New Hire Question..
 

Hey guys, I'm new to all of this. Im making the cfi to airline transition soon and have been looking at all of the forums, trying to decide which company would be the best move for me.

Ive got offers from Republic and Skywest, the only reason im considering Republic is because Im in South florida and they have a Miami base and theyre supposedly coming out with a new contract soon which has got to be good. (Considering the current one sucks)

Skywest seems to be pretty stable and even though theres no Miami base I wouldnt mind moving to ORD since i dont have kids or anything yet.

My question is if theres another airline I should really be considering?

I wouldn't bet your marbles considering republics new contract to be good at all. It's a regional, it's gonna suck no matter what, it might even be a concessions contract for all we know. But this choice is entirely up to you. Go where you believe you will have the best quality of life and the easiest time going to work. If it were up to me. Id take Skywest any day of the week.

Just because an airline has a sucky contract doesn't mean the next one will be any better. Pilot groups get what they negotiate, not what they deserve. A weak pilot group can still vote in a concessionary contract during good times.

You can duck over to the "wheels are falling off republic" thread. I have friends at RAH and it seems to be a uniform "this place is screwed". Last quarter their profits were down 60% because of canceled flights due to lack of crew. I'm at SkyWest, your first year you can plan on having about a month off(paid) during training while you wait for ioe, the good news is you are badged and can travel. After ioe expect around 11 days off as a line holder. Reserve is next to non existent. I am still happy here I fly with a lot of good crew with optimistic views... Which is nice. And our upgrade time is dramatically reducing... When I was hired last summer it was 8 years. Today is under 4 years. And should continue to drop.

Do you want to spend 10 years at a commuter, 7+ as an FO with a place full of lifers (SkyWest)? If that interests you go for it. Otherwise I would go someplace like Piedmont, TSA, etc with opportunity to get into the training dept ASAP.

I wouldn't count on that MIA base sticking around much longer either...

I wouldn't use the word weak to describe the RAH pilot group but I would use it to describe the Teamsters! Keep in mind that this group voted down our last TA 85% NO. Don't think for one second that we'll just vote something in for the sake of having a new contract. FUPM.

Don't go to Republic "we open and close bases every week" Airlines. I mean closing and opening bases is just one of the problems.

If moving not a problem for you, go to PSA, Piedmont, Compass. Much better bets then Skywest imo.

For the love of God though, DON'T GO TO REPUBLIC!!!!

I agree, Republic notoriously opens and closes bases at the drop of a hat. Also, Republic doesn't offer cancellation pay.

Get a clue man. 1) He said he was willing to move to ORD to work (no commuting) 2) SkyWest's upgrade time is 3 years and some change now, and falling every month.

I've been living in base at ORD working at SkyWest for 6 months now. Living in the 2nd most Jr. domicile has been awesome for me. Holding a pretty good line, and taking the train to work. Can't beat it.

Upgrades at Skywest are at 4 years and dropping. ORD FOs are lineholders in less than 6 months, and I know junior captains who are getting check airman positions to keep up with all the new hire training. It's not as bad as you make it sound.


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Hey I just sent you a message

You talking about PSA? [emoji3]

Just flew with a Capt whose son is at SkyWest, 7 years just upgraded took first available. He's now commuting to MSP. That doesn't jive with what you are saying.

I just checked our actual standing bid list, and we have an FO with an 05/30/2011 hire date awarded an ORD ER7 CA position.


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For those that are willing to take the first available upgrade, it is around 4 years and steadily dropping. The first available upgrade means ORD/MSP. We do however, have a lot of 5, 6, 7+ year FO's who will not upgrade until they can hold it in their base. It all depends on what you want and are willing to put up with. If you're willing to commute to reserve to ORD or Minny then upgrade will happen under 4 years.
This is as it stands now. It's anybody's guess if this will still be the case for new hires today when they near upgrade.

I was hired July 2011 and I have 40 people ahead of me til I upgrade...that's reality right now!

Who else has a Miami base? Eagle? Have you considered them?

SkyWest upgrades are definitely in the 4 year range. About 50 pilots hired between 2/11 and 5/11 have been awarded it in the last 2-3 months.

Junior aircraft is the 175 as well.

All of the upgrades are getting MSP/ORD also. And unless we open another domicile, like DTW, you can expect it to stay that way.

Eagle closed Miami

Didn't know that.

Republic sucks donkey balls. The crews are great but the company is horrible. Go to Compass, SkyWest or any other regional. They open and close bases faster than it takes Bedfords wife to pop out another kid....

Don't go to RAH... I'd pick just about anywhere other than them, even if I lived in an RAH domicile. SkyWest is a great company, but they have their drawbacks just like the rest of them. Figure out where you want to live, and what you want for the next 5 years of your life, then narrow down which airline you want to work for. If your willing to move just about anywhere I would consider PSA, TSA, PDT, or CPZ... Just go anywhere other than RAH. I have a feeling that RAH is going to start hemmorghing soon and lose a lot of flying. Don't plan on that MIA base sticking around long either.