It must be nice to be able to say, "should I stay at my regional or move onto an airline." There would be a lot of people who would love to be in your place. I don't know what the future holds for Pinnacle or for Spirit for that matter but as of today, Spirit is doing much better than a lot of other airlines. If not for anything, at least you will get another type to add to your resume.

 

With that kind of clarification he might get the point now.

 

This person would say STAY... Some need an intervention from the Kool Aid...

Delta will sell you off or close the doors. Maybe not tomorrow or next year but I assure you, it will happen.

 

Which scenario sounds best.
1. Still at PCL in 5 years. Upside, no commuting. Downside, uncertain future.
2. Going to Spirit. Upside, career advancement. Downside, commuting. Not your "destination career airline." Could hang out here till Delta calls.

Me personally, I'd go to Spirit and wait for Delta (if that's what you want long term). You may end up liking Spirit enough to stay, or if not, it's still a better bet long term than PNCL.

 

How about giving those of us that want the F. out of Pinnacle the secret to getting an interview with Spirit... I would gladly trade my number at Pinnacle for your class date at Spirit.

 

Plus the 100 bucks for not going to another career fair!

 

Not true. Did not say stay. Maybe you should read my post again. The person that started the post was seeking different opinions and thats what I was doing. I think its a great opportunity to go to Spirit but its not necessarily greener on the other side. There is a lot to consider before making that decision, money,family, where you live or are from. Income is huge, does your wife work? Can you afford the pay difference etc.

I'm also not drinking from the punch just being optimistic about what delta is doing with us. Better than thinking of liquidation and furloughs. Anything is possible. Most of us have been here long enough to understand what could happen here and are persuing other avenues.

I wish everyone the best at Pinnacle whether you stay or leave.

 

the good news is! Spirit seems to really like Pinnacle guys. I feel like every one I run into was a PNcl guy, lol.

 

Unless you're going to SWA or FedEx, going from the left seat at a regional to right seat at a major is likely going to involve some kind of pay cut for at least the first year. If you're smart, you'll sock some away to help ease the transition. Also, make sure you give your two weeks and get that vacation pay cashed out. That helped.

I can't speak for Spirit, but I can say I was a little nervous making the jump from 9E to B6. I had the "golden handcuffs" a little bit. I had good seniority in base, I was commuting but it wasn't a bad commute and the money was decent. After I turned in my 2 weeks, I had a few "*** am I doing?" moments. Fast forward nearly six months, and I have zero regrets whatsoever. I'm already holding a line, I get MORE days off as a junior line holding FO than I did as a upper-mid seniority CA at 9E and with the pay structure here, I'm only making a couple hundred less a month than I was. With the new pay rates, I'm actually pulling down MORE than I would have been under the bankruptcy contract. I also am looking at more people coming in BEHIND me in seniority on a monthly basis rather than AHEAD of me, which would have been the case the minute they closed MEM and ATL at 9E. By the time I hit second year FO pay here, I'll be making more than I would have been if I had stayed at 9E, at least on the average. Assuming a 75 hour guarantee, I'd still be a couple hundred bucks shy, but I'll take that trade off. The big things are I'm not exhausted after every duty day, I don't need a day to get my feet back under me after being beaten down for 4 days straight and I have the potential to stop commuting in about a year or two.

 

Thanks for all the input, here is what I’ve come up with. First of all, I was leaning towards taking the job; I understand I’m fortunate to be in this predicament. As much as Delta is my first choice, I cannot afford to get to comfortable here. The problem I see with regional’s is that people start to gain seniority, upgrade to captain, make good money, and not want to leave for anywhere except their #1 choice. While this is ok for some who are older, I feel that I don’t want to be in this situation. I don’t want to be stuck in the rut I’m about to fall into by sticking it out a Pinnacle (personal choice) and be at the mercy of the mainline company and hope they continue to “use” us. With the pay and the contract at NK, I will be back up to what I make now by 2nd year pay, no question. Also, holding a line as an FO making what I was making as RSV CA is a huge increase in QOL as far as I’m concerned. I think the experience will also help me in my career moving forward as well.