Choose Wisely
 

Regional hiring will be starting up again shortly, so when choosing an airline you’d like to be at, remember this:

Almost 500 (FIVE HUNDRED) pilots at Republic had their bases close in the last six months, forcing them into commuting, crash pads, and additional days/nights away from their families.

At least they still have a job and no one was furloughed other than the people who were still in ground school. COVID screwed up everyone's plans. Do you think it was Republics decision to close IAH and MIA? United and American took us out for Mesa and Envoy respectively. MCI is a weird, ill give you that one. We're just pawns in the game

Most places have started already, except for a few regionals. Is Republic possibly joining the list of resuming classes?

I think they have some sort of class update when things settle with the shuffling of people and base closures. Just my .02

And sent most of them to NY. Still impossible to hold ORD even tho it’s been our largest and busiest base for over a year. Gotta feed those out stations...

But yes, chose wisely. If you live in the northeast it’s probably a great regional. Others might want to strongly reconsider. Which is sad. This place looked so promising just one short year ago.

This is going to look really petty when the 3500 pilots who lost their jobs last year see it.

Bases open and close at all airlines. I'll absolutely grant Republic has a substantially longer history of it compared to others. But I'd rather be displaced than risk losing my job, and I was.

Republic is a stable regional with good financials, good pay, and even better work rules. Last year should have taught everyone why that matters, and why you'd rather be at a place like Republic than many others when the music stops. Going to a regional with a lesser contract for a quick upgrade, flow, or whatever means jack if things stop.

If I lived west of the Rockies, I probably wouldn't come to Republic just because of the long commute which would drain anyone. But Great Plains eastward, it's still a good spot to be, depending on your personal situation.

Uncool Joey

FFS man, I sat jobless and wondering how to pay my bills, while you guys fly routes I was flying just months ago in an airbus.

I'd have killed to keep my job with a long commute over what I actually got dealt/am still in the midst of. You new guys who think the industry owes you everything really are something.

It's good you like your company, but you really don't have anything going for you that any other regional in the country does. Quick upgrades, flow, whatever other perks will resume in the relatively short future. Again, truly am glad you kept your jobs and have that stability.

While I'd certainly agree that all regionals are closer in quality to one another than they are to any airline that's not a regional, I disagree that they're all the same, especially from a stability point of view. When I looked at which regional I wanted to be at nearly 3 years ago, part of my calculation was which would be the best to get stuck at if the unthinkable happened and the industry momentum stopped. Well, here we are.

Like Skywest, Republic provides an in-demand product across a diversified business. That equates to stability that, say, Trans States didn't offer, with their eggs in one basket (United) on a plane that will be going away sooner rather than later. Any airline that fits that mould will have risk with it that a Republic or Skywest wouldn't.

As far as contract provisions, I'd caution any prospective new hire about assuming all regionals are the same, just with different locations. I have a friend at GoJet who bids considerably higher in seniority than I do who complains every month about getting min days off because their pairings are so inefficient. Republic may not be the only one with them, but contractual provisions like trip and duty rigs make a big difference in quality of life. They're not as sexy as other things and can be easily overlooked, but they shouldn't be.

I hope for your sake, and everyone else's sake, things start getting back to normal soon. I feel like a broken record at this point!



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"If I lived west of the Rockies Pittsburg, I probably wouldn't come to Republic..."

I definitely was not saying all regionals are the same.... I was saying quick upgrades and flow will resume in a relatively short period of time. If you have a job throughout all this then you made a good choice from a stability standpoint. The rest, in terms of making a decision about a regional, is a moot point when it comes to how choosing an airline was effected by covid.

ohh cool, sanicom is back to teach us some lessons from a "mainline" pilot's perspective. Don't believe him, he works at Envoy.

Your flow is not going to start until AA starts hiring again. You honestly think that is going to start anytime soon? lol, gtfo

Kewl story BOOMER

Alright, troll...

wanting a job is hardly a “boomer” move, then again maybe it is if guys like you are this salty over a steady paycheck. I was displaced TWICE and forced in to a trans con commute. I get it, it’s not easy. But you haven’t missed one paycheck while at Republic. The guys and gals at trans states, compass, and express jet would probably kill to be in your position. And we’d rather have them here than someone like you. Find a new job if you can’t handle this one.

Easy there, Superman.

My boomer comment was in response to his very-boomerish “while you guys fly routes I was flying just months ago in an airbus” comment.

that hardly makes them a boomer

Im sorry that pointing out that you are working while others are furloughed, yet have the gall to complain about working, is “boomer-ish” in your book (you’re two generations off). It’s just reality, you should be happy you’re working. Sure it sucks to have a forced commute, but you’re starting an entire new thread crying about it during a time where many in this industry are doing much worse than you. See what I’m getting at?

I created a thread to warn others of the current state of this company. Nothing else. Not once was I “crying.” My base never even closed, but like I said, ~500 others’ did.

I don't know what is more pathetic. Pretending to work for a Major or working for a Major but spending all your time on the APC Regional message boards?

You can insult me all you want, really don’t mind. I will say you never engage what I have to say, just unprovoked personal attacks and lies about where I work. I keep the pulse of the industry, and I’ll read whatever forum I want - I’m not here to insult you, but if my mere presence gives you this much grief I can’t help you.

Especially at regionals. It's even part of the business model, to keep too many people from getting too comfortable and too senior.

But for long term job (if not domicile) security, RAH probably can't be beat, probably tied with OO. Size, diversity, plus independence... all three important because the mainline mothership can't consign your company, job, and future to oblivion on 30 days notice with the stroke of pen.

Lots of bases and no 50-seaters? Not much to complain about in the context of covid.

On the flip side, there are no more 50-seat aircraft in production, so growth at anywhere like that will come at the expense of another. Just the way it is in the large-RJ market.

The difference is the regional trend is away from smaller aircraft, and those existing 200s/145s are pretty universally old and high-cycle aircraft with nothing to replace them. There isn't even a replacement in the development pipeline. Contrast that with scoped-out large-RJs that are still in active production, there will continue to be demand for (especially) 175s for the foreseeable future.

I'd rather be at a regional operating 175s than hedging my bets on the 50-seat market. Not because of the plane, but because of the evolving demand.

At the end of the day, though, this is good news for all regional pilots and the industry as a whole. The less regional flying there is, the more flying will be required to be taken over by mainline, provided they don't give any scope relief. In the next 10 years, the 50 seat market will dry up, and 175s will be operating a lot of those routes at a lower frequency, while mainline will take back the flying that a lot of the 76-seaters are currently flying. As it should be.

Trip/Duty rigs are huge. Ask any Envoy pilot and they would give up a lot to have them. We have some of the most inefficient schedules, loooooooong sits and stupid lost days because we don’t have them. They have no issue with us flying 1 hour, sit for 5, fly another hour to an outstation, lost day and the only paying us for a few hours.

I don't think that's a provable assertion. There is value in keeping good operators, too, which often results in realized savings. If what you were saying is universally true, only the cheapest would succeed. Industry-wide, the opposite tends to be true on the average. The ones that are neither great operationally nor cheap are the ones that will struggle. In other words, you better be damn cheap (Mesa), or damn good at what you do (Republic, Skywest, Endeavor).

I think you have a very myopic view of the industry.

Rereading this, I can’t find anything I disagree with. It’s really just what your semi-long term plans are. There are better places to be stuck than others, without a doubt. Some places are a better choice in terms of a specific career progression, where others offer a different set of advantages.

That's kind of my point. They weren't bad, they just weren't either dirt cheap like Mesa or had exceptional performance metrics that made them indispensable. They were middling, overall. Average costs and average performance. And ExpressJet was a unique scenario that saw United pit one 145 operator directly against another. Today's trash is tomorrow's treasure and vice versa, so what's true today may not be true tomorrow; the last thing I'm saying is that any one of the "good" carriers will always be that way. We all know from experience that's not how it works.

I'm far from young; this isn't my first career. I've got plenty of experience outside aviation from which to draw. I'm not arguing that we do different jobs, I'm arguing for a prospective pilot, there are differences, some overt and some subtle, that separate some regionals from others. There's not a universal right answer, depending on your specific circumstances, but it's a mistake to argue that all regionals are equal. They're not. That's not a comment on any specific pilot, or even group of pilots, as I said there are valid reasons why any individual may choose any specific airline to fly for, but there are plenty of indicators out there we can use to separate one regional from another. It's a precarious market segment, one most people should be looking to get out of as quickly as possible. In that sense, we're all equal in that we're all pond scum at the bottom of the pond.

Yea I can’t see why anyone outside of the northeast would chose Republic. I don’t want to knock YX too hard as they’ve been pretty good to me, despite the displacements, but man... outside of NY or the Ohio river valley it’s really not that attractive anymore. Especially for commuters. ORD isn’t even attainable which is arguably the most commutable hub in the country. Would be nice to see a massive ORD vacancy to turn things around, but I’ve been here long enough to know better.

You’re right that large RJ’s are pretty well scoped out until contracts come up. However, we have some airplanes about to come on the line that are getting reconfigured with 65 seats that could be limitless under American scope. Seems like they’re testing the waters at the moment with the plan, but it could end up being American’s version of the 550. Both of those fleets might not make sense with expensive oil, but it might not be the doom and gloom you’re portraying

Large, reliable, with economy-of-scale to help with costs.

Or a dirt cheap cockroach, and they keep you around to keep these guys^^^ honest.

Anything else may be on borrowed time. 50 seaters are on borrowed time (for real this time).

I read this a lot on here. And even if it’s true, the reality is that if RAH hires, people will come. Because a commute to NY is better than unemployment.

This isn’t right. Those planes are definitely limited by scope as well.

From my limited skill of reading comprehension I read it as 50-65 seats is unlimited. 66+ seats is limited to 40% of the narrowbody fleet. Am I wrong?

Yes. RJs as a whole are limited to 75% of narrow body fleet. “Large” RJs (66-76 seats) are limited to 40% of the narrowbody fleet.

Has there been any new base rumors? Would really like to gtfo of NY...

Recently heard from a sim instructor that he’s been hearing ATL again. From my understanding it was basically a sure thing before COVID hit. I’ll believe it when I see it.

Yeah ATL and CLT have been the popular ones lately. Contractually, we should already have a crew room at CLT based on the number of departures.