Fawkes

I have about 600T - 132M and a CRJ-type rating. I sent out my resume a few weeks ago and got replies from American Eagle, Pinnacle, PSA, Air Wisconsin, Express Jet and Mesa. I'm aware that the interview invitation is not hard to get, the job on the other hand...

Can somebody give me more information/ideas/opinions of what airline would be a better pick and why?

Thanks alot!

Bigey

RAA i take it?

rickair7777

Eagle: REALLY long upgrade time, probably career dead-end, low pay, good benefits, lots of bases.

Pinnacle: Potential downsizing due to NWA BK reorg. I suspect they are hiring only to replace the rats who are abandoning the sinking ship. All-around crappy place to work.

PSA: Don't have too many details, but talked to a buddy who works there today and he said he's getting treated like crap.

Air Whiskey: Historically a great place to work, it looked like chapter 7 for a while after united terminated them, but they paid USAir $125M and landed on their feet with a new partner. Since it's a good place to be, upgrade could take years.

XJT: Historically a good place to work, but CAL will probably reduce their flying by 69 jets in 2007, in which case they could operate the jets for another partner OR return the jets to CAL and return 450 pilots to the streets. If you go there you might get lucky or you might get furloughed.

Mesa: Historically crappy work rules, labor unrest, and medicore pay. Rapid upgrade opportunity, largest regional jets in the world, lots of bases. Contract is up in 2007, so things might improve.

My best guess depends on what you want out of life:
Stability at a good company: Air Whiskey
Career Progression: Mesa
Some of both: XJet, but you're taking a chance.

Actually I would recommend Skywest, but I doubt your times would qualify.

Fawkes

Bigey; sorry, no RAA.

Rickair; thanks for your advice, that does put things in a different light! I have sent a resume out to Skywest a couple of days ago, but no luck yet. As you say, I'm probably not qualified.

I'm more interested in progression and have an eye on Mesa at this point. Somebody else basically told me the same thing about them. Thx again.

KiloAlpha

Sorry to come off as a jerk, but here goes...

How does a 600 hour pilot end up in the right seat of a 50+ pax jet, it absolutely boggles my mind. It is just downright scarey. I'll gladly pay more to fly on a legacy carrier.

BigC

Consider yourself lucky if you've heard back from all of those companies. I have twice your time and have only got a reply from one..............now if only mommy and daddy could loan me 20K for a CRJ type....the possibilities could be endless!

AirWillie

I only know about Eagle and I have heard some horror stories about how junior pilots are treated there. I have also heard that Chautauqua is a good regional to fly for. Eventhough Mesa might be tempting because of their large operation I would stay away because pilots say that it's not a good place to work, just to gain experience and move on. Bottom line, if you want to go to the majors then it really doesn't matter what regional you go through as long as they have good upgrade times. If you want to stay at the regionals then follow what I told you above.

atpwannabe

Fawkes:

I agree with rickair7777. He is one of the few that offers genuine, unbiased advice. If I may add, do what is going to get you where you want to be. Period. I understand that there may be some unwritten rules of conduct or "code of silence" out there for the pilot community, however in the end, you are the one who is going to have to live with the decisions that you make...good, bad or indifferent. Just my thoughts.

If I were in your position, personally, I'd chose Mesa.

dacm313

My first choice was Air Wisconsin. I finally got an interview on feb 9th. The next day they put a hiring freeze in effect and have stopped hiring and collecting resumes until late march or early april. Needless to say I recieved the letter of bad news. We were also told that there wont be a new hire class until may. They also called all of the other people that were supposed to interview in feb and postponed there interviews until late march. I am assuming you heard from them a while ago. This is the airline industry so things could change overnight. I would still suggest air wisconsin but you may have to wait a little while. Good Luck.

4word

Mesa is still hiring a lot. 1900 guys upgrade less then a year. Dash is about 1-2, the most junior CA on the ERJ is April 04 and the crj is about 2 1/2 to 3 years. A lot of people move on as soon as they get their time and the call from the big guys.