3stripes

Bear with me for a moment because I'm sure to a lot of people this is going to sound crazy. I'm currently a first year FO at XJT based in ORD. Last year I was invited to interview with Republic while I was in my initial training with XJT, however the details of the interview, where to go etc never got sent to me and I took that as fate telling me to stay with XJT. My family circumstances have just changed and I now want to give Republic another shot and I'm interested in people's opinions regarding XJT vs Republic.

I'm going to approach this from the perspective of being a new hire at each company, if anyone within Republic could give me their educated opinion I'd appreciate it.

Republic Pros:
- More bases, more options for my family.
- Better long term earning potential, especially if fate dictates that I should be unlucky enough to be a lifer.
- Operate some of their own services (Frontier) with possible plans for their own Republic branded flying in the future? Thus they sell their own tickets.
- Fewer 50 seaters, predominately made up of larger RJs which are less vulnerable financially
- Possible new flying contracts rumoured
- New contract at some point in the future
- Ability to make six figures in the long term

Republic Cons:
- Poor management/workforce relationship
- Strike vote in place, on going contract talks
- Recent furloughs
- Losing money, especially with Frontier
- Low morale

ExpressJet Pros:
- Decent pay for a 50 seat gig
- Good work rules
- Seemingly growing, getting more flying, 135s being brought out of the desert etc.
- Varied flying
- Line bidding for the time being with good control over schedule
- Lots of new hires and upgrades, seniority moving quite fast

ExpressJet Cons:
- All 50 seaters (bar a few CRJ700s/900s which are off limits for legecy XJT pilots). Ageing aircraft type which isn't particularly profitable.
- Losing money
- A merger which looks like it could turn toxic
- Poor choice of bases
- Low morale
- Lower base rate pay in the long term

I'd be interested to hear opinions from both sides. As I said, it seems crazy to be contemplating even doing this, but family comes first and there's a very long story behind why I'm even considering making the move. Plus, if I'm going to make a move, I'd prefer it to be now when I'm only in my first year, than in a few years time when I'd be sacrificing more.

TillerEnvy

Aye aye aye....regional to regional is hard to justify. It's bad here now, but that could change next week. XJT was the place to be 4 years ago and then furloughed 350+...that's a big decision to make.

XJT has the best pilots in the industry (they'll tell you, so I know), so you'd be flying with sub-par guys here.

In all seriousness, I'd stay put until we figure out this mess.

antbar01

+1 on don't move.

The lateral move is almost impossible to justify. The only good one of which I am aware is using CAL (or UAL, now) to get a 737 rating and taking it directly to a SWA interview.

3stripes

Thanks for the replies so far guys. I appreciate your input. I know normally a lateral move is hard to justify, but family circumstances are a major reason behind the possible move. I'm also looking at the possible scenario whereby I stay at a regional for the rest of my career. Republic definitely offers me and my family the best long term earning potential when compared to ExpressJet.

FDX8891

If you're more senior to me, you should totally do the Republic gig.

Jetlinker

I'm really not trying to start a "my regional is better than yours" argument here, but I'm just wondering how you came to that conclusion....because you are most likely wrong. Base pay rates do not tell the entire story.

Have you compared soft time pay, scheduling rules, vacation (a huge difference), retirement, cancellation pay? All of these factors will affect your overall quality of life....and they are all superior where you are right now.

You are new, so I would highly suggest that you do some research and compare the two pilot contracts side by side before making any moves.

Luv2Rotate

I think ExJet contract is FAR superior to that of Republics's. Soft pay is where you make a lot of money and Repbus falls short in that regard.

antbar01

It's smart to try and consider the "what if I get stuck at this regional forever" scenario. That's actually a primary reason I wound up at XJT. I went to a place where people stayed on purpose. We **** and moan about the 8s and Es outstaying their welcome, but they haven't left for a real reason; namely, QOL.

All of that said, the changing climate (and ownership) of XJT should further serve to illustrate the point---that there is no guarantee that the next place will still be what you bargained for when everything washes out. Bases close, advancements stop. It could happen at XJT tomorrow and at Republic the day your class starts.

Ultimately, QOL rules for you (and me), but your QOL will change at CJT, and in fact is doing so RIGHT NOW. You just don't feel it yet. You haven't elaborated on your situation, but maybe you have some sort of catastrophic family issue that is making you desperate. If its that, you have to decide based on that situation. If its just "I am bummed that I have to commute to reserve," then you might just want to hold your horses a bit. See what happens.

It does get better.

antbar01

"CJT" should be "XJT," of course

3stripes

Thanks again guys. I'm currently a relief line holder at XJT and enjoy the QOL. This goes a bit deeper into my current family situation and a couple of other personal factors that I'd rather not disclose publicly.

My wife and I have played around with a few different scenarios regarding career earnings etc. On a base level using only guarantee and per diem of 300hrs a month potential career earnings over a period of 40 years (my remaining career time) came out as follows:

XJT: $3,412,800 (topping out at $93,780 per year)
Republic: $3,945,600 (topping out at $113,040 per year)

We get free insurance etc through my wife's job. Obviously vacation dropping etc are all huge bonuses at XJT. However, other factors also come into play. The EMB 170/5/190 type is very useful for me when it comes to looking to move on. Time on that type will pretty much guarantee me an interview with BA back home in the UK, it is also looked on favourably by the likes of JetBlue and US Airways who already operate the same type. It also exceeds the minimum weight requirement when it comes to applying to the likes of Emirates.

One of my biggest concerns at XJT is the reliance on 50 seat flying. This is going to shrink and at the moment I see it being more and more likely that our current flying will eventually be outsourced to the likes of GoJet, Republic et al who all operate larger types. We have 244 aircraft that will need to be replaced.

I also worry about the JBA with us and ASA and how that is going to wind up. I don't see our scheduling agreements staying as they are now, PBS already looks like it is going to happen. I can see the whole negotiation process becoming a complete cluster and ending up like the US Airways East/West divide.

When all is said and done I want to ensure that I have a job in 10 or 20 years time. If the stars do not align, or things change for the worse regarding scope, then I need to plan for that future being at a regional. Republic are currently better placed in my mind.