Endeavor or Republic?
 

I have a class date with Republic in September and a class date with Endeavor in October.

I have nothing tying my family down with where we are right now (Midwest). I plan on moving to my base before class starts.

I'd be shooting for CMH for Republic or DTW for Endeavor. If the crap hits the fan with the economy later, i'd be fine with living near either of those bases for long term.

FO pay is nearly the same. By the time I hit captain at either, the captain pay scales would be the same. Upgrade time is about 3 years for each base at each regional respectively. QOL seems to be good at both.

Am I missing something? Both seem like equally good choices for someone in my position.

All things being equal in that case go to Endeavor if you have a 4 year degree... you’ll at least get an opportunity to interview at a major someday.

Was October the earliest class date for EDV?

I think you've got it down to two good choices.

I started at Endeavor a year ago. I'm having a good time at my first 121. The pay is good. Almost everyone here is great. Long call reserve is a nice touch once you can hold it. I like flying the 900.

Another pilot from my neck of the woods started at Republic in the fall, and she's enjoying things there. She flies all over the place, and the E-jet is nice.

The wholly owned thing was a deal breaker for me, but Republic isn't going anywhere. Good luck whichever way you go!

They’re both good choices. You’ll be fine going to either.

For perspective from a Republic person, we have better work rules than many regionals. Things like block or better pay come in handy. I just gained 2 hours of pay in the last 2 days for overblocking flights. As an FO I gained seniority very fast and always had 14-17 days off, except for a few months that I decided to work some more and so I had 12-13 off. Credit per month has always been between 82-112 hours a month and I’ve held weekends off for a while. I’m home based which makes a big difference too. Good job deciding to do the same.

The flying is varied and often less regional. Especially the United flying which takes us out west or on longer routes so you do less cycles per day.

The airplane speaks for itself. Embraer did a great job with it. Reliable, easy to fly, and packs that keep you from sweating or freezing ever. Seems like a small detail but I’m much more happy when it’s not 100 degrees like some RJ counterparts are experience. In 2.5 years I’ve seen 2 deferred APUs. I’ve seen 10+ on deadheads on CRJs.

People get hired from RPA all over. I think this year and the next will be a better indicator than years past. Upgrade has come down quickly thanks to people moving on.

Either way, you’re making a good decision. Good luck.

Both are good places...Endeavor has great open time pay rules that can allow you to make a ton of money if you hustle, even while on reserve. Most guys you talk to here are routinely crediting 100-120 hours of credit per month, even as commuters. Over 150 is possible living in base (but with a family you wouldn’t want to push it that far). Endeavor has good schedules as well, maybe not quite as great as Republic due to the lack of the trip and duty rigs (except for our commutable 5 day 25 hour rig), but still better than average. Average credit is about 5:30 per day per the bid packs which means you’ll get about 16 days off a month, unless you are a very junior lineholder (bottom 5-15%) and part of the credit push (which they give you 89 or so flight hours instead of 75).

Regarding the aircraft, Endeavor is overwhelmingly a 900 operator, with talk of more dual class aircraft coming soon. The pros of operating the 175 also apply to the 900. Rare to have any MELs (Delta basically throws money at maintaining our planes) and the air conditioning works great on them too. Lots of long legs as well.

DTW is still a senior base but one of the easier hub to hub commutes to NYC for the 2 or so months you’ll be based there as an FO potentially and 1-2 years as a captain. Bar none we have the best commuter policies amongst all the regionals...5 day commutable trips, positive space 2nd attempt, alternate deadheads, ability to commute in during reserve call out window and early release.

Endeavor has an excellent training program as well, especially in the FTDs and sims. I understand Republic is now AQP which is great.

Thanks for the replies!

Seems like both are excellent choices for my criteria. I have zero interest in commuting both now and in the future, and it sounds like I'd have to commute to NYC as a captain at Endeavor for a year or two until I could hold DTW? Even with a good commuter policy, i'd rather avoid it entirely.

That's one of the reasons I'm giving such strong consideration to Republic. I could move to CMH and avoid commuting for my entire time.

I still have some time to decide. Thanks for the input, ladies and gents.

bf

I say endeavor but don’t bank a lot on Detroit. It’s still a senior base sorta. You’ll get it within a few vacancies but not in ground school as of late. Not as senior as MSP but prepare to commute to New York for a bit and New York when you upgrade for sure.

Got it, thanks. I think I'd rather go to Republic and get CMH instead, then. Lower cost of living, same pay, no commute. Seems like a winner for me. Appreciate it!

If you can avoid having to commute, I’d choose Republic. It really does make a huuuuuuge difference in QOL. Especially when sitting reserve.