I'm weighing my options and trying to rank order which regional to choose - did my first interview and got a CJO, I suspect that I will get an offer from each that I'm considering. I'm interested in some feedback on Mesa.

I won't be able to attend training until November (retiring form military) so I know a lot can and will change - but where things are now and some thoughts on then would be great.

about me - I live in Austin, will have to commute unless I can get IAH or DFW. I have 4700 TT with 1300 TPIC (includes instructor time) in ME TurboProp (king air).

What is reserve like - is it long call or ready reserve and what is a conservative guess on how long on reserve. Also, what is flying time like on reserve - i'll likely have to commute, maybe not, but if I do, I don't want to be on reserve somewhere and not flying - I hear this is happening a lot a Envoy.

How is training / QOL?

How long for upgrade? (I have 500 hours in creditable from military toward the 1000 hour requirement)

I'm not really considering WO because flow in 'who knows how long', if ever, seems crazy to base a decision on.

I've been considering (and some of the reasons why):
TSA (BIG bonus 35K after IOE, 15K at yr one; short reserve if any, and reserves are flying, quick upgrade).
XJT (27K bonus upfront, i'm told quick reserve if any)
RAH (all EJET, fly for all 3 mains, pretty reputable and seemingly growing company, IAH an option) - but have no idea about reserve time - QOL seems to be good based on what I read on APC.
Mesa (AA/UAX flying option, DFW and IAH and option)


Thanks in advance!

 

I’m currently at Mesa, been here about a year on the CRJ.

All your questions really depend on a few things (base, equipment, etc).

So CRJ side - we have DFW, PHX, IAD (though they are throwing the E175 there soon). You’d most likely be sent to IAD initially, it’s kinda hit or miss. Good thing is there is no reserve there. I got a line first month. If you wanted DFW and didn’t get it the first time, it’ll be only a couple months before you got it. Once you’re kinda living in base, life is great. And realistically, upgrade is about 14-16 months. It all depends on how much you wanna fly. But at 1000 hours you’ll upgrade and most people fly 800-900 hrs the first year.

E175 side, they currently only have IAH, but soon it’ll be in IAD. There is a little reserve time, but it’s not terrible, and since that’s the United side, there’s a decent flow program to United with the aviate program.

All in all, Mesa is a good place as long as you don’t make it your end goal. Get hours and go, because the pay sucks and there’s just too much opportunity out there. Also, you do get to pick your airplane here. Hope this helps.

 

you are on CRJ-900 or 700? If you pick the 900, can you still come to IAD or is that PHX/DFW?

Do you guys get flight benefits on both AA and UAL, or only on the side you fly? What about family flight benefits - both or just what you fly?

Thanks

 

I’m on the 900 in DFW, the 700 is only in IAD, but it’s the same type rating. 900s are on the AA side in DFW, PHX, and SDF. So you can go from one to the other no problem.

We get both AA and United flight benefits because CRJ guys can fly for both, but E175 only gets United benefits. For AA that includes you, a spouse, parents, and kids. On United, it’s all those plus 1 “registered guest”.

 

With. The 700s going away expect this to change. Crj only aa and erj only ua

 

AA benefits were trash when I was there. I'd aim for the UA side of the house.

 

Refer to earlier post.

 

They both have their pros and cons. Having both definitely made my vacations a lot easier. Half of my vacations I flew out one airline and had to come back in on the other.

 

If you are a military rated pilot with those times you are looking at a relatively quick advancement to a major airline. I wouldn’t even let upgrade time at a regional be a consideration. Every extra MONTH you spend at a regional is going to cost you $20k in lifetime earnings.

So go to a regional that can give you a PROMPT class date, gets you through training expeditiously, and then will fly your butt off. A big signing bonus would be a plus but it pales in comparison to what you will gain or lose if you end up with a prolonged period on reserve.

Get in, get a line, and start cranking out hours. Put apps out to the majors as soon as you have a couple hundred hours of 121 TSIC - or even sooner. The worst move you could make economically is to go to some place you will sit reserve, even if the QOL is great and you’re living in base. Over the next three years there will be a huge increase in hiring. Seniority is everything in this business. Try to be in the vanguard of that surge.

 

Speaking of this, one of my crash pad mates was an FA18 pilot, think Delta told him to get 500 hours 121 time and he had a job. He was at Express Jet for the short stint.