Originally Posted by Ihavenoidea (Post 2843702)

Sorry to bump an old thread but I am in an almost identical position to the OP with the only exception being that I’m in my early 20’s. I live in DFW but have family in ORD (both junior bases at ENY and SKW). I’d love to stay in Texas long term at either AA, SWA, or UAL and don’t really have a preference for which one I end up at. My concern with ENY is that flow time seems to only be increasing and may be greater than the time it would take me to get hired somewhere other than AA. On the flip side of that, even a 10 year flow to AA would mean a 30+ year career for someone my age. To sum things up, I wanted to get y’alls opinion on both paths. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Blackhawk (Post 2843718)

My 2 cents.
First, don’t confine yourself to these two. I think XJT would be an option as well. Go where you can build hours.
Second, if you have no current social attachments, move to ORD or NYC. You’re young, supposed be poor. Learn to find the cheap eats such as 2 Bros Pizza ($1.50/slice) in NYC and the happy hours for cheap drinks.
Learn to fly out of these bases. A regional should not just be checking a box, it should be about learning. Deicing. Hand flying the Expressway Visual 31 in gusty winds without the benefit of RNAV. Dealing with the cluster $$&? of LGA during a melt down. What it’s like to operate out of ORD.

Originally Posted by Blackhawk (Post 2843718)

My 2 cents.
First, don’t confine yourself to these two. I think XJT would be an option as well. Go where you can build hours.
Second, if you have no current social attachments, move to ORD or NYC. You’re young, supposed be poor. Learn to find the cheap eats such as 2 Bros Pizza ($1.50/slice) in NYC and the happy hours for cheap drinks.
Learn to fly out of these bases. A regional should not just be checking a box, it should be about learning. Deicing. Hand flying the Expressway Visual 31 in gusty winds without the benefit of RNAV. Dealing with the cluster $$&? of LGA during a melt down. What it’s like to operate out of ORD.

Originally Posted by LowerLoon185 (Post 2831493)

I've been lurking (and reading) here for a while, coming up on about a 1000 hours and working on my ratings. I'm a little later in life. If there's anything I've learned from reading APC, Regionals change a lot in fortunes, schedules, etc....it's a dynamic business.

I won't go down the "which regional" rabbit hole, but i would like some advice on what's the latest for a guy that would love to have a Dallas domicile. Doesn't need to happen right off the bat, but it needs to be a legit option within a year or so. I'm looking for quality of organization (1), best training/experience (2), best health/401K benefits (3), in an airline that will likely have work in Dallas long term. I want something i can stay at for several years to set myself up for the future, but at the same time be a good company worth being employed by if another downturn hits. I know that's a lot to ask though, but would appreciate your take.

Originally Posted by AV8RDave1234 (Post 2845845)

Boutique Air might be worth a look. 60k and DFW

Originally Posted by milmil34 (Post 2845864)

But then what? In reality he’s gonna have to be at a regional sooner or later if he wants SWA or AA. Might as well get in the door and get some seniority. Plus if your Hustlin there’s no reason you can’t make that kind of money at SkyWest. My first year at 36/hr I made 64,000 and my second year I was on track to over 80,000 as an FO at 41.53.

Originally Posted by AV8RDave1234 (Post 2846814)

All good points, just throwing it out there as an option. I’d personally do the regional rout, but BTQ does work for a lot of guys.

Originally Posted by amcnd (Post 2846826)

There good but there guys seem to
End up at regionals anyway. So might as well just skip over that stepping stone...

Originally Posted by s3cLyfe (Post 2848591)

^Agreed^ ...121 multi-jet time > 135 SE prop time...just saying. App scores app scores app scores.