pilotpm

I am thinking of applying to these two. I have narrowed it down to these two for their bases. I live in the Baltimore area and would like either PHL, BAL or DCA. Who would you choose with regards to QOL, upgrade time and pay? I have commuted in the past and would like to avoid it at all costs. Thanks for your inputs.

BoilerUP

Upgrade will be faster with Colgan, though I'd say pay and QOL would be FAR better at AWAC. One thing to consider at AWAC is they will be opening LGA and RDU next spring, shrinking PHL (mostly) and DCA (a little) to do so. It might take you a few months to get back to DCA.

FWIW I used to live in FDK and was based at DCA with AWAC; my QOL was very good (weekends & 13-15 days off monthly). There are a few pilots & FAs that live in Baltimore and I think they were pretty happy.

The Juice

I disagree in part of what BoilerUP said, yes the pay is better at AWAC but I do not agree with his assement of the QOL. I have a close friend who works for AWAC and he enjoys the airline but has many issues with it (doIhaveafuturehere.org), however I do not work for them so unlike others who speak about airlines they do not work for, I will not. (I am aware Boiler used to work for AWAC and this is nothing against him)

Boiler is right about the upgrade at Colgan, if you have the hours you will upgrade at 900 in type. My quality of life has been good at Colgan this last year, yes pay sucks but it does everywhere at a first year FO. The good news is I will be upgrading in 6 months and get the pay bump.

I have never been made to work a trip I felt too tired to work and have hit my daily duty limit once in the last year. I am based close to home here in Texas and had 19 days off this month and was over guarantee.

Many people rate the quality of the airline by the pay scale provided by APC, there are many more intangibles that you must look at as well and decide what works best for you. I fly a fun plane (even SAAB will agree) and work with great pilots and honnestly have never flown with an a** in my time here and that is a statement in itself. I am home everynight to spend time with the family and friends although if I want to do trips those are available as well.

Talk to Colgan guys about Colgan and AWAC guys abot AWAC and form your opinion on what they think about their airlines.

Laxrox43

I agree with everything The Juice said. My only complaint is pre-flighting at 5am when its a few degrees above freezing when all my buddies who are still flight instructing get to sit inside, sip on coffee, and watch their student preflight. And that's pretty much it.

I will be a Captain by Spring/Summer time building my T-PIC while my buddies from college will still be in the right seat of their RJ for another couple of years. Granted, flying a t-prop in some people's eyes isn't the most luxurious job, but the things you can do in a t-prop, and the muck and gunk that you fly through on a regular basis, will make you a better, more well-rounded aviator. Even SAAB would agree with me on that one. I can honestly say that I have learned more this past year from the Captains that I have flown with, than any other flight instructor has ever taught me over the 7 years that I have been flying.

Anyways, I'm ranting and raving. You do what is best for YOU and what will get YOU where you want to be.

Good luck. Let us know if you need any help.

JoeyMeatballs

I agree with a lot of what is said here, especially with how much fun it is to fly the SAAB, as well as most guys who can hand-fly an airplane really well, you ask them what they have flown, and usually its either the Bro, the ATR, the 1900, Jetstream, and a SAAB, they all have one thing in common................not nearly as cool as the EMB-145,hahah j/k, all T-props. I would rather ave a guy that as flown a T-prop as well as a Jet, them just a Jet guy.

Going to a regional based on upgrade time alone is risky, I have several friends who used to instruct with me, one is at Colgan, the other here at XJT, yes the Colgan guys upgraded quicker, but when its all said and done, the Colgan buddy has like 1,800hrs TPIC, the XJT guy has just over 1,000, so yes the upgrade cam quicker at Colgan, but the XJT guy is making more money and has a better QOL, as well as building the TPIC(not speaking for all XJT vs COLGAN, just between these two guys). Remember TPIC is gonna get you to a major, but it is not like your phone will be ringing off the hook once you hit it

mccube5

i think that a lot of people forget this when they talk about upgrading. unless you have some golden ticket at the next level 1000 TPIC just aint gonna cut it. so you get 3000 hours with 1000 TPIC, there are hundreds of people out there with more time then you. focus on getting your QOL in order then let everything else fall into place.

newarkblows

Choose an airline on QOL, pay, or a strong contract. AWAC has had a leading contract in previous years and is a stand up pilot group. Chasing a quick upgrade is a quick way to be miserable until you get on with a major. Age 65 is slowing hiring at the majors for a couple of years. When the hiring kicks back up you could be at a quality regional with money in the bank and nice qol or you could be at a crappy regional with more tpic but just getting out of debt and just starting to see a nicer qol. your just as competitive as someone who chased the quick upgrade with 500-600 hrs of tpic more then you. 1000 tpic is not a magic number and you may be stuck at the regional level for years.

Go where you will be happy, have good work rules, and are able to maximize your pay through a strong contract. on first year pay i made almost 10 g's more then my friend at colgan here at xjt. he is upgrading in the saab but i will still make more then him this year on second yr fo pay with a stronger contract and the ability to get paid well over 100 hrs a month. Its all a gamble and priorities.

ps if colgan is all you know then it might seem great but i promise there is much better out there.

BoilerUP

Does your friend commute?

AWAC schedules suck for commuters, and I believe the "powers that be" in ATW that are responsible for ALPA starting the "Do I Have a Future Here?" campaign want it that way (in part) to rid the company of senior, expensive pilots and replace them with newer, cheaper pilots.

Laxrox43

Then maybe I will just quit Colgan and get a job in the Caribbean like I have always wanted...HA!

Beautiful weather, hott women, and all the beach/surfing/scuba diving I can handle. Anyone flying in the NE can attest that that sounds WAY better then this cold weather crap!

"I gotta go where it's warm!" JB

JoeyMeatballs

you know what bro, I ask my self this question all the time. I swear I would love nothing more then ending up doing two things with my life, one is fly T-Prop in the islands somewhere ( I am sure they hire American guys), or fly a Husky in Alaska. To me that would be a dream come true, I dunno its sad, I am chasing the 777 type airline & lifestyle, but in reality that is the farthest thing I would like to do..............Ill end up bald, extremely overweight, divorced and probably furloughed a few times, meanwhile I could be drinking Mojitos on my days off with the island girls, me my linen pants and chicas on vacation haha