colinflyin

I am a flight instructor and am wondering what regional is best for upgrade times and minimums to get hired? Is it possible to get hired under the prescribed minimums? I see some companies accepting 500tt 50multi (asa)with sim time. It seems to me it is almost a game to pick the right regional. My goal is to fly for Fedex in the long run. They want to see 1000 turbojet pic. I currently have 360 hrs 15 multi. Obviously im far from that. But I would like to pick a good regional to stick with a few years. If anyone could put in input it would be appreciated. Michigan winters suck.
Regionals Im thinking of:
Comair
ASA
Skywest
Horizon
Expressjet
Air Wis
Pinnacle

PDXflyer

You got a long way to go. I don't think any good regional will even look at you until you have at least 1000 and 100 twin. Sounds like you got it all planned out. Couple years at a regional and then, hired at fedex. If only it were that easy, everyone would do it.

VTcharter

The guy is just stating his goals...whats wrong with that. We all need goals to start out with or we wouldn't have anything to work toward.

Anyway, the best regional to work for is a personal opinion thing and it all depends on what exactly you are looking for and what your priorities are. If you want good quality of life and good work rules, then Air Wis, Sky West, Horizon, Express Jet and the like would be good places to go. If you want fast upgrade and don't care about pay and QOL that much, then places like Mesa, Great Lakes, Etc might be better suited to your needs. In other words, it depends what you are looking for.

If you have a good attitude, you can enjoy the experience anywhere; for instance, I have a buddy that works for Great Lakes and he loves it. He is from Denver and so it suits him well, however many people on this site would steer you away from them. It all depends on what you want. Do some research on the airlines you are interested in and pick a few based on domicile locations, QOL, pay, upgrade, work rules, etc, then talk to actual employees of those airlines in order to get a good view of current internal operational issues. Just remember, you will always find some unhappy people no matter how good the comapny is supposed to be, so take advice that you get as advisory information unless the overwhelming majority is in agreement.

Good luck on your career!

KiloAlpha

The best regional is the one that offers YOU the best QOL (domiciles, pay, work rules), do not go somewhere for a quick upgrade.

Sanchez

The best regional is the one that works for you. As mentioned above, some guys go for pay and QOL, others go for quick upgrade, other go for living on base (no commute).

I can tell you this, stay away from Mesa until they negotiate a better contract regardless of upgrade time. And definitely stay away from gojets at all cost. Everyone else is fair game according to your needs.

hatetobreakit2u

none of them are good, some are just not as bad as others

Rama

That's kinda like asking which cancer is the best to have.

Sanchez

That's the worst analogy I've ever heard of, and a bit insulting none the less.

DMEarc

There is no such thing as a good regional.

Fartknocker

colinflyin,

I know people who have worked for one of the regional airlines you mentioned and left to go to another one because they thought something there was better. One had better upgrade times, better schedules, better pay, better bases, whatever.

It all depends on what works for you.

Look at them all and weigh the pros and cons of them. Look at commuting, pay, bases, upgrade times, growth potential, aircraft, etc. See what looks good to you.

Apply to the ones that you like, and go to work for the first one that hires you!! Once you get there, upgrade as fast as you can to get your 1000 hrs of PIC turbine time.

I admire your goal to work for FedEx, and say keep after it if that is what you really want. Remember that it may take a while to get there, so work for a regional airline you could be happy with for 5 to 9 years before FedEx calls.