Considering joining RA as a FO but concerned about the contract. This thread is NOT to share comments and opinions regarding if the contract is a good thing or not.

Does anybody know somebody who signed the contract but left before upgrading to captain? If so, what happened? Did they go to court or settled? What was the final outcome both from a financial standpoint and regarding the clause which stipulates that for one year no passenger airline can be joined except if AA, UA or DA? Were they still able to join a LCC?

 

If you think the contract will inhibit your career, then dont sign it and go find a diffent airline to work for. Dont sign a contract with the intent to break it hoping it wont be enforced. Doing so will tell a future employer a lot about your character.

 

Got news for ya pal, with the hiring slowdown there will now be a supply of Captain check airmen, and junior line captains from every regional applying once hiring picks up again. There is about 4-8 years (varies by carrier) of rapid hiring left before things balance out to a slower but steady pace. In all likelyhood the days of junior FO's going straight to a mainline before finishing probation have passed in this wave. I'd plan on getting hired ASAP, and gettng the 1000 Hrs 121 time to upgrade, and getting 1000 TPIC, because at the rate things are going, that is w.aaht you'll need by the time your ready. So, the question becomes, which regional can get you into class the soonest, and to line holder status the soonest to build those 1000 121 hours. If mainlines ever do get to hiring FO's again it will be near the end of the next 4-8 years (depending upon carrier) and even then it will be the senior ones.... mostly likely will not make it to junior FO's ever again in this hiring wave cycyle. So again we are back to get hired ASAP.

Republic is also extremely competative right now for FO's. If you're not a laid off Spirit guy, an FO or CA from another carrier looking to go direct entry captain instead of staying at a dying carrier (AW), or not a LIFT pipeline pilot then you had better have stellar internal references and be attending every single job fair. The days of "I'm considering joing XYZ airline" are gone for now; it is currently "I'm considering applying and hoping to get called ahead of the other 2,000 applicants at XYZ airline." The fogging a mirror days have past (except at dying carriers or places nobody wants to be).

As for your question regarding the contract. There is a thread already regarding the progress of the lawsuit and how it's been going and implemented. Reading the threads before posting new ones is generally how it's done.

Good luck

 

He will find that ANY of the better regionals have some type of contract. While he's figuring that out, other wil be building 121 time, having already figured out that the contract won't matter as the hiring minimums at the legacies will be going back up as the shortage ends. By the time a zero hour guys gets in and going they'll be back to 1000 121 time, and probably even 500-1000 TPIC. at some point the Bachelor degree will return as well. Then a min total time will start at around 3500 TT and as competition deepend the numbers required will climb. That's just how it works.

 

Jumping in to add that people new to the industry, and those who haven’t been paying attention since before Covid, don’t realize that 5 years at a regional was by and large the way it was before Covid. I’ve signed the contract because I’m in my 30s and need to get into the industry and start making real money. At this rate, I’ll have a 20 or so year career at a major even after serving my contract.

Their buddies who trained at OO and got picked up by delta after their type rating are incredibly lucky and timing was just on their side. Yes, it sucks to be locked into a job. But right now, if you’re closing in on minimums, accept that this is the industry norm and if you don’t want to sign a contract, you had better get comfy in the 172s. The golden days are behind us. Get over the contract and get into a seat so you can start building time.

Asking about breaking a contract is doing yourself a disservice because I’d wager that those airlines who do not have one in place now are either going to implement them or might as well have one because their flow programs are going to freeze, essentially locking you in anyway.