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I am a new member to the site, and currently a CFI building time towards a regional gig. I agree wholeheartedly with the initial post, and was wondering if I could get some input from a few of the more experienced guys (and girls if applicable) regarding what they thought would be the best regional and major to shoot for, assuming they wanted to be based in Utah. (Sorry for the semi-hijack of thread but my question was along the same lines.)
I know that this will restrict a lot of the options out there, but it is where my wife and kids want to be, and since that is the case, where I want to be as well. Right now I am planning on Skywest for my regional, and then Delta or possibly Southwest after that. I guess my question is, does anyone see a better way to go about this, while still maintaining Utah as a base? Are there other airlines I don't know about that may be better suited to accomplish my goal of staying in Utah? Are there any bases that are so easy to commute to from SLC that it makes it no big deal? |
Baby steps. Make sure you can get through airline training ASAP. Pick one anywhere and commute. Initial 121 training is extremely tough the 1st time around for anyone so you'd do yourself a favor to go ahead and get going with it. Then once you have the t-shirt (figuratively speaking) you can pretty much go anywhere. Try not to screw your company though.
The minimums are so low right now. I would advise that you go for it immediately. |
Applicant A hired on at Pinnacle, 600TT. 4 months for training. Flies ~75 hrs a month for a total of 900 hrs per year.
Applicant B hired on at Eagle, 600TT. 4 months for training. Flies ~75 hrs a month as well. Based on a snapshot of upgrades TODAY (which is also historical for the past 12-18 months), Applicant A will be able to upgrade when meeting company minimums of 2500 hours (1000+ in CRJ). I believe that there is also a new program that might allow these mins to be lowered to 2000TT (1500 in company CRJ). So after flying for about 1 year and 6 months, applicant A can upgrade. Applicant B on the other hand waits 5 years to upgrade. In that same time, applicant A will fly 3+ years as a captain at Pinnacle, more than enough time to get 1000PIC and move on past the regional airline phase of their career. Additionally, in that time, applicant A will make significantly more money that the "career FO" who is waiting out the upgrade. Not saying that either path is better than the other (I myself had 4+ years as a first officer without upgrade before I was furloughed), but IMHO, the less time you can spend at the regionals (particularly as a FO), the better off you'll be in the long run. |
Originally Posted by FlyerJosh
(Post 192305)
Applicant A hired on at Pinnacle, 600TT. 4 months for training. Flies ~75 hrs a month for a total of 900 hrs per year.
Applicant B hired on at Eagle, 600TT. 4 months for training. Flies ~75 hrs a month as well. Based on a snapshot of upgrades TODAY (which is also historical for the past 12-18 months), Applicant A will be able to upgrade when meeting company minimums of 2500 hours (1000+ in CRJ). I believe that there is also a new program that might allow these mins to be lowered to 2000TT (1500 in company CRJ). So after flying for about 1 year and 6 months, applicant A can upgrade. Applicant B on the other hand waits 5 years to upgrade. In that same time, applicant A will fly 3+ years as a captain at Pinnacle, more than enough time to get 1000PIC and move on past the regional airline phase of their career. Additionally, in that time, applicant A will make significantly more money that the "career FO" who is waiting out the upgrade. Not saying that either path is better than the other (I myself had 4+ years as a first officer without upgrade before I was furloughed), but IMHO, the less time you can spend at the regionals (particularly as a FO), the better off you'll be in the long run. Comparing any companies one should also include salary, per diem, benefits, been able to choose base and if for any reason I cannot get to be captain in 2 years how will my salary look like?, what happends if the climate in the insdustry changes and the company looses contracts? Is the company independant or just flies for others?, etc. I would also include, student treatment and quality of training. |
Originally Posted by TchNgo
(Post 192193)
I am a new member to the site, and currently a CFI building time towards a regional gig. I agree wholeheartedly with the initial post, and was wondering if I could get some input from a few of the more experienced guys (and girls if applicable) regarding what they thought would be the best regional and major to shoot for, assuming they wanted to be based in Utah. (Sorry for the semi-hijack of thread but my question was along the same lines.)
I know that this will restrict a lot of the options out there, but it is where my wife and kids want to be, and since that is the case, where I want to be as well. Right now I am planning on Skywest for my regional, and then Delta or possibly Southwest after that. I guess my question is, does anyone see a better way to go about this, while still maintaining Utah as a base? Are there other airlines I don't know about that may be better suited to accomplish my goal of staying in Utah? Are there any bases that are so easy to commute to from SLC that it makes it no big deal? SWA or US Airways would also be reasonable options since they both have PHX and LAS bases, which would be reasonably commutable. UAL also has LAX, SNA, and SFO bases. |
Thanks rickair, I appreciate your input.
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Building on my last question, what regionals and bases would be the most easily commuted from SLC?
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Keep in mind boys and girls... if you upgrade fast and get your magical 1000hrs PIC turbine, it doesnt mean you automatically get hired at SWA/FedEx/etc. You really need some strong internal recommendations to get hired anywhere right now, and if you have those recs then youll get hired at DAL/CAL even without the PIC turbine.
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