Considering AE...
 

I've got an interview coming up with American Eagle and I'm probably going to choose ORD as my domicile - but I have a few questions. Does anyone have any thoughts on how easy it is to commute between IND and ORD? Are there any lines with overnights in IND? Given the apparent shortage of Embraer FOs at ORD, how long could I expect to be stuck on reserve?

Any thoughts or opinions would be appreciated - positive or negative.

Jason

I was talking to an Eagle guy last night who said you'll probably hold a line in ORD (or be very close) when you're done with class.

I'm based in ORD, and I can tell you there are lots of flights between here and IND. The bad news is half or more are 50-seaters. I would expect the jumpseat is often weight restricted and ATC delays are abundant going into ORD.

The CRJ has lots of overnights in IND. Im not sure how often the ERJ flys there but I'm pretty sure it's not nearly as often if at all. There are lots of flights between ORD and IND but they seem to be very full all the time and you will have lots of competition for the jumpseat. Why not try Republic? If I was you I would highly consider NOT going to AE or get hired and build time for a year or so. I was there a year and the future is very grim.

I've already interviewed with Republic, but they're not training any more FOs right now, just sticking them into a hiring pool. I consider AE my next best bet, since they don't have a training contract and seem to respect their employees at least a little bit.

I'm not looking forward to commuting between IND and ORD all the time, but it at least seems do-able. Do you think any of the other bases would be an easier commute? I noticed that DFW has five or six MD-80 flights daily to/from IND.

Jason

Commuting is easy if you are single with no family.

IND to ORD can be difficult on the UAL side. The flights are pretty full. I've tried jumping on earlier flights a couple times to avoid sitting for three hours waiting for a deadhead only to get bumped. There are quite a few mainline pilots that live here and of course you have all the S5 pilots going back and forth.

If you really have to fly a jet, you might want to think about moving to ORD. If staying in Indy is more important you might want to consider swimming for a while. I have a feeling that we will ramp up hiring again pretty fast once corporate catches up.