Except Colgan. Quick upgrades. Iron-clad protections for "career expectations." :p

I choose my airline based on. "What was a descent company to work for" I am thinking I choose wrong. XJ Had a descent contract and QOL and look what a merger and Bankruptcy does to it. QOL/Contract can go away just like a fast upgrade. Here is an idea of where to go, Put all the names of airlines that are hiring into a hat and pick one. That is basically what it is. Good luck

It may sound crazy but I would be worried if I was at one of the "preferred" regionals right now. Senior captains on 15+ year payscales, 3 weeks+ vacation, and fat 401k match. People stick around and labor costs go up considerably.
All of a sudden you are given the ultimatum to either take concessions or lose your flying to a new cheaper airline called "barbie jets R us!"

If a regional is a stepping stone to bigger and better things, why look for one that will be the most comfortable? If the objective of the mission is to get into the right seat of a 737 as soon as possible, you would want to be at a place that flies your ass off and upgrades as soon as possible wouldn't you? I used to love hearing the words, "I can't wait to get the hell out of here" in the crew room. Movement is a good thing when you are trying to progress in your career.

great...
 

Wow. Lots of good stuff to think about...definitely gonna hit the job fair for Spirit...I can be happy lots of places....there is nothing magical about the left seat...it just pays more..I have been a captain most of my career...worked at places for fun and qol...they dont exist anymore so...gotta pay the bills..

sincere thanks to all....

Nicely said. The bad thing is that the regionals have become a place where people settle and it's not a stepping stone for many... This screws everyone.

I'm at 5.5 years at RAH and no upgrade yet on ANY airframe. Don't come here for a quick upgrade.

And the American contract will cause movement, but we already have a fleet of over 200 RJs. An additional 47 doesn't exactly mean a quick upgrade for new hires either.

The only thing that will have any real effect on upgrade times at the regionals is retirements and subsequent hiring at the majors and legacies. And just how much movement will happen over all of that....who knows.

Upgrade chasers.....lol.

Well it's not like there is anywhere to go right now or really has been in the last 10 years. JetBlue just opened their window for a few days and got well over 3,000 applicants while United received over 8,000 and only a handful of those numbers will get a call.

CommutAir upgrade time is about 1 1/2 years right now. We always seem to be running upgrade classes and wouldn't be surprised to see that time drop even a little more once our captains start leaving for the majors. I know management will be hiring indefinitely right now. QOL isn't that great but the people here are awesome and since its such a small company it feels almost like a family.

When you say like family do you mean they're crazy, in and out of prison, and always trying to borrow money?