The new contract will likely have cancellation pay, competitive first year pay, etc.


That said, don't ever believe what will be in a contract until you see the contract. I believe they have been a few weeks away from a new industry leading contract since 2011. Go to Gojet because of the bases, etc, but don't count on the new contract.

 

With every airline out there hiring, why would you EVER chose a scumbag operation like GoJet?

This is an airline on the brink of default with Delta on their capacity purchase agreement with no growth, increasing upgrade time, and mediocre pay.

Go to a respectable place and don't be ashamed to show your ID when jumpseating.

 

thanks for all of the ummm, helpful advice.

I'm just a CFII, and don't know much about the differences between the regionals. Can someone point me in a better direction then?

Importance to me in order.

Travel benefits, upgrade, pay.

Thanks.

 

Helpful advice.....Lurk More!

 

There's a LOT of information out there on this forum on all of the regionals bud -- even more with exactly the information you have requested. Take a look around!

 

Living where you fly out of makes the job night and day better. So if you live in a hub or near one, take a serious look at the regional(s) based there. Sometimes that's not possible, and if it's not, a few airlines to look at are:

SkyWest (many bases, great pay, but slower upgrade)

Compass (decent pay, decent upgrade)

Envoy/PSA/Piedmont (flow to American, okay upgrade time at the second two)

Travel benefits would probably be comparable, except at Envoy/PSA/Piedmont (all owned by American Airlines) because American will be the only airline you can non-rev (non revenue travel; fly for free) on. But you can always jumpseat on any airline.

Other airlines:

Mesa has a decent upgrade time but low pay and there are concerns the upgrade will be a lot longer for anyone hired today. Staffing may be a concern.

Republic just got a big pay increase for FO's, but staffing remains a problem and some think the airline will need to declare bankruptcy because it can't afford the new pilot contract longterm.

Endeavor has a solid $20,000 bonus every year you're there for the next few years, but upgrade is still slow and that bonus might go away around 2017-2018.

ExpressJet has a good contract but you'll never upgrade.

Air Wisconsin is similar, good contract/pay but it might not be around in 2-3 years.

Horizon has decent pay but if you check their thread Alaska might be putting it on the chopping block.

You've got a decent idea of GoJet; the airline was created to circumvent negotiations at TSA by the parent company and the first pilots there essentially backstabbed their brothers at TSA. That's frowned upon. If you can help it, avoid it.

I think TSA's okay but don't know much about it.

There's the industry in a nutshell.

 

Thank you for this, much appreciated!

And for the others stating "browse the threads" That's a great idea, except it takes over 500+ pages to sort through the *******, to find answers. Great ideas though...

 

Heres some advice. Take a lot of what you read on here lightly. Talk to line pilots in person at the airline you want to fly for, if thats possible. Seems to be a lot of disgruntled employees on here. That being said, the comment posted above with all the airlines broken down was pretty dead on. Just be careful what you read and believe, that goes for the airlines recruiters as well!

 

Nice job
.............

 

I definitely agree on living near base. We made the move to our base a few years back and it's paid dividends.

As far as Endeavor, I've got a good buddy on their recruitment team. He's told me the retention pay is good through end of 2018, but likely extending through end of contract (end of 2019). Also, the 20K payment puts Endeavor at least a couple grand, if not several grand, above the next closest regional for yearly salary (not hourly rates which are higher at a lot of places).

As far as travel perks, they offer what seems like pretty darn good benefits. Same priority as Delta on 9E metal; highest priority of all Delta Connection carriers, but below active and retired Delta employees. No cap on international travel, just pay taxes. Parents, spouse/domestic partner/kids, fly free. No buddy passes, but those are essentially meaningless anyway.

And from what I've read, upgrade time is moving up. They've got a lot of 7-8 year FOs who got stuck when the company stopped hiring, but there's been a lot of movement recently. Projecting 300+ upgrades in 2016...and with the SSP/DGI movement to Delta, you can expect upgrades in 30 months or less.

Depending on where you live, I'd say give my boy a call. He'd be happy to chat you up. DM me if you need his contact info.

Good luck!