Flyer00

This is what EVERY person who is waiting for a job with anyone needs to remember, especially RAH or skywest. People might be upgrading in 1.3 years RIGHT NOW, but that doesn't mean that you will in 1.3 years from RIGHT NOW, if you were hired RIGHT NOW.

Things change...what once was THE place to be in the past, isn't now...and what is now THE place to be, possibly won't be in the future. Pick someplace that #1 has good work rules, #2 treats their people good, #3 good pay rates. Oh, and if you want hard rules...you can't go to skywest...those are just guidelines as they don't have a real contract

IMHO

BoilerUP

Too bad Beechnut hasn't commented on this thread yet....

For somebody hired today, upgrade is likely going to be the same between both companies. Right now AWAC has superior work rules and better FO pay but hopefully RAH will eliminate that gap in their upcoming CBA...whenever they happen to get a TA in 1-4 years.

If you want to live on the East coast, you absolutely can't go wrong with AWAC...if you want the midwest, RAH would likely be better.

N42ER

something else to think about when comparing companies with different upgrade times is what does a quicker upgrade really buy you...maybe it isn't so damaging to wait for a long upgrade.
What do you guys think about the chances are of someone upgrading sooner rather than later getting on with a major...the people who are at places like colgan and enduring lower pay for a quicker upgrade, but will they be making out in the end? i.e. will those of us at the long-upgrade regionals like AWAC, PDT, Eagle, be getting our PIC time too late or should the majors still be hiring in another 5 years? How important is quick PIC right now

I'm in a similar predicament...I'm with PDT and commute and have an oppourtunity to go with Eagle to live IN base and have better pay, but the upgrade sucks and I can't decide if waiting for a long upgrade will end up really hurting me in the end, or if it won't be so bad to wait afterall...

more questions than answers, but some things to think about I guess

Bill Lumberg

Republic. E170 kicks the CRJ's butt any day... For roughly the same pay over time +/- a few bucks per hour (since I would be looking at the Majors anyways down the line), I'd rather fly a mini-Airbus vs. a stretched Challenger for the entire time. I wish my POS airline would buy the E170 as I am trapped on the E135/145.

BoilerUP

A captain with shiny jet syndrome?

I watch a 175 taxi by in PHL or DCA and say "Man, those sure are nice airplanes. They're comfortable to deadhead in...but I make more flying my stretched bizjet than they make flying that thing with 36 more seats."

That takes away the sting of being a lowly RJ driver...

PeanutButter

amen brother, amen!

ToiletDuck

Negotiations will change that.

BoilerUP

I sure as hell hope so...time will tell.

Rightseat Ballast

The following airlines pay less than Republic on the E175 as Captain:

American Eagle CRJ 700
ASA CRJ 700
ComAir CRJ 700
ExpressJet E 145
Mesa CRJ 900
SkyWest CRJ 900
Air Wisconsin CRJ 200
GoJet CRJ 700
Mesaba CRJ 900
Pinnacle CRJ 200
PSA CRJ 700
TSA E 145

The following are benchmark rates for the 175 under the current CBA:

CA yr1 63/hr
CA yr5 76/hr
CA yr10 88/hr
CA yr15 103/hr

While I agree that these rates should increase, along with every other regional airline pay scale, I think you can also take the time to back your statement up with an intelligent line of reasoning. If you are comparing FO rates, then surely you can add it all up and see any money lost in your short time at Republic as a FO is quickly recovered.

You can complain all you like about our pay, but in truth our wages on the 175 are at or above industry standard. Not to mention these rates were negotiated post- 9/11 by a small pilot group who was just adding jets to the fleet. There is nothing bottom-feeder about our pay... even our 50 seat rates are within 2-3 dollars per hour of most every other 50 seat rate. Add in no junior manning and a successful rebuttal of an alter-ego start-up, and you find less reason for shame. Then, add in the fact that with industry-standard pay our company has been able to profit and grow without concessions, and with a union on property. Most other carriers have been stagnant or slipping slowly backwards. Our pay has been on par with what everyone else has been making, and has still permitted our company to grow and expand and monopolize a niche of the regional industry, while protecting our quality of life with decent workrules, untouchable days off, and one of the highest number of guaranteed days off for lineholders and reservists among all the regionals.

Think on that while you gloat in your CRJ.

I am not an elitist, and I could care less about how shiny my airplane is. I am at my fourth airline, been part of a furlough, a liquidation, a non-union carrier, and a merger. I have flown props and jets. None of that matters. A job is a job, and it all comes down to whether or not you can pay your bills and sleep comfortably at night. Good for you that you have a job in aviation. But don't spit on mine. Your right seat may have a few more ones to pad your rear, but my pasture gets a whole lot greener. Even then, I hope you can get over yourself so that one day when you sit in recurrent for the Airbus you don't make a fool of yourself by heckling the 737 drivers in the same building about how they make 3 dollars less an hour than you for the same number of seats.

sigtauenus

What's the deal with ORF? That would actually be my first choice, is it hard to get if you want it?