Kind of off topic... What's the difference in taxes between loan reimbursement and a signing bonus?

A lot of bonus money is taxed at 40-50%... if loan reimbursement is tax free or a lower tax rate, that would be huge... besides, the quicker payout to avoid accruing interest.

Back on topic: I would avoid gojet and mesa. They are really bottom of the barrel. TSA and Envoy I would say are the places you should consider. I've been at TSA for 15 months, I like it overall. If you live in one of our bases, want to build time fast, not sit reserve for long, make 'good' money (since IOE I've never credited less than 100 hours/month), then this is a good place to be. I just hit my 1000 121 and put in my upgrade bid... hoping to be in upgrade class this summer... we'll see!

I don't know anything about loan reimbursement but even bonus money you get back some of that initial tax later. They tax it initially at a higher rate, but at the end of the year it all works out, your total income including the bonus is just taxed at whatever rates you are at, so you will get a lot of that bonus money back they over taxed you on.

There is a huge difference between what they WITHELD and what you are taxed come tax time. For TAX purposes, a bonus is treated like any other income. It is however WITHELD at the time of payout at a higher rate (25% federal). You get the difference back when you file

ATP's Tuition Reimbursement program isn't taxed. It is not considered income as the money never goes through you. ATP tracks how much you are paid through their website "www.pilotpool.com", they advise your partner airline how much the amount of flying was worth ($5 per hour), the partner airline sends the money to ATP, and then ATP pays the amount to the lender you financed your loan with. Because you never recieved the money and deposited it yourself, it doesn't get taxed as income.

But if you're an independent contractor like a CFI at ATP, then you're on a 1099-MISC, and you don't get any of the student loan interest you paid back in your tax return, well you basically don't qualify for any tax deductions regardless.

That's what I like to hear. That's what I'm hoping for.

Nice! Considering that you have to pay taxes on income that you would later use to pay your student loans, the reimbursement is worth that much more.

So what about the PIC time?

Joining TSA for ezameple I'll be doing PIC time in two years (upgrade to Captain) vs Envoy maybe it will take me 5 to 8 years.

Any thoughts?

Current trends suggest a 4 1/2 upgrade for a new hire today. I wouldn't put to much credence in PIC time. Mainline HR departments are changing. I have seem more FOs hired with no PIC time who serve soup to homeless Syrian Refugees than High PIC Time Captains with spotless records.

For Reference, review this thread http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/re...red-major.html

A newhire today should upgrade according to the company 2.5 years and according to the union (figuring everything stays constant) just under 4 years. My guess would be somewhere in the middle. The unions outlook doesn't take into consideration growth. For example the 5 145s that we are getting back from storage and other airlines. Also if more people leave for the majors. PIC is important but many FOs are hired at LCC and legacy carries. There are also 10+ year captains at the majority of regionals with thousands of PIC time and no call.