time to comeback?...where?
 

Left XJT 3 years ago due to stagnation. Living out west(CO) now. Seems to be a good time to restart.
I'd like some thoughts on where to go.
3000 TSIC only gets me back in regionals (again!)
Considerations I can think of off hand;
Upgrade time
Bases (commute until upgrade)
Training contracts

Been thinking SKW but don't know what upgrades look like.

Please keep your responses mature and professional. I'm acutely aware of the emotions the LOA has stirred up. I've experienced the full spectrum myself having worked under JO at Mesa, JR and then Hunley at XJT.

I'd say SKW.

time to comeback?...where?
 

I would say don't come back.

what makes you want to come back ? why did you leave ? did your reasons for leaving get completely 180'ed ? why did that happen ?

8hour, do you mean ever?...or not right now. I think we all know the cyclical nature of this industry. Seems like now is the time to get back in if this is one's intended career. I hear some say to earn a living another way and fly for fun. I can attest to the dificulties of keeping aviation a part of your life in that way. Foremost is the costs of GA now. It's prohibitive to anyone not financially elite. Also, it is extremely difficult to write off the years of training and time/investment that accompanied it just to pursue another career in the interest of a paycheck.

Sat, I realized the industry as a whole was in a trough in 2010. At that point I had 5 years total in the right seat and something like 700 between my seniority number and upgrade. I think those in my new-hire class still have not upgraded. That's 7 years. I have a secondary set of skills that I can earn a much more comfortable living from. It is just that though, a secondary career that provides a nice paycheck but that I have very little interest in.
Now I see conditions that favor a more reasonable time in the right seat. I can endure the ridiculous pay of regional FO for a few years, but not for the better part of a decade.

Compass will have a LAX base Feb 1. We'll have better movement than most any other gig out there as long as Delta continues to hire, and they should.

LAX going senior? I hadn't given Compass much consideration but I certainly will now. Thanks Jonny.

Fastest way to left seat?

Compass or Mesa right now. By spring Mesa will be at a 12month upgrade time. You may be able to skip over a lot of guys who won't have the 1000 hrs 121.

Bro, drive on with these skills and kick butt. Don't look back. Fly for fun, buy a Cessna, etc. Returning to right seat in an RJ flying on Christmas for peanuts is not in the category of life development.

Why is it difficult ? It is called "assess the situation" and make a decision based on that. Is someone else (wife, parents, etc) nagging you why you "left this career" etc ? Do what is best for you bro. "Pursue another career in the interest of a paycheck?" Think that is hard ? Let us know how difficult it is to write off years of training and investment for a career with no (little to none) paycheck, for years. Do the math on that.

Not being mean or sarcastic, but trying make some points.