With all the doom and gloom about AWAC that has been posted, let me put it in perspective.
Reserve sucks...HOWEVER...reserve sucks equally as bad EVERYWHERE. Don't think that by going somewhere else that you will get away from reserve sucking. I was hired in '07 and I couldn't pay them to fly me. Now reserves fly everyday of a reserve sequence. My last reserve stint was in April of '09 and they were well into their abuse of the reserves, however I didn't have it THAT bad. I GENERALLY was able to commute home on the last day and it was 50/50 commutable on the first day. With that said, I have an easy commute of ATL from DCA and there are flights on the hour through 9pm at night.
Bases: LGA=SENIOR! It started very junior and now went senior since we rarely overnight airplanes there, so there were no late late finishes which meant commutable trips for people. Same on the front end.
RDU=I think fairly senior. Was an ok base for those who wanted to move there. Seems to have a lot of the "day trips" which is preference on whether you like them. People that live there LOVE them. People who don't hate them. Take your pick.
PHL=Fairly senior just because it is the biggest and generally the commuting options are better for the old "ex-united express" FO's and CA's who lived anywhere from ORD, MKE, ATW to DEN. Trips are ok. Don't know about the low end but I think you can get fairly commutable trips.
DCA=my base...fairly senior just because no one wants to leave. I have been in dca since '07 and I am about 10-15 from the bottom of the lineholders. I have not had an uncommutable schedule in over a year. In fact, we generally do either commutable on the front end or the back. There are a handful that are commutable both ends but obviously go senior. I generally finish between Noon and 3pm on most of my trips. NOT ALL but most.
ORF=The worst from what I hear and see. 90% of the lines are uncommutable both ends. Start before 6am and end after 9pm. I think the only reason people are still putting up with that foolishness is because they live there. Don't seem to be many commuters so I doubt they care.
Like was mentioned before...new hires are practically going to every base so anything is a possibility. AWAC is a great place to work. As much as we complain (me included), and as much doom and gloom you hear, it is still better than anywhere else I can think of. I make almost $4 more an hour on 4 year pay than the most senior Republic FO flying the 170/175/190 and have since 3yr pay so take it for what it's worth. It is a correct statement that our resever language is pretty weak but once you are on line, your life gets a lot better. AWAC defiantly needs to improve in A LOT of places, but from the people I talk to at other carriers, it is no better and usually A LOT worse so when you hear how bad AWAC is, please look at how much worse it could be. So regardless of where you go, until the new regs come out, here is what you can expect from a regional carrier with specifics to AWAC: 12-15 days off. 3 and 4 day trips with junior lines containing 1-3 day trips back to back. 10-12hr duty days blocking 5-8hrs containing 3-6 legs and a few 7 leggers. 9-12hr overnights with a few exceeding 12hrs. Decent pay that arrives on time or early. Never had it late. Good medical benefits. Slightly above average contract with work rules that are better in some areas, not as good in others.
With all that said, I vote for you to try and come here and I wouldn't turn ANYONE away from working here if you are looking for a regional.
CHEERS