SFA320

Meh, I say let him go to Endeavor. If he’s really that naive, he needs to learn. There are plenty of experienced pilots that want to take his place. Then I don’t have to deal with another zero to hero wonder asking me to fly slow so he can get to his 1000 turbine hours faster.

patternaltitude

this entire thread makes me want to pull my hair out

Evol2Evil

Spot on. When hearing his dilemma, the obvious answer that came to mind was to wait for Frontier. Then I got to thinking how long of a wait would someone be willing to wait for a Frontier class date rather than a regional. Figured i'd ask Frontier pilots who most likely have worked at a regional and could give me a spot on answer.
I do believe if he was to accept the regional job, that voids the cadet contract and he'd be subject to repay however much stipend he received.

BStill

ask ENDVR to delay that class date until August/September (reason?: baby on the way.... military reserve duty... relative on life support.... dream vacation planned for years... whatever). Keep holding it off as long as possible to wait out the F9 class, while determining how long to hold out.

that would be more considerate to ENDVR than showing up to their class and then leaving almost immediately for F9, if that's even possible under the Cadet agreement.

liverpoollad

Slightly off topic, but any idea how it after submitting my F9 application on airline
apps until a recruiter reaches out? I have my RJ type and a little over 500 turbine time

planejoe

Don't know but if you want to expedite exponentially I recommend you go to any event where there will be recruiters/pilots.

spooldup

I had only about 450turbine and 550 multi with 1700TT, went to a MTC and had a job offer within 3 weeks. Definitely go to a recruiting event, it shows you want the job.

terminalgoods

Would you mind posting the email contact to send a MTC event? Also, do you have a link to the upcoming schedule? Thanks

Aero1900

If you are on Facebook, follow the Frontier Pilot Recruiting page. They post the events on there. I don't think you need to contact them but you need to show up to one

dracir1

Even though I'm sure this is a mgt troll tossing out a new thread to stir up emotions / attract attention, I'll bite (mostly because it's the perfect question to allow me the audience for the description below)...

The major airlines are just that - major. They sell their own tickets and plan their own routes. They set prices and control schedules. They are the MAJORS.

If the airlines were a baseball league,

The Big Three
Delta is the Yankees. the largest market and smarter than you. Pay the most and proud of it. Kinda snooty, esp the flight attendants (but they can be). Definitely conservative and definitely well run and organized. Great contract, great support network, upper echelon hotels and overnights and leads most customer service depts in on time, baggage handling, etc. Very good outlook for the future. Make sure you fly them on bobblehead night (when commuting)...

United is the Dodgers. Another big market team that so wants to be the largest. Some parts are Texas (conservative) and some parts are Denver (c'mon bro let's just all blow trees and get along). Is the direct sum of what used to be Continental (a pretty good airline) and United (a pretty bad one). CEO now is a guy who once attended Air Force pilot training then quit (looks like he made the right choice) and despite trying to appeal to the pilots is really a bean counter. Ok job running the company but sneaking suspicion that sooner or later, the he will screw it up and drive the company to bankruptcy again. Existing contract is OK/pay is good. Lots of clubhouse discord right now but overall, a great franchise to land. Next contract will decide which type of franchise it will be going forward - fiscally conservative or risk taking and ambitious. Not a bad commute.

American is the Miami Marlins and Texas Rangers combined. Big (bigger than even the Yankees), brash, loud and somewhat reckless. Big market teams w/ middle market management and overshadowed by other local interests. Lots of debt but is so big and loud, they won't be allowed to fail. Another decent landing spot for a pilot but not as well run as it should be. Could steal a championship or two in a few categories but won't ever be tops in all for a sustained period of time due to past CEO decisions that have it well debt ridden. In about 15 years when hiring slows, the bottom of the list will hate it. Also, when trying to commute, the flight crew/FAs are generally pretty cool but the gate agents are notorious for being unhelpful.

The Other Big
Southwest is like Oakland Athletics. Small market but very smart/frugal. "Moneyball" at it's best but with a slight southern charm and DEFINTELY on top of fan appreciation. Used to be a great place to land but shaky now due to being saturated in places and no real plan to expand routes. Only flies within narrowbody flight range. Not going to ever win the championship but definitely will take wins from the major market teams and be fine with that. Way too dependent on Boeing (who stepped on themselves due to their own internal mgt buffoonery). Contract pretty good but not as good as the Yankees. Being hire here means you'll be on the bench for a while and bat 9th for a LONG time. Absolutely BEST COMMUTE but planes are often very packed (and the jumpseat is torture).

The Rest
Jet Blue is definitely the Boston Red Sox. Hates the Yankees but can be a player at times. The quintessential "tweener" airline as in not quite big 4 and not quite LCC. Looking to make whatever moves (mergers/treaties, etc.) it thinks can help it be a major player but pays way too much for them and just doesn't have the following to be big time. Still on the outside pay wise. Merging w/ Spirit to make it 5th largest by a wide margin (not sure really what that will do for it). Another good commute.

Spirit is the Detroit Tigers who moved to Florida. Medium/small market but decent management, a decent product and a decent strategy. Shrugs its shoulders at its fans but does appreciate them somewhat. Contract and pay needs work. Bought by Jet Blue so it'll be interesting to see how that route structure merges (let alone the SLI). Was a trucking company that now flies. Commute is decent but lots of announcements (especially about credit card sales).

Frontier is definitely the Colorado Rockies. In a big market but very, very content being small (despite saying it really wants to grow). Used to be a decent team offering a quality product at a fair price w/ decent customer service. Got bought and now hates its fans but loves its fans money. Wants to expand just enough to stay valid (that is, above the best regional) and make money. Championships don't matter - just ticket, jersey (baggage) and hot dog (snacks on board) sales. Contract work rules are surprisingly OK but horrible in the pay department w/ the CEO trying desperately to keep it that way. Crazy route structure that changes every month. Not really an airline but an investment firm that happens to fly. Commuting is unreliable due to route structure changes and the JS is probably more comfortable as the passenger seat is horrible. And, like Spirit, lots of annoying announcements. Interesting kicker - gate agents recently offered the chance to mmake money off of personal item/carry-ons not fitting in the sizer so, as you can imagine, many bags now don't seem to fit. Go figure.

Sun Country is the new Detroit Tigers. All Detroit. Love the people, hard nosed lifestyle and the misery that comes with it. Pay is Yankee like but contract - not so much. Still, a better place than most (but only if you live in Detroit - or Canada). Commute is good.

Allegiant is Las Vegas. Definitely middle market with flash/pizzazz. Not just an airline but an entertainment experience. Just updated their inventory (much like the Sahara changing its name and getting new carpet and paint). Contract is Spirit/Frontier like - not really that great. Niche airline w/ NO overnights but tons of bases. Commute decent.

The Minor League
The BEST regional - debatable about who that is - is like a good AA team. Great in support of the major franchise but wouldn't be able to survive w/o them. Susceptible to having the talent plundered by ANY major at any time and some are beholden to the major that if there were ever a need, pilots from the major parent could be sent down for "assignment." Pay is much less overall (despite 1st yr FO pay and bonuses) and contract provisions are usually much less than most majors. Commutes are almost always a JOY if you can get a seat in the back. CRJ jumpseats are worse than the 73.

So take your pick.