Originally Posted by Castle Bravo

I've seen volunteering mentioned several times; does this mean in the community (boy scouts, homeless shelters, etc) or inside the company as a project officer, picnic planer, yada yada. What is LOSA?

I am all for enjoying the journey, but as a guy doing this as a second career, time is not my friend (late 40s). I want to learn the trade as Envoy PIC, but a chance to beat flow could mean a lot more financial security at 65.

Originally Posted by Boogerface

The most common misconception about Envoy (or any airline, for that matter) is that length of time to upgrade is dependant on base/equipment you have as an FO. It's not. It's based purely on seniority, as you can upgrade as soon as your seniority can hold it. You might switch your base and/or equipment when you upgrade, but just because you are DFW 175 FO doesn't mean you're going to upgrade any faster or slower than a LGA 145 FO. If you are senior to that guy, you will upgrade faster than him, assuming you both bid all captain statuses. Now, all that being said, as you mentioned - you won't be able to upgrade until you have 1000 121 time. The fastest way to do that, in my opinion, is to get an equipment/base combination that will get you to lineholder status as quickly as possible. Also, you want a base that has lines with a high number of days off. This way you can pick up a high amount of OT on your days off. On reserve, you're going to average less 70 hours per month, and since all reserve lines only have 11 days off, that only leaves you 3 days to pick up OT (you are required to have at least 8 days off). If you can manage to get an 80 hour, 15 day off line, you will manage to get pretty close to the maximum hours every month. Even if you get a low time line, you should be able to trip-trade into higher value trips. The Quick Trade app just became your new best friend . All things considered, I think ORD 145 is your best bet for maximizing hours. CRJ right now has low credit trips with low days off. In LGA and MIA, you're going to have trouble picking up OT, however, you can pick up OT in ANY base on the same equipment. In DFW I think you might be on reserve longer than you want. I have no freaking clue about the 175, so hopefully someone else can chime in on that. At any rate, good luck and one piece of advice: don't burn yourself out. It's easy to do, and in many cases more detrimental to your career than "getting somewhere fast."

Originally Posted by Knobcrk1

Don't plan too much Denny

Originally Posted by Knobcrk1

I don't understand these guys that try to plan out how they will get out of the regionals before they even get there and even know what it is. That's totally the wrong approach, you don't even understand what you want yet. Just enjoy the journey.

Originally Posted by itsmytime

This right here👆. Having an end goal in mind is great, but boom where you are planted.

Originally Posted by Shiner

There nothing wrong with hustling. A few years of hard work now could keep you on the front side of the hiring boom that is just now getting going.

Originally Posted by Pedro4President

I'll try to wrap up what everyone is trying to say. Work hard, become a well rounded person, you will likely not have a choice in equipment or base (you seem young), build hours, volunteer, get a degree, and try to get into the military to fly jets. No one has the magic formula to get to the majors so throw everything at and hope and pray it sticks.

Originally Posted by 67Creek

Thanks to each of you that replied. I genuinely appreciate you all taking the time to help.







In response to the three above, I'm new to the airline industry and trying to educate myself about this career path. I want to be aware of the factors that affect career progression so I can make informed, deliberate decisions when compromising between career and QoL.



That is a concern of mine. It would seem to me that, with the rates of hiring we're going to see, even a few months difference in hire date could be a significant difference in seniority. I would think this could have big implications in QoL down the road, when movement slows down.



Thanks!

I'm in my 30's and making a career change.

Originally Posted by Half wing

Envoy could be a good choice because it is the sure path to American. It is also the only way to get to one of the big 4 without a degree that I know of. If your goal is to get to American the fastest, it is better to go to a carrier with no flow. American pulls pilots outside the flow a lot quicker. In the next few years, American will need more pilots than the 25 a month they can get from Envoy and they will pull them from their competitor's regional feed. If you want the best flight benefits on American, go to Envoy. If flight benefits on United or Delta(more international flights) are what you want, better flight benefits can be had at other regionals. Also, QOL is something you should spend a lot of time looking into before making a decision. Envoy doesn't sound like they treat their pilots very well and that could be something you will have to live with for years.

Originally Posted by Knobcrk1

That's a lot of CRJs still, will they offer them in Sept too?