So would the jump from a WO with a flow to RAH be worth it right now? How are job prospects at the majors 2 and 3 years out from date of hire for you guys?

What would be motivating the jump? There's got to be more reason than getting hired at a major. A new hire at RAH isn't likely to be at a major in three years, unless the majors start waiving the 1000 TPIC threshold. Current upgrade times are 3.9 years and dropping, but they won't get to the 1/1.5 year mark for a long time, if ever.

People tell me that picking a regional with a larger airplane, like the E175, is good for QOL. Mainly because of longer trips/less legs, as opposed to a smaller airplane flying multiple, shorter legs. Any truth to this?

Yeah there's some truth to this. I jumped over from pdt a few years ago. Although the dash is a fun plane to fly the schedules were horrible. I was always right around min days off over there, don't remember average credit as its been a few years. Flying the 170 now I probably average 14-15 days off a month with 88ish hours of credit.

Yup, unless you choose to work for a company that will base you in outstation hell...like Republic. Nearly every trip will start at zero-dark-thirty and you'll be home on the last day roundabout midnight......Even on a two-day trip.

QOL while constantly fatigued from rotating schedules is not good.

On the flip side, some of us are thankful for those outstation bases as without them we would be commuters. Early shows and late finishes are a fact of life a much better alternative to living in some expensive east coast city or commuting in my opinion. YMMV

I like to think of it as, "mandatory commuting."

If you live in the base, then it's great. You always have a guaranteed seat on the first flight, get paid to commute, and with no penalties for missing it. If you don't live there...well... then you're commuting to an outstation to make your 'mandatory commute.'

The company has said that it's major partners want it to get away from the outstation model.. however, the rumors are that the outstation bases are expected to grow significantly in the near future.

Many (not all, certainly) in an outstation base do live there. For me, living in an outstation has been a great experience. Unfortunately for QOL, many also do not live in outstations nor want to. They tend to be fairly successful at transferring out of base, however, if "get to a hub at all costs" is their goal. Many new hires at RAH have been going to East Coast hubs for awhile now. Don't forget the contract additionally allows dropping deadheads at the beginning and end of trips, so many reserve commuters will meet the flight at the hub they would have deadheaded into. It is what you make of it, and I'm sorry if you've been trapped in an outstation against your will. It would truly suck to be stuck in one long-term and be commuting through a hub base to get there.

Remember, living in base is huge. It's a great feeling finishing a trip and getting in the car.

As far as flying longer trips, I purposely bid for those. I just finished a 4 day with flights such as ewr-okc, ewr dfw, ewr-mem. Each day was 2 or 3 flights. My previous job was 8 legs a day and a 14 hour day, so this is a breeze. Also, and it might seem silly, but the environment in the 170 is less stressful than other airplanes. The packs do a really great job and I find the seats fairly comfortable. These little things add up to a better QOL.

I'm not sure which outstations are going to grow any further. PIT is about as large as it's going to get, and the others are likely shrinking. IAH will probably be happening soon as well as CLT once the AA deal is completed.

With MCI and CMH losing a lot of MX capability, I wouldn't be surprised to see those operations shrink significantly, but most likely not until after a base opening elsewhere.


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