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.

Like the others said, it is a crapshoot and each company has its own strengths and weaknesses. Some are great, depending on where you live.

If you are willing to move, right now Skywest looks like a winner. But that can change pretty quickly. Five years ago, Air Wisconsin was the best regional out there. It is still good, but morale is low and unless you live close to one of the domiciles it is not that great.

The fact is that none of the regional airlines is all that great. It is a job, not a dream. For a commuter though, it is a lifestyle. Driving from CHO to DCA would be a PITA in my world, where dealing with traffic is right up there will getting poked in the eye with a sharp stick. And traffic in Washington sucks.

Anyway, like the others said, what works for one is not necessarily what will work for you.

Based purely on the contract though ZW is not bad. We do have one of the best 401K programs out there and nobody ever mentions that.

Don't go anywhere just because they have a base where you want to be unless it's a very stable company not likely to close that base anytime soon - even that is up for grabs though (reference AWAC and their bases a couple years ago or CHQ and the Florida disaster). I myself refuse to live in base because if I do, I'm just going to have to move again sometime down the road. I suck it up and commute, and it does put a drain on you at some point. However, if you can make some friends in crew scheduling, you can bid reserve and maybe deadhead out of home to pick up a trip (it's worked for me before). Any place that is growing or stable is good - I would say that CHQ, XJT, AWAC, or SKW would be at the top of my list.

The answer to this question depends on the question itself...what do you mean by best? What are your priorities?

One or more bases at or close to home?
Quick Upgrade?
Good Benefits?
Good QOL?
A place to spend you career?


You will likely face trade-offs between these and other criteria, so you have to decide what is most important to you.


Regardless, don't do mesa (it will suck) or blowjets (you will suck).

If I may add an additional request for information to those of you who fly for AE, ASA, COMAIR & PSA.

a) How is seniority determined after completing training when hired? Age? SSN?

b) Based on that seniority (if you are within the top 5) do you get to pick your a/c & domiclie?

c) How long is the upgrade for each? Which domicile is best in terms of QOL given a two-income family?

I realize some of these questions may have been answered before. I wasn't able to find the threads or posts for these particular questions. Thanks for your help guys.


atp

Answers for PSA:

Seniority in class is based on age. Seniority starts day 1 of training.


Everybody starts in the CRJ-200, transition to the -701 in six months of so. Then you fly both a/c. Domiciles are a crap shoot. DAY is generally junior. You should be able to get any domicile within 3 months or less. You will hold a line in DAY in less than a year. In CLT 16-18 mo.

Upgrade is from 4 years to infinite. There has been only one PSA upgrade class in the last year and a half. There has been at least one CEL-APL class this year (APL-CEL are furloghed Midatlantic guys - a very sore spot right now, effectively PDT fo's are jumping the line to become PSA CA's).

On the other hand, over 100 fo's have left PSA in the last year - with only about 25 new hires to replace them.

QOL is a tricky question. If you live in domicile, they're about the same. If you commute, CLT is the only hub, so its the easiest by default. Schedules are lousy in all three domiciles, but there is more flying to be had in CLT.


One more caveat; I turned in my resignation letter at PSA today. I'll begin training at Eagle after Thanksgiving. Being married with a baby at home, living in domicile trumps almost all other considerations.

A place to spend a career
Benefits
QOL
Upgrade

Those are my priorities.

Asking which Regional is best to work for is like asking which hammer is best for hitting yourself in your head!

Amen !!
 

Amen to that !!

SkyHigh

who gives you the fastest upgrade?

probably commutair or colgan

PIC time in 121 ops is the all important goal. Get the fast upgrade , get the hours and then move on...

-LAFF

Historically true, put unless the industry changes dramatically in the near future 121 PIC alone will not get you a major airline job. You will need an inside connection...

Unless you already know who that person is, you probably want to approach a regional on the assumption that you might be there for a very long time. You can take a chance on a crappy regional for the fast upgrade, but you might wake up as an 8 year regional captain, realize you are going nowhere, and that your employer sucks...your dream is now a living nightmare.

You make a good point. I believe knowing someone always improves your chances.

My point is: I'd rather be stuck somewhere as CA than a FO. It might be my personality but if I working somewhere I'd rather be the one with some control than none.

-LAFF

I understand that, I'm probably the same way (a lot of pilots are), but I can safely say that I would rather be an FO for an extra year or two than work for certain companies...