Airline Pilot Central Forums - Decisions, Decisions!

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Quote:

Originally Posted by motormadness (Post 1629541)

Or Mesa.....

Or republic

Decisions, Decisions!

When you are figuring up the pay rates for the airlines, do you go back to year 1 CA pay once you upgrade? Or if you've been somewhere for 5 years, would you start at year 5 CA pay?

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickt86 (Post 1629537)

Don't goto psa or gojetz

You'll thank yourself for,life.

Ok, hire me at eagle and I will show up to class :)
Sorry, Envoy...
When will DFW be a 700 base?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Salukipilot4590 (Post 1629606)

Or republic

Or Siver ... :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by rickt86 (Post 1629537)

Don't goto psa or gojetz

You'll thank yourself for,life.

I went to one of those and I was on reserve only 3 months, after two years I bid top 15% in base and could upgrade if I had the requirements. Most likely hold a line and never see reserve when I upgrade, boy I am glad I didn't listen to guys like you!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Salukipilot4590 (Post 1629606)

Or republic

or TSA, OR Skywest, XJT or any other outfit.

The grass isn't much greener anywhere. Make them pay you handsomely for your services. Supply and demand 101.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BaronRouge380 (Post 1629805)

Or Siver ... :)

U wot M8?

Quote:

Originally Posted by slumav505 (Post 1629990)

or TSA, OR Skywest, XJT or any other outfit.

The grass isn't much greener anywhere. Make them pay you handsomely for your services. Supply and demand 101.

Not gonna lie, this is legit advice

I posted this in a different thread, but since you asked....

Quote:

Here's a step by step guide to picking a regional:

1) Where do you live? Make a list of the cities withing driving distance, or cities that you'd be willing to move to.

2) Research ALL of the current regional airlines to see which ones have bases in those cities.

3) Apply to ALL of those regional airlines that fit that criteria.

4) Assuming you get an interview at each, and are successful in each interview, you'll now have a few job offers to pick from.

5) Arrange the options by total compensation. This includes pay, days off, per diem, minimum guarantee, potential for premium pay, healthcare benefits, profit-sharing, stock purchase plans, and any bonus programs. I recently found out that I pay almost 100 bucks less per month for health insurance than one of my friends at another regional carrier.

Now look at your list. Do any of these companies have any HUGE red flags? Do they have a union? Is that important to you? Does the union have a contract, or is the future of their compensation package an unknown? Has the pilot group shown an inability to act in unity with the rest of the industry? Eliminate any carriers with extremely large issues.

Look at your list again. It should be quite short at this point, and the first one or two options should be good ones.

Things that are not important:

1) Jet vs. Prop. Unless your goal is Emirates

2) Upgrade time. It will change. Upgrade time is a snapshot of past performance. The upgrade time at my company has changed by 3 years in the last 4 months. By the time you upgrade, the advertised time when you got hired will be a joke.

3) Signing bonus. A one time pay-out for a substandard compensation package is still a bad deal.

4) Time on reserve. This changes more quickly than upgrade time. If your work rules don't suck, living in the city that you're based in while on reserve is pretty good. I get paid to play Xbox sometimes, and sometimes I get paid to work on my motorcycle. The motorcycle I bought by not agreeing to a sub-standard compensation package.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Datsun (Post 1629350)

Personally, I prefer the relative guarantee of better pay while waiting over the more stressful hope for a quick upgrade. Guarantee vs. hope. Play it safe and know what your check is going to look like, or roll the dice and possibly hit big. Only thing, this is not Vegas, and if you crap out, it affects your life quite significantly, to the tune of missing a rough average of $12,000 over 3 years.

First, welcome to APC.

Second, your logic is valid. I shared your conclusions back in 2003 and went with Comair. 10 years... Never upgraded. You don't want to see the math on how that decision got me ahead of my peer group.

Third, I would agree with previous posters. The regional you don't have to commute for is the best regional... Period.

And if they don't have a s#it-ton of 50-seaters sitting around, better still.

Fourth, the difference between Vegas and the regionals is your odds are better in Vegas. (But that's improving)

Good luck!