New and don't know much
 

I have read probably 40 hrs and 6 months of back threads, and am just now barely beginning to understand what everyone is saying. Having said that, I have always had a preference for Envoy as the regional I want to fly for, so that's why I'm posting in this thread. Basically, my question is what really matters the most when picking a regional, a base, and an aircraft type? I am just barely 21 years old, have just barely over 1,500 hrs (over 1,000 dual given), already have a BS degree (in business admin), did not participate in the cadet program, and have no kids or wife. I want to fly and dont want to be on reserve forever, but can/will live in whatever base I get assigned so commuting is not a factor. If I go to envoy, I will certainly get last pick of everything because I will be youngest non-cadet in class. I have all the time in the world, but dont want to waste any either. Advice?

I personally wouldn’t come to Envoy if I was in your shoes. You are young with no family and a degree, meaning you can hustle your way to the majors.

There are better and some would argue faster ways to get to mainline than Envoy, plus you have your whole career ahead of you. If you were 40, married and no degree Envoy is an ok choice.

If you absolutely must work for AA, well pick a wholly owned and wait it out, however I would consider that a last resort in your position.

Best of luck to you and welcome to the 121 world.

Go to skywest, endeavor or republic in that order.

No flow...don’t go.

Go to PSA. See thread below.

First of all, congrats on being young, motivated, and quite well versed on what the shortcommings of Envoy are. If I were in your shoes, I would go to ExpressJet...hands down.

Their bases are relatively affordable (sans EWR), and they are poised to have a ton of movement. Their pay is near the top, and their contract rocks. I worked their for 2 years, and loved it...except for the pay at the time in 2012!

If I were you, I would spend a few hours reading about XJet, and go from there.

Good Luck!

You could also come here and spend your reserve days talking to all the DECs that just got here from ExpressJet.

I say in your situation you won’t need a flow. You have a degree. If you keep your nose clean when the majors come calling you’ll be ready.

If there’s somewhere you’d like to live figure out if there’s a regional with a base there and go with them. Remember pay rates aren’t the only thing, cost of living is important too. Living in Dallas or Houston costs a lot less than living in Chicago or New York.

Things change rapidly in this industry. Today’s golden boy is tomorrow’s red headed step child. Two years ago Envoy was THE place to be with flow and top pay rates. Today with most everyone getting raises, the seniority list growth causing flow to extend, strange hiring which has left some FOs on reserve 12 times longer than others, and now crews getting fired over a simple mistake, Envoy is not that popular.

I second the Express Jet recommendation. They’re a bottom of the barrel regional about to skyrocket. Good pay, new planes, recently acquired, more or less, by United, long upgrade times that are about to drop bigly,

Good luck to you.

I third the ExpressJet recommendation

I fourth that. ExpressJet is a great choice right now for someone who can play the high risk high reward game.