Paying for most of the flight training up front wasn't a big red flag to you? I would never pay for it up front to a place like Jet U. How did you not see that coming? Every flight school that I have ever attend or worked at allowed the "Pay as you go option"

 

People seeking short cuts and willing to sell out tend to lose focus of the big picture and get wrapped up in the now of things.

 

shy, the lost decade created a bunch of regional "lifers" as you choose to call them. XJ was a great place to be "stuck" for a lot of us "lifers" Most were living in base and making six figures and great QOL to boot. At the time, most of the eventual flows had no desire to go to some tier 3 airline just to fly a 320 for some of the worst rates in the industry and to commute to do so. I don't fault you for going to Virgin. In your position at the time it could easily be justified. On the other hand, you can't fault us XJ "lifers" at the time for staying put at XJ and holding out for something better than a tier 3 gig which most had not desire to commute to.

 

I wouldn't count on the 200s staying, delta has shown they want to move them and it just didn't work out with air whiskey. I'm sure you guys are some of the cheaper bidders now so who knows. Side note Skywest opened up DTW As a maintenance base. Hope the deuce stays by you guys tho, it's been a tumultuous few years for you guys.

 

I agree for flight training it should be pay-as-you-go. But flight schools back in 2006-2007 that had RJ transition programs required full money upfront for this course. One could either take a loan or bring a check. That in itself was not too shady. The shady part was how the business was run in terms of lies they spread to screw military members with VA benefits and lies spread about their own accreditation.

I had a few mentors and the advice given at 23 when starting at a regional: move up until the tail matches the name on the paycheck. But even if you excuse that, the lost decade is just a term. Yes 9/11 and Age 65 set the industry back but there was still plenty of hiring at LCCs/Legacies. The explosive growth was at the LCCs. You call it a 3rd tier airline and IMO that is more a mindset than anything else. The only thing I can see is living in base and not wanting to commute. But great schedules and six figure pay could easily be had at any LCC. And another fact is amongst Virgin/jetBlue/Spirit, anyone hired prior to March 2010 is a CA today making well over six figures. I'm not faulting you, but just trying to keep it factual. The last point I'd like to make is although you make it sound like many at XJ didn't want to work at 3rd tier airlines and wanted to hold out for something they could live in base for, the one airline that was that chance was Northwest, and I know two pilots who in the past commented that no way would they leave the Avro left seat to go make 30/hr to fly a DC9. For many (including Express/Pinnacle) that was an actual reason given. So it wasn't just not wanting to work for a 3rd tier airline. Some didn't want to fly the entry level DC9 for their mainline mothership for the wage being offered at the time. Of course, those that did take that leap are at Delta making excellent money. As for where I am the 320 pay isn't the highest in the industry but it's certainly not the lowest either as you like to claim. I'm also not 'above' working at any one place. That's why my apps went everywhere and the only two majors that were hiring at the time were NK and VX.

 

Okay so back to Endeavor! I think I read in earlier posts, and I also gather from the paperwork they sent out in the latest emails for the next class...We will be able to positive space home on weekends? Is this even going to be practical? I have a wife and two little ones at home and would love to make it home on the weekends but am unsure how realistic this is with the training going on.

Thanks for any help! Being gone from the family for a month seems a bit much but maybe that's the norm in the 121 world.

 

Yes, you receive positive space home on the weekends. I wouldn't recommend heading home though on the final weekend prior to the systems exam. You should've already received an email about whom to contact to set up your travel needs. Class should be done on Fridays by 1700 and the hotel shuttle will take you to the airport from the training center. They may also take a vote in class to start on Fridays an hour early so you can have a few more flight options.

 

These Endeavor threads are just awesome... Pure comedy.

 

The SSP wasn't a short cut? A lot of Delta guys are saying different.

 

Any idea of current reserve times? How commutable is it really? I'm hoping for MSP.