Originally Posted by watch

I have offers from Commutair and Expressjet. Both look like great options for new hires for reasons outlined below.

.... Expressjet flew 376,627 hours in all of 2018 (source). With 1400 pilots, that's only 269 hours per pilot, and down by 38% from 2017. Going there with a top priority of getting flight time is putting a lot of stock into hope.

....

Anything else you think I should consider?

Originally Posted by watch

I have offers from Commutair and Expressjet. Both look like great options for new hires for reasons outlined below. Please let me know your input on a couple factors I'm using to make my decision:

My priorities are listed the following order:

1) New York domicile.
2) Maximum flight time.
3) Quickest class date and training pipeline.
4) Upgrade time
5) Variety of flying
6) Pay / Work rules

Here's how I see them measure up. Tell me if I'm wrong, or if you have something to add to this list.

1) NYC domicile: EWR is the junior base for both. Tie.
2) Most Flight time: Expressjet and Commutair pilots have both said a new FO at EWR can fly as much as legally allowed. Tie.
3) Quick Class date and training: Both have immediate start, and offer 80-90 day training (including IOE) without delays or long breaks. Tie.
4) Upgrade time: Commutair is upgrade at 1000 hrs with company (~18 months). Expressjet projects that "if the company gets all 171 airplanes, all current FOs will have the opportunity to upgrade inside of 24 months." Commutair wins. Commutair upgrade is based on current need for captains, Expressjet's "24 month" hopeful is based on projections. The junior captain at Expressjet was hired in 2011.
5) Variety: Expressjet flies to Canada, Mexico, and as far west as Colorado. Commutair flies to the east coast and the ohio river valley. Expressjet wins.
6) Pay / work rules: Expressjet wins. With EQO, they pay $50 per hour.

Intangibles: Expressjet has AQP and "best in class" training. Do you think this is worth considering?

Commutair IS ACTUALLY growing. Expressjet hopes to grow. Their addition of 4 E175s per month will create vacancies and movement in Houston, but probably not EWR.

Expressjet flew 376,627 hours in all of 2018 (source). With 1400 pilots, that's only 269 hours per pilot, and down by 38% from 2017. Going there with a top priority of getting flight time is putting a lot of stock into hope.

Commutair doesn't report their annual traffic, or at least I can't find it on the internet. Can anyone help?

What do you think? I am leaning toward Commutair because they match Expressjet in domicile, training time, and win out for upgrade time and are a better bet for the "most" flight time.

Anything else you think I should consider?

Originally Posted by watch

I have offers from Commutair and Expressjet. Both look like great options for new hires for reasons outlined below. Please let me know your input on a couple factors I'm using to make my decision:

My priorities are listed the following order:

1) New York domicile.
2) Maximum flight time.
3) Quickest class date and training pipeline.
4) Upgrade time
5) Variety of flying
6) Pay / Work rules

Here's how I see them measure up. Tell me if I'm wrong, or if you have something to add to this list.

1) NYC domicile: EWR is the junior base for both. Tie.
2) Most Flight time: Expressjet and Commutair pilots have both said a new FO at EWR can fly as much as legally allowed. Tie.
3) Quick Class date and training: Both have immediate start, and offer 80-90 day training (including IOE) without delays or long breaks. Tie.
4) Upgrade time: Commutair is upgrade at 1000 hrs with company (~18 months). Expressjet projects that "if the company gets all 171 airplanes, all current FOs will have the opportunity to upgrade inside of 24 months." Commutair wins. Commutair upgrade is based on current need for captains, Expressjet's "24 month" hopeful is based on projections. The junior captain at Expressjet was hired in 2011.
5) Variety: Expressjet flies to Canada, Mexico, and as far west as Colorado. Commutair flies to the east coast and the ohio river valley. Expressjet wins.
6) Pay / work rules: Expressjet wins. With EQO, they pay $50 per hour.

Intangibles: Expressjet has AQP and "best in class" training. Do you think this is worth considering?

Commutair IS ACTUALLY growing. Expressjet hopes to grow. Their addition of 4 E175s per month will create vacancies and movement in Houston, but probably not EWR.

Expressjet flew 376,627 hours in all of 2018 (source). With 1400 pilots, that's only 269 hours per pilot, and down by 38% from 2017. Going there with a top priority of getting flight time is putting a lot of stock into hope.

Commutair doesn't report their annual traffic, or at least I can't find it on the internet. Can anyone help?

What do you think? I am leaning toward Commutair because they match Expressjet in domicile, training time, and win out for upgrade time and are a better bet for the "most" flight time.

Anything else you think I should consider?

Originally Posted by watch

Anything else you think I should consider?

Originally Posted by BeechPilot33

Envoy or Endeavor. I would not touch XJT unless they announce and actually start growing again with 145's. The 25 EJETS will be flown by all the senior bubbas and if it takes 7 to upgrade on a 145 I couldn't imagine the upgrade time on the mini 737.

I would imagine with United owning XJET now that they will get more airplanes in 19 but it's a wait and see game. If the bleeding stops and they start to reverse course and get 30 145's plus the 25 EJETS it could actually be a good time to get on with them.

Originally Posted by PontiusPilot

This is inaccurate. ExpressJet is growing now, and United will see to it that it does. The 145 fleet is based entirely on staffing. United wants all 126 up and running. When we have 126 145's, it means it's because we can staff 126 145's. Waiting until we grow to 126 before starting just means you let hundreds of new hires jump ahead of you in seniority.

The 175 will be senior for the first couple of monthly bid cycles, but there is little incentive for most of the senior FO's, who will be close to upgrade, to bid over to the 175 since all FO's are paid the same regardless of aircraft type. The result will likely be a mixture of senior, middle, and junior FO's flying the 175. I wouldn't be surprised if we are hiring directly into the 175 by the end of the year.

We are having a lot of top end movement, even without the 175's here yet, with 20+ leaving for United each month. With the additional flying, we are going to see a lot more movement. Upgrades are not linear, and the current junior upgrade does not reflect the upgrade time of someone starting now. This isn't simply wishful thinking. It's math.

Originally Posted by calmwinds

United has announced 60 more 145’s for CommutAir. That is a plus in its column.

When are the Mesa Ejets going to start coming over? The first 30 Ejets are coming off contract two per month starting in June 2019. Isn’t that your announced beginning of service on the Ejet? I doubt those Ejets will take a long time to bring over. 30 days? New N number and a minor paint job.

Originally Posted by PontiusPilot

Pretty sure the plan was 60 total for C5, and not an additional 60 to the 30+ they have now.

Revenue service on the E175 begins in June out of IAH. We just know we are receiving the 25 new 175's this year from Brazil, but there hasn't been any indication that we are taking any 175 currently flying for Mesa. Could it happen? Maybe, but it's mostly conjecture at this point.

Originally Posted by calmwinds

I do expect the enhanced CPP program that CommutAir has to be headed XJet’s way as soon as the close occurs. That will be a boon for new hires. Not so much for existing employees, but a boon for new hires.

Originally Posted by PontiusPilot

I believe the 1000 TPIC vs 2000 TPIC is the only difference.