Crazy to leave?
 

Im about to finish a E145 type rating at a regional. Recently Republic opened up a BOS base which is where I live and now I'm really regretting not going there. Would I be crazy to finish my type rating and head over to Republic?

No, not crazy at all.

If you absolutely have to, then you wouldn't be crazy at all.

From someone who did recruiting though, it certainly will bring up questions and a red flag. That being said, if you have family and the commute is killing you, then I don't see what's wrong with doing that.

Make sure you pay back any bonus money back that you may have gotten. That one will bite you in the ass.

I say no. Bases come and go. If hypothetically your current airline and Republic both had a BOS base, which would you choose?

Do you know the details about the Republic base? Can you hold it? How secure is it?

Lots of bases open, are so senior that you can never hold it, and then close.

If you leave, I wouldn't do it in the first 6 months minimum. Finish IOE, get a few hundred hours, then leave. If you go anytime sooner, it looks like a training failure and it may follow you for years to come.

Lots of news articles how BOS will be the next SEA for DL.. the Connection “reshuffle” announcement.. Im confident Republic will be a safe bet in SEA just like SkyWest will be a safe bet for SEA.. if your goal is mainline somewhere. I would just stay. If you don’t have that plan the next 5 years i would go to Republic...

Yeah I guess I'll stay then. I'm just so frustrated because I've been with this company for 4 months and am still not done with training. There have been so many delays, sim cancellations, and reschedules it is hard to stay motivated. Never failed anything or had to repeat anything. Training is just so long here.

Expressjet?

Crazy to leave?
 

Apply now for Republic. Once out of training fly as much as possible, build some 121 time. Don’t appear lazy in your logbook if possible. Lack of flying at your current airline could be another reason to jump ship.

Republic might still have a backlog of applicants/interviewees. By the time you get called for the interview or a class date, might be well be 6+ months from now or even longer. Republic & Endeavor is the place to be for a regional (schedule, pay, QOL). Have your apps out where you want to be. I think BOS is a safe bet for DL’s strategic plan for Republic & growth expected.

Speak to Republic Pilots at BOS airport when you get the chance commuting and especially once the base opens. Let the dust settle, see what seniority number & how senior it’s going. You might be surprised.

I recommend you speak to the pilots at Republic.

And it will help you - how - to now go somewhere else where once you get a class date you are still going to do another 3-4 months of training? The most reasonable thing to do is to finish what you have almost completed before starting over.

You need to finish up, get your type rating and consolidation at a minimum, otherwise you get no return whatever on your investment and have to repay your bonus. Better yet would be to go through your probationary year. If you don’t like it once you get on the line, start interviewing after 6 months and line up the first class available after you have completed probation. With an ATP, a type rating, and a year of 121 SIC any regional will fall all over themselves to get you and generally give you ANOTHER new hire bonus and a type rating bonus as well.

Understood but a future potential (major) employer will look at ANY departure from an airline in under one year with suspicion. They'll be concerned you got fired/resigned in lieu of termination while on probation.

If you had a good reason, you might be able to explain it away, but if possible better just to avoid that conversation altogether.

You're crazy. Im from BOS myself, and went to an airline without a BOS base, but I'm not gonna go through training again just to be a junior guy again, and get boned time and time again on reserve for another regional airline.

Plus it wouldn't look good on the resume.

Also keep in mind bases open and close, so who knows how long BOS will be open for them.

Agreed. When I look at resumes moving from one job to another in less than a year sticks out like a sore thumb. To me, that means you were unable to complete your probation for any number of reasons.

I call them "job jumpers" and their resume usually ends up in the round file.

Thousands of pilots have left regionals in less then a year and moved on. Often MIL pilots don't even complete six months.
Are these job jumpers screwing themselves by taking advantage of a better opportunities?
If he's at Express Jet (sounds like it) it's a dumpster fire with no relief in site. Moving to a much larger and stable airline like Republic would be understandable.

The MIL pilots likely not. Most of them are moving on to their final employer in any event. But they are and have always been a special case, especially the non current retirees who flew a desk th3ir last tour or two and needed to get recurrent.

But the rest? Yeah, oftentimes they are. That doesn't mean that many of them won’t make it to their career destination eventually anyway, but leaving while on probation is seldom a positive for career advancement - unless like the MIL guys your next jump IS your last.

Definitely finish training and then do what’s best for your QOL/family.

I would recommend spending some time (a year or so) out on the line before making any big decisions like that. It will go by quick and you may discover that your first choice was the right choice. Sometimes it's hard to judge a company by their training department. At my operation, it was like two different worlds. I'm really glad I stuck with it and didn't try to jump ship because things seemed like a cluster f* in the beginning.

FWIW, BOS is super junior at Republic, both on the CA and FO sides. In fact, the most junior CA award went to an Aug. 2018 hire. Who knows if it will stay that way... just wanted to throw that info out there for your consideration.

Comparing MIL pilots to non-mil pilot in terms of jumping is comparing apples to oranges.

I definitely would stick it out for at least a year then make a change. But do whatever is best for for you and your family.

I’d leave in two seconds. Pretty easy explanation in an interview if that. I did it and never heard a word besides the typical why did you leave job a,b,c

If your current company has flow and your relatively young stay where u are

OK, Mil pilots get a pass for job jumping. Thousands of non military regional pilots have left before one year on property for greener pastures. One jump is not going to stunt your career, several within a couple years will raise questions.

Mil guys don't do lateral jumps. That's the biggest red flag in OPs situation. A lateral jump during probation screams "probationary release" or "resignation in lieu of termination" louder than anything.

And you can't explain it well by having a preferred base elsewhere either. That's not a conversation you want to have in a job interview.

"So you left X because you weren't happy with the base?"
"Yes"
"Ok, so if we can't offer you a base of your choice, would you leave us as well?"
"Errmm no because of uhh... reasons"
"Thank you for your time, we'll call you."

Military to regional to major = normal.

Regional to regional to regional = dumb.

You won’t be able to explain it in an interview if you never get the call for the interview in the first place.

Yeah, that's the problem with a lot of things.

You guys are nuts.

Go now and get the seniority. Every day you wait is another pilot ahead of you. Your regional isn't opening a BOS base ever.

Do what you must in order to fit your lifestyle. A plane is a plane no matter who flies it. most of these companies all offer the same benefits, so it really doesn't matter.