I would only do it as a street captain, as an FO I think its stupid as heck. The pay is not great but if it cuts out 3 years as an FO at Eagle then it is worth it. Heck you could even pay it back if you leave after 2 years, its not that much money, and you will make more than 300/month more by getting on to bigger and better things. It could be the difference 20 years down the road between 777 FO and 767 CA at the same company.

 

It could do more than that for you. By balking at the $25000 now you are potentially leaving $500,000 on the table for someone else. Giving up your CRJ FO job and going to GIA as a street Captain will take at least 2 years off the time to get to a major. That's 2 ADDITIONAL years you'll be a widebody CA at the end of your career, do the math. That's just looking at the end game, also you must consider near/short term QOL. You could stay at xyz Regional as an FO and wait for the upgrade, do a year or so on RSV and then hopefully in 18-24 mos have enough TPIC to get on with a Major. By then, you'll have missed the beginning of the next hiring wave and will get hired, but late into the game or towards the end. This will end up having you stuck on narrow body reserve as an FO for a decade or more at your major, it'll make the difference for your entire career. When you do upgrade you'll be relegated to a narrowbody reserve for another decade and you might get a "smaller" widebody your last 3-4 years, and THAT will be on reserve.

Contrast that outlook with a street Ca slot NOW, and being hired at a Major the end of next year or early 2013 and you will experience a vastly different career and QOL.

I speak from experience. It's a gamble, it's a LOT of work but it does pay off. I left my comfort zone as a lineholder on a CRJ to do just what I described above. I'm now in the right seat of a widebody for a major and it took less than a year at GIA. I am on rsv however if I'd pulled the trigger even 3 mos earlier than I did, I'd be a lineholder and pulling down $2k a mo more than I am now. If I'd done it 6 mos earlier I'd be on a widebody at home instead of a transcon commute, or on a larger widebody.

If you can afford to do it and then don't hesitate. Don't go by just the published payrates on APC for GIA either. Be a scheduling *****, live in base and you'll fly 100+ hours a month and credit 125-150. In/out...in less than a year you'll have the TPIC to get where you want to be.

 

or even worse it could mean the differnce of having a job or being put out on the street during the next downturn.

 

Anyone know where the KPKB base falls for seniority?

 

Don't worry, they'll find ways to keep Captains around especially when the floodgates open. Places like GIA can't afford for pilots, especially Captains, bailing after a short amount of time.

 

On APC it says that they participate in CASS so I take it you can commute?

 

Also when and why did they get rid of the EMB 120's?

 

They got rid of them cause they were maintenance pigs and cost the company lots of money, truly being cause they were not properly trained on how to maintain them.

Skywest has a whole fleet and seems to do fine . They had 8 and man did it cause problems for the company.

 

So how will it be any different with the Saabs?

 

If they can keep with a 1900 they can keep up with a Saab