Major Carriers Opinion on Republic?
 

College student here trying make a smart decision for my regional airline. I still have good bit of time before I need to make my decision, but I love to stay informed on the trends of the industry.

Republic has been my top regional for quite some time. I like their QOL, bases, pay, etc. From my interaction with the company, they seem like a high quality place to go as far as the regional market is concerned.

Recently, I have been hearing rumblings of people saying that major airlines don't like Republic much, or that they look down on Republic as a low-tier regional and their training is not very good.

Is there any validity to the statements that major airlines don't like Republic, or is that just false rumors?

That would be news to me. However, I wouldn't base your regional-level job decision on water cooler talk. I based my decision on the points you mentioned: QOL, base/not commuting, pay, the most favorable work rules, and how quick I can hold a line. Republic is hard to beat on many of those items. There will always a good percentage of main line guys that love to look down their nose at regional pilots no matter who they are flying for. Go where it makes the most sense, get as much time as quick as you can, then you can get to that major quicker and look down your nose at all of us regional scum, too. :D

I wouldn’t be worried. If you are set at working at AA then go to a wholly owned. If not, go to the airline that gets you the best QOL and you shouldn’t be at a disadvantage.

I heard opposite, except maybe from AA since they hire through Flow and military, (that's coming from a captain who does interviewing 4 times a month down at DFW), but they have hired republic pilots.

Historically, Republic pilots have gone to all the Big 3... pilots that went to SWA say that they LUV us! (see what I did there?)... Same at FedEx...
FO’s are going to Spirit, Allegiant, Atlas, and Kallita in less than 2 years on property... very, very few are going to other regionals unless it’s for the crazy bonus money being thrown around (got to pay those student loans off) or as street captains.
Go where you don’t have to commute and can afford to live in base...
Never have more possessions than you can pack in the back of a Ford F-150 until you get to your “destination Airline”...

I can’t see why such rumblings would be happening. Republic pilots can and do go anywhere, aside from American that mostly relies on wholly owned flow and military pilots. There are a lot of experienced captains at Republic. The more junior captains have learned from the ones that have been around longer, so the trend continues. The E170 flies just like mainline aircraft (similar automation levels, modes, and functions), and our procedures reflect mainline procedures. Even a good portion of the routes we’re flying are like what mainline flies. You can sit in a Republic E170 for over 4 hours and go LGA to IAH. That’s an extreme example but I’ve gotten a little tired of the long flights that we operate at this “regional” airline.

We’ve had guys going off to all majors and LCCs so I don’t think there’s any real truth to majors “not liking” republic pilots. The tough nut to crack would be AA since they hire primarily military and flows from their wholly owned regionals only. Whatever you decide, FINISH YOUR DEGREE before even thinking of going to a regional. You will never be able to move on to a career airline without it.

This is valuable insight from all of you. It seems as though there is nothing to worry about in going to Republic. That is what I expected, I don't understand where those rumors are coming from. My eventual goal is to fly for Delta, so the fact that there is no AA flow is irrelevant to me.
The goal now is to finish my degree and hours ASAP and get to Republic sooner than later!

If Delta is your ultimate goal, keep your GPA at least a 3.5 or better and finish in four years. They are real sticklers on those two points from what I've heard. They also like to see lots of volunteer time and extracurricular activities. :cool:

Do an internship... yesterday