Best Regionals To Work For?
 

I know a lot of people have STRONG opinions on who is the best regional to fly for but I was wondering for those of you that work in the airlines... what would you rank as the overall BEST Regional to work for at this time? Maybe your top 3??? And overall I mean QOL, Pay, Scheduling, etc... Thanks!

Skywest, Air Whisky, Republic, and ExpressJet

Once again, this question is IMPOSSIBLE TO ANSWER in a way that applies to everyone. Example: Air Whisky is considered by many to be one of the best regionals out there. But if you want to live on the west coast I think you would find that your QOL would suck. Conversely, we all may think Colgan is the scum of the earth but if you want to live in one of the little bum fudge towns in the northeast that they base at and be home everynight, then you would love it. No matter where you go, people will whine about scheduling. I have heard many folks **** an moan about scheduling here at XJT but I for one have never had an issue with them. Pay has more to do with the contract than with actual pay rates. Some companies have leg by leg overs with lots of pay protection and "soft pay". Others, like Mesa are average block, regardless what you actually fly with very little pay protection. Bottom line is this: unless you have specific criteria in mind (like where you want to live, what kind of income will make you happy, what kind of flying you like, your ultimate goal in this crazy business of ours, etc), the title of "best regional" is meaningless.

If you state your priorities we can offer better advice

Freezingflyboy, you make good points. I also knew there were strong feelings on this. I am currently looking at making a career change to go to the airlines. I live in VA and I would like to live in a domicile. Both Colgan and Piedmont have CHO nearby where I live. I have heard good and bad about both. DCA is about 2 hours away so I could commute for Air Wis from there possibly. So I guess my question would be, with all of the EAST COAST regionals, which would most prefer. Thanks!

Be careful about choosing a regional airline based on domiciles. When Air Wiskey lost the United flying a couple years back they had to pick up and completely leave their old domiciles and move to completely new ones that were more or less on the other side of the country.

If your planning on making a career out of flying I wouldn't suggest Colgan. It is a very flexable airline. They currently fly for 3 majors and probably wouldn't hesitate to shift their resources to better suit the highest bidder. Most guys have fun there, with the minset that they will be moving on.

Piedmont is a pretty stable airline, but again isn't that big. I don't know alot about the QOL there.

Air Wisconson has bases in both DCA and Norfolk. Their contract with USAir is good for about another 7 years I believe. By that time you'd have enough time to go to almost anywhere. They have a great contract and are one of the highest paying regionals. I'd say they're probably worth the comute, rather than flying for Colgan.

~8.5 left on it. Aircraft started service for US Air in August 2005.

AWAC guys: How will the fact that YOU OWN a part of USAir help you when it comes to maintaining or growing your service agreement in the future? How has AWAC been performing compared to the other USAir Ex jet operators (PSA, CHQ, and Mess-A) and how do you compare on cost? I'm sure you customer service blows all of the aforementioned away (much like Rutgers blew away Louisville last night! GO RU!!!!!!)

I don't really know how the owning thing will help us with growing our service, the contract we have is a 70 rj deal worth 10yrs, beyond that who knows. As far as how our service compares, I guess during the last express meeting, DP told us that we have the best performance they have ever seen given our bases and route structure in the north east.

I'll say it again. Look at company financials, longevity of management, previous management decisions and what effect those decisions had on the company, future growth opportunities, competition . . etc. (Since most regionals are CONTRACTORS to major airlines, get opinions from these majors on the service these contractors are providing, and finally do your airline choices have pilot unions or are they union free. And do YOU want to be involved with a union carrier or not. If you do, then there are a few airlines you should take off your list.

All the other stuff freezingflyboy said is true too.