by
Flymeaway
To each his own I suppose. Once you realize that money over about $100k/year won't buy you anything that will actually make you happy for more than a short time, the world looks a lot different. Once you eliminate the money part, I guess the differences between mainline and regional flying come down to personal preference. Do you prefer fewer, longer legs to big cities or more, shorter legs to smaller cities where you're allowed to have dinner with your crew? No right answer. It just depends on the person.
Eh. Do you want to depend on other airlines' regional plans for the rest of your life, or do you want to go someplace that is fully in charge of its own destiny?
You could make $100K as a regional captain, or you could make $100K as a junior FO at a major. Once you're at that major, you can remain an FO on a junior fleet and build up your relative seniority quickly. It's a more secure route.