WhiskyWhisky

I live half way between both cities (kinda nice). What base would you choose & why?
What are typical MKE schedules currently looking like?

Also, current reserve status/length for both?

idlethrust

I’d go to Envoy

Cessnaflyer1213

Milwaukee reserve time is shorter at the moment. Somewhere between 1-3 months. Reserve time in Chicago is longer because most commuters can get there easier and it's simply a larger base.

Schedules in Chicago have pretty much every variation under the sun. Milwaukee is almost exclusively early starts and late ends. First plane out of maintenance is a 6a departure. That means be at the airport at 5:15a. Then there's a 7:15 & 8:30a. The last planes to come back to MKE typically don't land there until 8:30, 9:30, & 10:30p. Your 3-4 day schedule in Milwaukee will always start and end with one of those flights.

Somewhere during your days, you have a 20ish hour overnight where you swap from the early morning shift to the afternoon/evening shift. Most folks would like to stay on the same shift given the choice (1st shift start early/end early or 2nd shift start late/end late). The longer overnight and swap to 2nd shift causes some to complain about the schedule.

If you live in between, give MKE a try. You will get off reserve faster and probably be offered an upgrade faster. Lots of people don't want MKE for a lot of reasons. Mostly commuting and schedules. If you are willing to put up with the inconvenient schedule, the rewards might be a little higher.

WhiskyWhisky

Thanks CessnaFlyer - good info.

ZenoAir

Dude....Go to Envoy...This place is the dumps!
Place makes $$$ for its owners and we cant even get a raise or profit sharing, but MGMT gets a very nice bonus off our backs.

WhiskyWhisky

I look at this as a stepping stone for whats next, what works well for my commute, & family life. I expect to be at Majors in 2-3 years based upon my prior flight time and experience. I could care less about bonus checks and profit sharing at a regional level. Nearly $300k first 3 years isn't bad as an FO at AirWisky considering starting wages were $15k just a few years ago.

ZenoAir

We all should be out of here soon and onto a Major making $$$, but if his goal is ORD, should he settle for the bottom regional airline in the country or go straight to a place that wont force him to ever leave ORD and flow right to AA in about 6-7 years or should he come to a place that has the lowest moral among the bottom feeders? Maybe moral will improve soon......we have operational excellence and a new crew room, and not to mention a new base to commute to if JR.

DarkSideMoon

🙄. Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. There’s a million reasons why you might not end up at a major as quickly as you think you will.

WhiskyWhisky

I understand there is a lot of bitterness from guys embedded in the industry the last 10, 15...20 years that waited 15 years or longer at a regional for that Major job. But times have changed. Several buddies have made the leap in 2-3 years. I tend to be an optimist. I was smart at flew part 91 and didn't succumb to the trenches of regional life 1990's - 2000's. It's gotta be a little painful watching these kids upgrade and move onto majors at age 23 to 25. Good for them.

DarkSideMoon

I’m one of those newbies. Clean record, hopeful to move on quickly but I’m not *expecting* it by any means.
You’re one busted checkride from being stuck like everyone else. I fly with plenty of very qualified people who can’t get calls.