theycallmered

I wish I had canceled mine and saved the money on the hotel and food from 3 days of traveling. I got stuck in Indy for an extra night due to weather.

thump

With that said, keep in mind that there was a virtual stop in hiring during the recession. We hired no one from 4/08 to 4/10.

Further more, from 4/10 to 4/11, there are only 34 pilots.

Upgrade times will drop quickly as soon as we get through the 4/08 hires. Also, as the Q400 drivers (Captains ONLY) come out of seat-lock this year and into next year, Q400 upgrades should separate (and drop) below that of the E170.

Just my opinion of course, but sprinkled with some facts. I've been on property about 7 years and have not upgraded by choice, but am looking to in the next 6 months.

DegeReguard

So those Q400 driver captains are going to go over to the E-jets, making the EJET upgrade longer and the Q400 upgrade shorter, I would want the GSO base E-Jet at least untill I upgraded and I really don't want the Q400 at all except for the bonus then move up and out and that doesn't sound like its possible.

Where I am currently, I make more money than a year 3 FO at RAH and as long as we have attrition or growth, will upgrade in a little over a year.

We're an E145 united only carrier, and E145's are not growing, but as long as we survive the united 50 seat cut backs by being cheaper then Express Jet and manage to keep our contract, I think i'm better off here right now.

I am gambling by making a lateral move, and gambling by not making a lateral move, but which is the greater reward and the greater risk?

Home basing, stability and EJETS are RAH's attraction for me, but it sounds like at least the home basing is suspect and the contract is **** and the upgrade is still at least 4 years away maybe cause all 12, 13, and half of 14 will upgrade ahead of me and that's 3-4 years of people by itself unless growth happens or attrition sees some sort of epic increase.

Am I missing something?

thump

Tough decision! Home basing is awesome, but it cuts both ways. I live in base and love my schedule, but it hold me back in career development since I don't want to ruin my schedule. If I were a commuter, I would never have thought twice about taking a CA position in another base. But since I live in base and my only alternative is commuting, I have been hesitant. I think you'd be thinking the same thing as an FO in GSO. Plus GSO is EXTREMELY senior in the left seat. It is pretty safe to say that you will NEVER hold left seat in GSO either due to the base closing (it is rumored) or because nobody in the left seat is leaving. It is a career risk to "hang out" as an FO for too long IMHO.

As for lateral moves, when I got hired in '07, everyone was moving laterally from other carriers for the 18-24 month upgrade at RAH. All those pilots would have reached upgrade by now at their original carriers. Unless your carrier is going out of business, lateral moves are a poor choice from my experience.

And along those lines, you have some risk associated with the 50-seat UAX flying. They are actively "culling the herd" and it's not over yet!

sqwkvfr

Forget home basing. I don't know how many times I have to say it, but GSO is going away. It's not "suspect,' it's a near certainty that it'll be gone by the time you could hold it if hired today.

LAXSAAB

If you're already at a regional don't make a lateral, especially to Republic. Possibly the worst labor environment of any US regional, and it comes from the top down ( BB, WH, and some in IBT). I left in 2011, but friends in my class from 2/08 are saying another year for them to upgrade, because of a shortage of new hires and reducing ERJ flying.

flyingreasemnky

Considering there are only three '07 hires between the most junior Captain and the '08 hires on the last award, I kind of doubt it will be a year. Maybe if they are holding out for the 175 and don't take the first upgrade.

GoHomeLeg

I know this has been beat to death but this is why you shouldn't let friends Republic. The CEO at RAH thinks the new qualification rules are "absurd".

Profits First. Safety Second.

Republic CEO calls on Congress to repeal ?absurd? pilot qualification rule | Regulation content from ATWOnline

tom11011

Gotta sign up to read.

Cgo John

There is no pilot shortage, just a pilot pay shortage. I could easily make three times as much going overseas to fly. If they up the pay guys would come back.

Most of the guys I flew with in the past are sitting at home. They are not going to get off their butts to commute to work to make $18,040 a year.

What is "absurd" is the pay they expect pilots to work for!