Staff guy to regionals
02-02-2017, 06:07 AM
#12
China Visa Applicant
Joined APC: Oct 2006
Position: Midfield downwind
Posts: 1,919
Originally Posted by HuggyU2
Where would you put Compass?
Did you see the "blow the slide to avoid the DOT 3-hour rule fine" debacle a week or two ago?
02-02-2017, 07:42 AM
#13
Get me outta here...
Joined APC: Oct 2008
Position: Boeing right seat
Posts: 1,541
Haha! I did not see that. Oh boy... tell me more!!
Maybe they could have used a former military guy that flew for them for that role. 
Originally Posted by Hacker15e
There seems to be a rapid decrease in quality of leadership...
02-02-2017, 07:52 AM
#14
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Sep 2009
Posts: 595
02-02-2017, 08:46 AM
#15
Prime Minister/Moderator
Joined APC: Jan 2006
Position: Engines Turn Or People Swim
Posts: 39,224
Originally Posted by Hacker15e
I'll make the opposite recommendation; if you're at a regional to get recurrent, it is going to be a short stay, so don't uproot mom-n-the-kids for what is ultimately a "professional deployment". A deployment you get to come home every couple of days while you're on.
Instead, as you separate, my recommendation is to settle the family where you (they) want to live long term, and choose a regional with the easiest commute from there.
The objective in leaving the .mil is to ease the pain on you and your family. In my experience, part of that pain was the constant moving, the inability for the family to make friends and nest where you were living. Flying for a regional, for most of us reading this thread in the military sub-forum, is a short-term situation, and we personally are going to have to embrace the suck...but our families don't have to embrace that same suck unless we choose to drag them with us.
I found that it made the transition much easier with the family comfortably bedded down and learning how to be civilians again where they wanted to be, making neighborhood friends they didn't know they were going to move away from in 3 years, and unpacking boxes that didn't have to be retained for the next upcoming move. You're going to be away from home 15-ish nights per month on layovers anyhow, so might as well ensure the people who are going to be at home all 30 nights per month are comfortable and happy.
Yes, commuting can suck, but it is a manageable inconvenience. For most of us, any of the regionals will fill the requirement to get recurrent and a trip through a 121 training cycle to make our resumes more shiny. There is plenty of variation in junior domiciles at the various regionals -- certainly enough to choose one that has a 1-leg, relatively easy commute from just about any part of the country you want to live (within reason, of course). So, pick a regional to work at which will make your lifestyle at that chosen location the most liveable.
Later on down the road, with a career job at a career airline, it may be worth moving, but in my opinion moving your family for a short stint at a regional is like getting a tattoo of your high school girlfriend's name. Probably seems like a good idea at the time, but you'll look back with some perspective very shortly and see that it probably wasn't a great choice.
Instead, as you separate, my recommendation is to settle the family where you (they) want to live long term, and choose a regional with the easiest commute from there.
The objective in leaving the .mil is to ease the pain on you and your family. In my experience, part of that pain was the constant moving, the inability for the family to make friends and nest where you were living. Flying for a regional, for most of us reading this thread in the military sub-forum, is a short-term situation, and we personally are going to have to embrace the suck...but our families don't have to embrace that same suck unless we choose to drag them with us.
I found that it made the transition much easier with the family comfortably bedded down and learning how to be civilians again where they wanted to be, making neighborhood friends they didn't know they were going to move away from in 3 years, and unpacking boxes that didn't have to be retained for the next upcoming move. You're going to be away from home 15-ish nights per month on layovers anyhow, so might as well ensure the people who are going to be at home all 30 nights per month are comfortable and happy.
Yes, commuting can suck, but it is a manageable inconvenience. For most of us, any of the regionals will fill the requirement to get recurrent and a trip through a 121 training cycle to make our resumes more shiny. There is plenty of variation in junior domiciles at the various regionals -- certainly enough to choose one that has a 1-leg, relatively easy commute from just about any part of the country you want to live (within reason, of course). So, pick a regional to work at which will make your lifestyle at that chosen location the most liveable.
Later on down the road, with a career job at a career airline, it may be worth moving, but in my opinion moving your family for a short stint at a regional is like getting a tattoo of your high school girlfriend's name. Probably seems like a good idea at the time, but you'll look back with some perspective very shortly and see that it probably wasn't a great choice.
Sustainable commuting (more than a month or three): Multiple daily nonstop flights on more than one airline. 2-3 hours max flight time (maybe four hours if you're a real glutton).
We've stayed rooted in the same town for decades, and there has been a career price to pay, due to my limited combat radius.
02-02-2017, 09:05 AM
#16
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2015
Position: 777FO
Posts: 703
If applying to a regional, no need to hit the "apply" button more than three months prior to terminal leave. Use the time between now and then to research regionals and carefully prepare your application. These forums are a goldmine of information, spend lots of time reading them. Exhibit A - I initially considered Skywest my top target, I'd never even heard of Compass before I started reading their thread here. By the time I hit "apply" Compass was the obvious #1 choice for me and Skywest was a distant 3rd.
Like others have said, you should be looking for a regional with no/minimal commute required. I wouldn't move for a regional unless it is to a location also with a major carrier junior base. More pay and better work rules are great too, but for the shorter term you are looking at the more you can work/accumulate hours the faster you can make it to a major (thus why you want to minimize the commute). Oh, I highly recommend Emerald Coast interview consulting (YW Albief15!). I signed up for access while applying to regionals (very helpful for my Compass interview), and then signed up for the full on interview seminar after I got invited to an interview with a major.
Like others have said, you should be looking for a regional with no/minimal commute required. I wouldn't move for a regional unless it is to a location also with a major carrier junior base. More pay and better work rules are great too, but for the shorter term you are looking at the more you can work/accumulate hours the faster you can make it to a major (thus why you want to minimize the commute). Oh, I highly recommend Emerald Coast interview consulting (YW Albief15!). I signed up for access while applying to regionals (very helpful for my Compass interview), and then signed up for the full on interview seminar after I got invited to an interview with a major.
02-02-2017, 04:54 PM
#17
On Reserve
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Jan 2017
Posts: 10
Excellent info, thanks for the feedback all. I am targeting a regional out of my home town of DEN. No secret it is a very senior location but have a good shot of getting based there with TSA while commuting from NM until the right time to make the short move north. TSA has non-stop flights from Sante Fe and other options from ABQ with family options in DEN for crash pad. SKW at DEN or C.springs is possible too.
02-02-2017, 06:33 PM
#18
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2015
Position: 777FO
Posts: 703
Originally Posted by shavetail
I am targeting a regional out of my home town of DEN.
02-05-2017, 06:09 PM
#19
New Hire
Joined APC: Oct 2015
Posts: 6
Application Timeline:
Originally Posted by CLazarus
If applying to a regional, no need to hit the "apply" button more than three months prior to terminal leave. Use the time between now and then to research regionals and carefully prepare your application. These forums are a goldmine of information, spend lots of time reading them. Exhibit A - I initially considered Skywest my top target, I'd never even heard of Compass before I started reading their thread here. By the time I hit "apply" Compass was the obvious #1 choice for me and Skywest was a distant 3rd.
Like others have said, you should be looking for a regional with no/minimal commute required. I wouldn't move for a regional unless it is to a location also with a major carrier junior base. More pay and better work rules are great too, but for the shorter term you are looking at the more you can work/accumulate hours the faster you can make it to a major (thus why you want to minimize the commute). Oh, I highly recommend Emerald Coast interview consulting (YW Albief15!). I signed up for access while applying to regionals (very helpful for my Compass interview), and then signed up for the full on interview seminar after I got invited to an interview with a major.
Like others have said, you should be looking for a regional with no/minimal commute required. I wouldn't move for a regional unless it is to a location also with a major carrier junior base. More pay and better work rules are great too, but for the shorter term you are looking at the more you can work/accumulate hours the faster you can make it to a major (thus why you want to minimize the commute). Oh, I highly recommend Emerald Coast interview consulting (YW Albief15!). I signed up for access while applying to regionals (very helpful for my Compass interview), and then signed up for the full on interview seminar after I got invited to an interview with a major.
At least one airline (TSA), allows you to apply, interview, be hired and show up for day one to be fingerprinted, badged and added to the seniority list. Then you go back to your current job for up to 90 days before showing back up for class. I am not directly aware of an active duty person using this deal, so you need to talk to a recruiter and confirm you can be on active duty for those 90 days. But again, Trans States is so desperate for pilots, if you have a separation date, I bet they would let you use this feature. They are advertising the 90 days is that much less on the reserve once you finish training.
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