Originally Posted by Arliss

Disclosure: I created a new account for this post to enhance anonymity.

I'm feeling torn while considering a lateral move.

I just started at L-Xjt. Only 2 months on the line. I came here because I'm local to EWR and I had always heard great things about the contract and such. So far it has been a pleasant place to work and I do like the work rules, including things like the downtown hotels on long overnights. The training was excellent and I like that I have that on my resume. I was also lured in with the promise that things would improve drastically with the new pilot pay and CPP pulling away captains to allow upgrades (the instructors were telling us we'd be captains in 2 to 4 years).

I'm now seeing a bleaker picture from the inside. There hasn't been a vacancy bid of any kind in 5 months. We keep losing planes. Relatively few captains are getting hired through the CPP (I heard only 40% success rate). Several I've flown with have no plans to leave at all short of a shutdown.

I'm considering a lateral move and am looking at Envoy, RAH, or Endeavor. But is it a jerk move for me to bail from a company so soon after starting? Does it look bad on a resume? I'd also feel let-down since this was traditionally the place I wanted to go.

And anyone care to share their personal perspectives on these companies?

Envoy: New pay package is really great, as is the flow to American. But can reserves who want to fly expect to actually fly and break guarantee? The $20000 up front will be a great help for me, but to do what I want to do financially I'd need to be doing better than min guarantee and no per diem. My friend who works there has been a good salesman and is a believer in 2 to 3 year upgrade and 6 to 7 year flow. He tells me just to maintain the fleet with the planned flow they'd need to upgrade 300+ a year. The LGA base is good news but LGA/JFK can be a brutal drove from NJ. I've heard reserve has been running long but would drop with movement.

Endeavor: Heard it's a much better place than it used to be, great financial incentives like Envoy, NY base, possibly very short upgrade (one new captain I know there believes street captains are a possibility sometime next year). I've heard minimal reserve time.

RAH: Also heard it's vastly better than it used to be, exiting BK in a stable position, ability to be EWR based, dropping upgrade times, though they don't offer nearly the bonus money that the above are, and no flow or interview programs. I've likewise heard minimal reserve time in the junior bases.

I'm so torn. Any thoughts?

Originally Posted by Hou757

I would give it at least 6 more months. The CPP is just starting next month and kicks in with more leaving in January. You will begin to see movement. Sucks it's taking so long but I would at least wait and watch until May.

Originally Posted by jacburn

A couple of facts that you might want to reconsider. EWR has been a base for XJT for a very long time. However, United has a tendency to move all the regionals around. I would be very cautious at this point about EWR staying a XJT base.

Originally Posted by jacburn

Commutair is getting at least 40 planes from XJT and they have been told they will be getting more of them to be announced in the very near future. XJT still has over 40 planes on property right now that are not covered under any new CPA that has been announced. Commutair has announced they will be opening a EWR base for the 145's the first part of 2017 (only a few months from now).

...

To the OP, you might want to look at CommutAir. They have a nice bonus (not as much as some of the others), they are upgrading as soon as you have the hours, they are expanding, their contract is almost as good as XJT and it is better in some areas. They really do have a "higher pay" than XJT due to upgrades making $64 an hour in one year instead of my $44 an hour at year 9. They have the same CPP that XJT has with United. They are located in EWR and the jets will be there in a couple of months.

Originally Posted by Santos Dumont

Anything can happen. But If anything, out of the big three, United seems to be the less likely to destroy a base with so much history as XJTs EWR base out of the blue.



I don't follow CommutAir happenings very closely, but if I remember correctly, they will be retiring a significant number of Dash-8s in the near future. So there is not much of a long term expansion going on, but rather a fleet replacement that will cause a temporal expansion. Sure, some previews 121 guys will be able to jump the list and upgrade out of training, but the ones that miscalculate the timing could be in for a very bitter ride.

CommutAir's EWR base also has a lot of legacy behind it, I will give you that. But I don't know what to say regarding making that move. That will have to be a purely personal choice up to the OP. I personally see ExpressJet surviving longer than CommutAir.

FWIW, I do believe that seemingly unreasonable lateral moves could give you something else to explain during an interview with a major or LCC.

Originally Posted by Hou757

Commutair will soon be parking most if not all their Dash. The 145s only have a limited life. Short term Commutair could be a good move for some but your long term is not any better than XJT. XJT will certainly shrink from what they were but don't think they are going away.