Dude. If you're over a year from meeting the mins this thread is completely irrelevant. So much will change in the next year. There will likely be a new darling and one of the 2 you are looking at could be the latest bottom-feeder. Things really do change that fast.

I thought SkyWest had that too?

I think you have that backwards. Most OO new hires on both CRJ and E-175s are starting out east.

All YX bases are east of the Mississippi.

OO 175 new hires are going to LGA as of now, but given that they are struggling to perform in the NYC area, doesn’t look like that’ll last too long.

If you’re trying to live cheap comfortably and able to move to any location, YX is your best bet. People complain that YX is the “outstation” airline, but truthfully the dollar goes A LOT farther at most of our bases than any of the hubs and that can be huge if you’re looking at owning a home.

Anything can change by “March 2020,” but the outstation bases won’t. Some may fall, some may rise.

One month of legacy seniority will wipe out years of "better" regional pay.

Now I would not advocate a bottom feeder with crap QOL, because you might stuck longer than planned.

OO and YX are both fine as regionals go. So geography first. If that doesn't matter to you, then career progression opportunity, as best as you can guess today. All else being equal then sure, go for the bonus.

Not being paid for time that you worked was never an issue for you?

Same here. I get that across the pilot group it adds up to a chunk of change, but unless in you're constantly rushing everywhere you can usually beat the house.

But that is exactly what you are doing by saying that rhetoric. Yeah, we all heard those horror stories about two guys in classes just a week apart and one is a 747 Capt at the top of the pay scale and was never furloughed a day in his life and the other is still a first officer who was furloughed for 10 years or something. But there are only a few times in history where a month difference in seniority can mean that. By going to a bottom feeder because you think you will get TPIC quicker not only enables those bottom feeders to continue to bottom feed, but there is also no guarantee that you will get TPIC any faster then those at the "quality" regionals.

With the IROPS, strong winds, and deicing I overblocked ~6 hours already this month. It is not just some insignificant outlier, it does add up over the year to a significant chunk of change.