Originally Posted by
DukeofHazzard
It was a combination of a lot of things, 2020 really set me back financially and then we had our first kid. Was contemplating going to an LCC but really couldnt take an even more dramatic pay cut for training since we were in the process of buying a house in 21. I then had about 4 years of logbook to catch up on. So this last year I worked a lot on the app and finally got it out there. All while that was happening the unoffical metering reared its ugly head, and now a lot of LCC's are not hiring anymore. I will still get my app out to other places as well, might even consider a lateral move to another non-delta regional.
I get your logic. Were it me though, I wouldn't do the non DL regional lateral unless there were some long term reasons lile a super robust bonus structure and the pay/commute issue would work for you for a while.
As for the LCC's, I'd lean more that direction, but only for ones you could stand "getting stuck" at.
Things are still really good but there is a vibe of slowing down in the air. Not just the crocodile tears of DL going from 2000+ to "just" 1000+ a year, which is still stellar, but things in general. Spirit seems to be in worse shape than I realized. Things have a habbit of going the other way very fast with little notice in this industry. We simply can't count on bouncing to carryer XYZ then punching out to a first choice Legacy as soon as our app is updated. That might not be a thing tomorrow.
IIRC, you're a Captain at a regional who just bought a house which seems to imply that you're living fairly comfortably while you wait for even better opportunities. I'd be very hesitant to jump to parallel to another regional at the bottom of their list even as a "street Captain" and for sure as a junior FO. Once you get your 1000 PIC which it soulds like you have already (its not the hard competitive min it once was, but its still a very powerful resume enhancer) then I'd maybe look at the best of the LCC's that work for you and concentrate on those.
The concept of touching another airline to avoid "unofficial metering" and then bouncing directly to the Legacy of your choice is a gamble and right now IMO a much larger one than it was not that long ago. Fortune favors the bold and all that, I get it. But there's still zero guarantee you'd get a DL interview and no guarantee that you'd get the CJO anyway. Then what?
And this goes without saying, but look into AA UA and SW. Not only would any of those probably make it a little easier to get a DL call (Legacies love to poach from eachother when able) but all of them are excellent second choices and I only say that because you're implying your first choice is DL which I get. Any of them would be amazing career opportunities and shouldn't be overlooked JMHO.