Best airline commuting from AVL
 

OK, I know that it will probably be a long time before I can get an airline job so please don't turn this into a bashing session. I currently have 1100 TT w/300 ME (almost all as instructor), and I expect to have about 1400/500 by the end of March. I love the Asheville area of Western North Carolina, and my wife and I would love to live there. Plus, we have family that would rent us an apartment for VERY cheap (and maybe THEN I could afford to go to the regionals.) :)
SO - whenever the market turns around (and assuming that hiring actually resumes for guys with my entry level experience ;)), which airline would be good to work for commuting from AVL? Gleaning from the AVL website and airline routemaps, I believe Expressjet, ASA, Chatauqua, Pinnacle, and PSA all have flights to AVL. With these guys, I could bid for a base in EWR, IAH, ATL, CVG, DTW, MSP, or CLT with direct flights from AVL. I know I could work for a different regional, but would it make life easier as a commuter to work for one of the guys that have their own flights to AVL? Who does overnights in AVL?

Thanks in advance for helping.

Don't Forget about the mighty Piedmont Dash 8 300 and we usually can take jump seater's when the 300 goes in.

Do you like working for Piedmont? Do they have any overnights in AVL?

Usually if you work for the regional carrier serving the route you get priority on the nonrev list and almost always the jumpseat. ASA lets you reserve the jumpseat a couple days ahead of time and as long as you have that reservation you bump any walk-up jumpseat request (except the Feds obviously). Any RJ on a short flight with an alternate will probably be weight restricted, so keep that in mind.

That's good news. Thanks.

I forgot to mention - with the way that things are shaping up for the airlines, I'm wondering if it might be necessary to just wait and start at one of those regionals where it would be reasonable to stay for a career. By the time anyone is hiring again, I'll be 34 or maybe even 35. By the time I would be "eligible" for a mainline job, it might not be worth the additional sacrifice in pay and QOL. I'd probably be better off high on the seniority list of a good regional. At least then I have a slightly better chance of avoiding furlough :(.

your best bets would be some one with an ATL CVG or CLT base. the farther out ones like MSP or IAH would have some pretty good weight restrictions im guessing specially when the weather gets bad.

I'd go with someone with a CLT base. That way, if you miss the jumpseat, you can just drive.

So, in short, PSA or Mesa. With Mesa, there's a very good chance you couldn't hold CLT @ first, and Mesa's US Air contract may not be a guaranteed thing over the long term (Doug Parker, CEO of US Airways, will "explore all options" when Mesa's contract comes up for re-bid - in 2011 I believe), so . . . PSA.

PSA will not only give you the CLT base, but also the ability to get priority on all US Airways flights, including the jumpseat. While many PSA flights from AVL-CLT or vice versa will be weight restricted, the Dash flights operated by Piedmont, as another poster mentioned, are more dependable. As a PSA pilot, you'll be able to see the loads on the AVL-CLT flights, as well as get priority for the jumpseat and the cabin non-rev options.

I bet you'll drive most of the time, in the end. AVL flights mean get to the airport 1 hour early, which means leave 1.5 hours before departure from the house to account for parking and traffic on occasion (the interstate interchange for I-26 is right next to the airport, so it backs up on occasion). Then the flight is about 1 hour, gate to gate (never underestimate how long the 20 mile final and slowing to 170 way out in CLT will take, though maybe the new runway will help). In the same amount of time, you could drive to CLT, park your car, and be done with it.

I have no idea what regional to suggest but you can try passrider.com and imput AVL and the domiciles for the regionals you want to consider and that will show you all daily flights at all times for all carriers. might take a bit of time to resarch but you should be able to get some kind of idea which would fit you best. Good Luck. :)

Thanks for the input, especially regarding PSA. The only problem with driving to CLT is that I will be able to qualify for food-stamps as a new FO with a wife & two kids. We have one car - why drive? That's gas money that I won't have and then my wife would not have the car for a few days?

I do like Piedmont it isn't as bad as everyone says, Your Best bet would be a the crew base in ROA and we are taking applications. The Dash is a fun plane to fly. You also get the mainline pass travel priority at Piedmont.