I love the things I hear/read about Republic, and I already have an interview scheduled in a few weeks. However, I'm a little concerned about a few things...

I live close to BNA, have a family and am not interested in moving. So I'll be commuting, but to where most likely? I don't necessarily mind the idea of commuting, but I'm concerned about reserve time, as that would definitely take me away from home a lot more.

I understand I can expect to upgrade in around 2 years, so what will that mean as far as bases go? I know FO junior/senior bases aren't usually the same as CA junior/senior bases.

Another option I have is PSA, which has a crew base 2.5 hours drive time from me (TYS). I'm hearing some negative things about PSA, and I hear mostly positive things about Republic, but with QOL being my number one consideration, I'm wondering if I'd be better off living close to base. I'm told I could easily get the TYS base right out of training, but then I've also heard that PSA forces upgrades and makes people change their bases.

As a side note, my current long-term goal is to fly for SWA.

Appreciate any advice on this... a little bewildered with all the information I'm trying to ingest!

Guys that started in our 4 Dec class are just now holding round two lines in TYS. I can tell you reserve at PSA is less than (way less) than ideal. Our contract is not very well written which leads to scheduling doing basically whatever they want to you. I’ve had reserve I’ve flown a decent amount, some I’ve done squat, some where I wasn’t able to commute home after sitting the first few days and flying the last day of reserve. That doesn’t count changes to flying while out. It’s a mixed bag to say the least and a common compliant from the pilot group. crews I’ve flown with have all be more than professional and personable though.
That said between the two my rec goes to Republic.

I’ve flown with several FOs who have said, “I wish I went to Republic”.

I have enjoyed a relatively smoothe ride at PSA. But I was hired at a different time and things have changed quite a bit. At the end of the day, both are solid options. If you choose PSA you will have the flow generating constant churn above you on the seniority list. If you choose Republic you will enjoy a much better contract and pay.

Go to Republic, better contract, better pay, better reserve rules. I've heard a few FO''s and newly forced CA''s who say they going to leave. You will move up the seniority list fast your first year at PSA then it will slow as you reach CA. As more pilots get within a few years of flow many abandone their job search an just stick it out. This will increase your reserve time as a CA. If you are lookin at TYS, know it is a pretty senior base, they have no hot reserve, but I think the call out is an hour for short call, don't think you'll be able to do that from BNA with a 2.5 hour drive.

I have been fortunate in that I have enjoyed my time here so far, but worry about the direction of things in the future. Round 1 qol is awesome because of SAP, but our pairings are crap and low credit and you will need to adjust to get the credit you want. You'll get to experience it for maybe a year then you will be forced to upgrade and likely be on reserve for at least 1.5 -2 years. No one here knows for sure what will happen to the scheduling system and we may be getting PBS. That being said we will probably lose a lot of flexibility with our SAP. Furthermore there appears to be a degradation in the processing times of our SAP, and the company and union don't seem concerned with fixing it.

Just about everyone wants to get to the next level in their careers, that being said go somewhere you will have the the best QOL if you get stuck. We have nothing contractual here with our bonus and our hourly rates are lagging, if something happens to slow the industry down, things could get bad in a hurry.

One last thing to consider, is that our union is wothless.

If your long term goal is LUV, then go to Republic. Southwest loves Republic captains. Try and get into the training department as a sim instructor, which will greatly increase your chances of moving on. No idea how senior DCA is at Republic, but thats an easy commute to BNA.

DC is mid seniority for FO’s (you may be on reserve for a few months) and fairly junior for captains.

I’ve flown on both this week, and will do so again next week, and my opinion between the two has changed. I’m looking at both as well as I live near DCA, but PSA still has the flow to American which is factored into my decision as well.

Factoring the flow into your decision should be the last thing on your list if should even be a factor at all. You will be over 1800 on the seniority list at PSA. Currently our flow is 10 a month and American doesn't run a class in Dec. Conservatively speaking without any outside attrition that would be 16 years. Throw in some attrition and maybe you get down to 10 years. I think it is disingenuous how our recruiters showcase the flow. In all likelihood you could be hired at a major long before your flow.

Best to compare pay, work rules, reserve, growth, and qol.

^^^ this is a very solid way of looking at it

Well said, and thank you! My intention from the beginning was to use the flow as a backup, but given your numbers it’s really tipping the scale in Republic’s favor. My plan was to get hired at a Regional and keep applying to the Majors, but with the numbers you posted if I went to PSA and flowed I’d be just shy of 50 and at that point I probably wouldn’t want to flow and start over.