I am leaving the military and seeking out a job at a regional airline this year. I will be living very close to ORD -- Envoy, Republic, Air Wisconsin, and SkyWest are at the top of my list for consideration.

I understand getting ORD would not be out of the question as an FO, but I was told CA upgrades are over 10 years. Granted, that could come down with growth + attrition, however, I've also been told that ORD may close. I don't want to chase airlines for upgrades, but 10 years is steep; TPIC is high priority on my list and it seems like Envoy and SkyWest would get me there in ~18 months.

I really would rather not commute, but if I did, Endeavor seems like a better deal (upgrade + pay + commutability from ORD <-> LGA).

Any advice or input would be greatly appreciated. Republic seems like a great option but not necessarily for someone in ORD.

 

I think Republic has its positives over Endeavor or Envoy and I’ve really enjoyed my time here, but definitely not someone looking for ORD. There were 10+ year captains on reserve in ORD last month and there hasn’t been a captain award for there in months/years. If you are dead set on ORD, Republic probably isn’t your place...

 

ORD is not going to close, that is a very unsubstantiated rumor. However there are Captains there with no ambitions to move on to the Majors and will stay there until they hit the mandatory retirement age in 10 to 15 years. You can hold ORD as an FO, but plan on commuting as a Captain.

 

ORD is SkyWest's most junior base on the ERJ, and one of the most junior on the CRJ as well.