Yet another regional advice thread
 

Hi all,
Been lurking for a while and wanted to get the collective’s advice.
Currently a corporate pilot in central Texas but tired of the on call life so making the jump to the Airlines.
I have 4200+TT and 1200 multi turbine pic (half turboprop, half jet). Recent experience. No ATP.
Looking for an adequate regional with a IAH or DFW base to get my rating and jump to a major ASAP. My wife has a good job so I don’t care about insurance and am less concerned about initial pay. My biggest concerns are base location (both dfw and iah should be easy commutes), getting a line as soon as possible, and getting through training as quickly as possible and getting to work. I’m here to put my head down and get the regional thing over and done with.

So which regional would y’all recommend? I have an interview lined up with Mesa, a call from ExpressJet, and expecting a call from Envoy currently.

Thanks

If you're a drivable distance to DFW, go to Envoy so you've got a flow in your back pocket, then apply to everyone else (SWA, Spirit, etc) you have an interest in.

If you're a lot close to IAH, well, drive to DFW. :D

As discussed in many other treads here, stay away from Mesa. It is a dumpster fire. You will thank yourself in the morning.

Remember that the internet is a toilet stall wall than anyone with a sharpie will spout anything they want behind an anonymous name. I try not to feed the trolls but here it goes;

Mesa is a great choice for IAH. There is a training backlog for the EJet but I believe they are working through it. I'm a DFW FO on the CRJ and I had 0 days of reserve after 90 days of training that included a 2 week break. I have a great schedule with 14 days off this month. I will be home Christmas night. The pilot group is filled with great folks. If you have any questions, PM me.

Merry Christmas!

If someone tells you to go to Mesa, question their intentions after you get your laughing under control.

If you must be based in Texas, Envoy is your best options by far. I don't work for Envoy either, so I'm not biased in that regard

Since your said your wife has a good job, and you don’t care about insurance or pay, then Mesa may not be too bad. Envoy has faster upgrade and better pay and benifits then Mesa.

The flip side of that is people who are stuck at mesa for god-knows-what-reason coming on here and rationalizing their own situation... kind of like zombies recruiting healthy humans to join their ranks.

I can speak from experience, avoid mesa. There's a reason it has a bad rap. Better to commute.

LOL. MESA. Hahaha. In all seriousness avoid MESA. Trust me and 99% of the pilots out there AVOID MESA.

So you really don't have any great options. Envoy would have been my first suggestion but you wanted to get back to DFW and holding a line quickly. None of which will occur at Envoy as fast as I think you want it to. ExpressJet may be your other option out of Houston but I don't know much about their company timetable from NH to line holder.

Break down of Envoy timeline. (Variations in time).

-2.5(6-12 week range) months of training (indoc -IOE)
1-2 months of reserve in ORD or LGA.
2-3 months holding a line
2-4 DFW reserve
Holding a line.

My best guess is you would be a line holder in DFW in 7-14 months. I have stopped trying to figure this company out because things change so quickly.

This is honestly the biggest attractant for me for Mesa or any other regional so far. Fast training and no reserve. I’m going to have to commute no matter what so I don’t want to sit reserve. When did you start?

Don't do it!!!