How bout some advice/overview for the younger guys?
#21
#22
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Dec 2005
Position: 7ER B...whatever that means.
Posts: 3,966
I Love the Dash-8 and thats one of the reason I think CommutAir is appealing. P.s. Don't hate on Cleveland. There's nothing wrong with this city.
Also, instead of criticizing everyone elses opinion, do you guys think you can tell us why you do or do not like your airline?
Also, instead of criticizing everyone elses opinion, do you guys think you can tell us why you do or do not like your airline?
For the record, I fly for XJT, enjoy it and realize how lucky I was to end up here. Having friends in the biz at other companies really gives me an appreciation for the contract and benefits we have here. And I hate CLE.
#23
OK, so I can read everyones griping and boasting about all the regionals, but WHY?!! I know that Mesa is bad and the QOL sucks..but WHY? So how bout anyone with any knowledge of any regional offers some insight as to why they like/dislike that particular airline. My application will be going out in about a year so I'd like to get know know what it's like out there. Care to enlighten us guys? Maybe a top 5 good and bad? Here's how I see it now. I live near Cleveland and have a mother that works for CAL so I've been partial to the airline forever.
Good:
1. Horizon (LOVE the Dash 8's and it's west which is where I'd like to live ultimately.)
2. Skywest (West, KDEN )
3. Commutair (Dash 8's, Cleveland, CAL)
4. Republic
5. ExpressJet (CAL, Cleveland)
Bad
1. Mesa
2. PSA
3. Comair
4. Mesaba?
5. Great Lakes? (Although I really would LOVE to fly Beech 1900's out of DEN through the Rockies with no auto-pilot. Seems like a great experience, put the pay is just so damn low)
Good:
1. Horizon (LOVE the Dash 8's and it's west which is where I'd like to live ultimately.)
2. Skywest (West, KDEN )
3. Commutair (Dash 8's, Cleveland, CAL)
4. Republic
5. ExpressJet (CAL, Cleveland)
Bad
1. Mesa
2. PSA
3. Comair
4. Mesaba?
5. Great Lakes? (Although I really would LOVE to fly Beech 1900's out of DEN through the Rockies with no auto-pilot. Seems like a great experience, put the pay is just so damn low)
I fly for Horizon. There are things I like and things I dislike.
Likes:
1. Livable first year wages
2. Pay is base on seniority not aircraft type (so you could be a Q200 FO (which you didnt choose or may have) and you get paid the same as a CRJ700 FO
2. Use of technology (GPS appoaches, RNP, CATIII
3. You get to know a lot of the guys/gals you fly with
4. And ummmmmmmmmmm
Dislike
1. Long upgrade (But i knew that before coming here)
2. Long reserve (Something i knew before hand)
3. Everything is a mystery in terms of growth and future plans (only miss cleo got the answers)
4. If you get tired of the scenery up front you get a penalty....if you switch aircraft (Back to first year pay for 2 years)
5. The Hotel in Helena
Last edited by bintynogin; 07-07-2007 at 10:18 PM.
#25
#26
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jul 2007
Posts: 133
#28
In the end its up to the individual pilot's quality of life requirements. I feel lucky for the fact that it doesnt take much ($) for me to be happy, and I have lead a pretty good/successful life so far.
#29
Regional FO will only be great fun for a year tops. After that you will start to realize that flying more than 1-2 legs per day becomes real work (I admit that a 2 leg day with an overnight in a cool town is fun...as long as the show time is after noon the next day). Also you will start to notice that your friends have houses, vacations, SUV's, BMW's, boats, motorcycles, and spending money...while you are still driving that 1988 Civic, living with 6 other FO's in a 3 bedroom apartment near the airport and eating top ramen. You can probably afford a 12 pack of Busch once a week, assuming that you have no student loans to pay.
You may be able to be happy with an aviation career ten years down the road, but until then you will have to pay your dues. And don't forget to add extra time out for the inevitable furlough (2-4 years).
I'm not saying don't do it, but I guarantee that a "love of flying" will probably NOT make up for the hardships you have coming. Many of the folks I fly with would have been better off going to dental school and buying an airplane to fly on weekends.
#30
Banned
Joined APC: Jan 2006
Position: A-320
Posts: 6,929
Shouldnt people be looking at Year 2 salary levels anyways? I have always thought that Year 1 salary includes the cost of training the airline "gives" you. Struggle the first year and break even the second year on a shoestring budget.
In the end its up to the individual pilot's quality of life requirements. I feel lucky for the fact that it doesnt take much ($) for me to be happy, and I have lead a pretty good/successful life so far.
In the end its up to the individual pilot's quality of life requirements. I feel lucky for the fact that it doesnt take much ($) for me to be happy, and I have lead a pretty good/successful life so far.