I've thought about it, but I know that I will be on reserve for awhile, and until I get the hang of commuting along with the hotel allowance it might be best to have a place to go that will always be there (especially when ORD takes a dump and there aren't any hotels).

It depends where you are commuting from. Crash pads cost $200-$250 per month. So about 4 hotels plus the 4 the company buys you. If you think you are going to be over 8 nights a month in Chicago the crash pad makes sense.

That's good, welcome aboard. I'm not saying people shouldn't come here, they should just know what they are getting into.

It'll be long

If the airlines really are your second career, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt here. Are you familiar with the concept of portability of labor? In every other industry, highly trained individuals have the ability to ask for market wages commensurate with their education, record, and years of experience should they choose to switch job locations or employers. Due to the incomplete deregulation of our industry and the unionization, airline pilots don't have that ability. As you are finding out by switching airlines, one has to start over from the beginning. When you get 5 or 10 years of your life INVESTED in an airline, switching employers isn't nearly as easy as you suggest.

If you really do have previous experience in business, then you of all people should understand that a truly successful business is dependant on happy and productive employees. Unfortunately, due to the adversarial nature of the airline industry as a whole, the inadequacy of the RLA to address modern issues in a timely fashion, and the attitude of US Air and now AAG management toward their own employees, there is a deep rift at envoy between management and the front line employees. CR700's dismissive attitude toward those of us that dare challenge his narrative is a prime example of this. Instead of even pretending to care about the concerns of employees and addressing them, he simply calls us liars. Why do myself and others come on to APC at all? Because we have tried to bring our concerns to management through normal and union channels, and this is the attitude we encounter. We're told that things like QOL aren't really an issue, because "no one is complaining except for the vocal minority" when in reality, the average front line employees have simply given up hope that management is listening. I'm here because I refuse to stand by and let people like CR700 lie through omission to new hires. Anyone that is prepared to invest several years of their life working here needs to understand what they are getting themselves into, and have the whole picture.

I also suppose I have some fleeting hope that I'll push enough buttons that someone at Centerport or envoy headquarters leaves their cubical long enough to talk to the people they are supposed to be leading. Did you know that envoy doesn't even conduct exit interviews to find out WHY employees are leaving?

How is Envoy’s pre-employment medical and physical examination (such as visual and auditory testing and drug testing). Regular medical/visual like 1st class medical or something different?

Ok folks, sayonara. I'm signing off. I'm flowing in the next few months and, in an effort to preserve my anonymity, am going to sign off here now to avoid pinning myself to a specific class date. I'm not going to stick around like some of these other guys and moan about a place I no longer have a stake in. I just don't have the time to peruse these forums anymore, lousy schedules and commuting consume my time and I don't need any extra negativity in my life.

That said, here are some final thoughts about Eagle (I'm not parting under that other name):

How long did it take?

~16 years.

Was it worth it?

The people I worked with have been awesome. I have favorite captains I'll never see again, Fo's I hope to see flow up behind me. The company itself? Maybe Eagle lived a sheltered life, but watching the decline of the airline, especially the last several years, had been brutal and painful. I used to have a great schedule and just didn't know it until I got to see what a lousy schedule was. We never suffered unilateral changes to our contract. Reserve wasn't as brutal. You could have a life.

That's changed. I don't feel like that's the case at this time (as a commuter). If I left under the same relative terms I spent my first decade here under I would say it was 100% ok, would do again. These last several years have sucked. My time is gone. My pay is lower. My commute stinks. If I had a choice at a different regional that offered better schedules, same advancement, and to live in base I'd be hard pressed to make a decision. The only thing that would attract me to ENY is the flow. Tough choice, everyone. I can't make that choice for you.

That said:

The flow worked. I'm outta here in a few months. Done. Gone. Last job I'll ever have. Best thing ever, I'm incredibly excited that it's finally working out.

I cannot wait to get out of here, and I mean that I every way possible.

If you've got questions, I'll answer them for a while, then I'm deleting my account.

Good luck to all. See you on the other side.

Congratulations!

A thoughtful and valuable response. I regret some of my post you quoted. Excessive and feed into the downside of this site. I apologize. That said, there is valuable information here but with a heavy helping of frustration. Pay is improving. Hopefully management will choose to improve QOL and benefits to make them a leader in pilot recruitment instead of another $5k in sign on bonus.

Don't waste your money on a crashpad. Try it out for a couple months. Hotels around ORD are cheap if you use up all your company provided ones and you need one. Just my opinion.