Well, I know people advertising for their own replacement because they wanna move to another type in the company they are in but have been told "We need someone rated to replace you before we can move you". Seen this several times.

And by the way - The add is not mine. Found it on a recruitment website.

Of course this ad is from a recruiter or headhunter. Like like aircraft sales companies who block out the number, they want to protect their commission :)

Some good advice for the corporate industry is to focus on control your largest fixed cost, fuel!

If you have some flight planners make sure the Always check contract fuel prices (CAA, UVAir, AvFuel, Mariah, JFI, etc) and call the FBO directly if there isn't any contract fuel listed.

If you don't have any flight planners you can use a fuel management company to do the work. We used Fuel Managers at my last company, they do all the research and negotiations. Best part about them is there is no management fee, they take a small percentage of the savings they get you, but the price they give you is the price you get.

I've found AirNav, Fltplan, and most every other website else is highly unreliable when it comes to accurate, current information.

Besides, you should call to ask about ramp/facility fees anyway and talking to somebody on the phone is an easy way to start negotiating fuel price & uplift amounts...

I have enjoyed reading this thread. I work in 135 and have been wondering if a move to 121 would be a good idea in the next few years. I'm currently employed flying as SIC in a Lear 31 and PIC in a Chieftain.

After 2 years of airlineapps silence I got a call and an email last week inviting me to interview at Colgan (not interested) and ExpressJet.

My question now is should I even interview at a regional or just wait and see what happens in the next few years… It’s a hard choice

Thats a question only you can answer. There are so many factors - time off, pay, schedule, family, your tolerance level for BS etc. Why do you want to go to the airlines?

What do I want... good question. I’m pretty sure it’s the same thing we all want. Schedule I can see 30 days out, good pay, and job security... I completely understand nothing in aviation is guaranteed... Just looking to make sure the odds are on my side. I think 135 is great! But I would like to have a job longer than 3.5 years too...

There are some very good jobs in the 91/135 world to be sure. I was Expressjet for 4 years as an FO and I personally thought it was the worst job ive ever had. I left last year for the job I have now and it tripled my pay to fly half as much. Im sure that some would consider this a rarity but I have many friends that have done the same thing so I know im not a special case, the jobs are out there if you network.

I had never wanted to go to an airline but at the time it was the only way to get turbine time so I sucked it up and went. I commuted because I didnt want to live in Houston, Newark or Cleveland so I lost about 4 extra days off per month on top of having a less than desirable schedule. On average I was gone 17 days a month. Im assuming thats your little one in your avatar picture? You will definitely be spending less time at home working for an airline unless you work for a really bad 135 company. I hear you about knowing the schedule but personally I would rather have a lot of time off and not know my schedule than know my schedule and be away from home for 7 months out of the year in crappy hotels.

This is all just an opinion though and I know there were a lot of guys I flew with that all they want to do till they turn 65 is fly for an airline. Most of them had no clue as to what was available in the 91 or 135 world and didnt really care because they wanted to fly a 777 and they were going to keep going until they did regardless of the cost to their personal life. In the end I think its one of those things you wont know until you try it but by then its too late...

Hey Cobber,

Good post again, your perspective is very valuable having worked as an FO at ExpressJet. It would be a reduction in pay and QOL to move to a regional for sure. There is no reason good enough for me to do it right now. Maybe in a few years if the legacy carriers are actually hiring I will reevaluate and attempt to skip the regionals all together. Until then I'll keep enjoying 135.

If you got an interview, there's no reason IMO to turn it down - it'll be great experience to see "how the other side lives" for future reference and if you do get an offer you can turn it down then.