kaptendiddy

So im currently flying charter getting paid 30k a yr with no schedule and i am on call 24/7(getting fed up with the lifestyle). I'm considering a regional expressjet or awac... anyone think this is a good/bad decision upgrade to captain for my company can be anywhere from 6months to a year and a half but again QOL sucks....cleaning the planes moping the hangar, and shopping for the customers sucks. Ive got about 2500tt 600multi. Also im down in sunny south florida and if i went with expressjet i would want to commute. Would it be impossible to do this from fl to lax??? Any feed back would be gladly taken...im torn flying the Lear's are a blast but I think QOL would be better at an airliner....let me know...also is it realistic to upgrade at expressjet in 18months i know theres factors but does anyone know??i know whiskey is at least 3yrs. Thanks

CL65driver

I'm not sure about 18 month upgrades... 20-24 sounds more realistic. Not to get on a soap box or anything, and I'm no one to compare our QOL to AWAC's (never worked there).... but XJT is a pretty good gig IMHO. FL-LAX is gonna be a tough commute. Anything transcon really takes it's toll on you, especially when on reserve. But there's always EWR, IAH or CLE which may be easier commutes.

saab2000

I don't know about XJT bases at all, but the commute from Florida to PHL or DCA for AWAC is not horrible.

US Airways has a number of direct flights and tons of 1-stoppers through CLT.

Just my $.02

Spartan07

Aren't you somewhat close to being competitive for a position at a major airline? Seems like -that- would be a pretty good gig for you. Especially if you're close enough that you only had to fly charter for another six months or so. How much of your time is PIC?

Ellen

"Grass is Always Greener" Syndrome. Careful what you wish for.

Superpilot92

I know of a number of people who commute from Florida and east coast to LAX. No commute is fun but it is do-able

kaptendiddy

well i have about 500hrs in the lr and none is pic my buddies tell me to hold off and make captain in the lear build some time tough it out and go straight to a major....im just at the boiling point and want to move on now... some friends say go for it and some say stick it out..i have a few buddies that are totally against the idea of regionals as they have done it and say that the charter lifestyle is similar and better as we get to fly to cool places and actually spend some time. I don't know though I'm def at a crossroad thanks for the posts though the more input the better!!!1

Spartan07

Which one would you not mind spending ten years at if you had to?

freezingflyboy

Tons of FL commuters here in Houston, and probably in EWR too. Seems like every other week I fly with someone who commutes from Florida. As a bonus XJT flys pretty much every where in FL so you would bump any CAL commuters. And if you're commuting out of the bigger cities (MCO, MIA, FLL, TPA) you have 737s and a few 757s. Yaddy yadda, the XJT commute from FL doesn't seem to be too bad.

Disclaimer: I am not a commuter, this info is just from my own checking of loads and from talking with the NUMEROUS FL commuters I have flown with.

15789

Kaptiandiddy you must be flyn' for Clay Lacy