Hello All,

I am very short of reaching my R-ATP minimums and have started to apply to the regionals. I was planning on doing part 135 first but since reaching the majors is the goal, getting into the 121 world sooner rather than later seems to be the smarter choice. My question is would you wait a few months to go to the more "popular" regionals (due to QOL, pay, flow, etc) because of training backlog? Or would you go to a smaller regional like Commuter Air with little to no delays, short reserve time and ton of flying available but while sacrificing pay and QOL? Will the time frame waiting really make a difference in terms of career advancement long term?

I understand that it's different for everyone but if you were to commute from BOS where would you go and why? I am not too concerned with QOL as much as I am concerned with getting a lot of flying time for quicker Captain upgrade and money to pay student loans. Thank you.

I would probably wait for a job you want if it's just going to be a few months. You're going to be at a regional for a while, may as well be the one you want.
Personally, I would go to one of American's regionals. I'm not sure which would be best from BOS, probably Envoy for the LGA base. It took me almost 10 years to get on with a major. This was with a clean record, college degree with good GPA, and (enlisted) military service. I would rather have a guaranteed job at one of the big 3 than take my chances on my own. Of course, I'd be applying everywhere and if United, Delta, Southwest, FedEx, UPS called before the flow to AA I'd go there.

Even if it means waiting 6 or more months for a class date? I am afraid of holding back too long because it looks like the hiring is starting to slow down a bit. Just as an example I was looking at Republic and they seem to not be taking people until late Summer. Then with the training and reserve time, I am probably not going to be able to hold a line until a year from now (estimated).

6 months or more I'd take a job then reevaluate if I still wanted the job I had to wait for. I would be a bit leery about leaving a company while on probation. I would be paranoid that they'd mark me down as not eligible for rehire, and that could be problematic when you're applying to majors. I would look at the reputations of the companies you're considering going to.

I think all of the majors have pretty big hiring plans for next year, which means the regionals will be hiring to backfill. American is hiring over 900 next year, at least half will come from their regionals. Envoy is short on captains and are forcing FOs to upgrade when they meet the minimum hours. I believe that's a LGA base. They'd be my number 1 choice if I lived in BOS.

I would ask someone what the BOS EWR commute is like before going to C5. LGA and EWR don’t seem like much of a difference, but they’re different for commuting from BOS.

I would take the first class ASAP. I can tell you that earlier this year 5 out of the 6 months I missed a line and have to be on reserve by 1 number. If i took an earlier class, things would be different with my QOL and pay check. You just never know, especially if you wait and your class date gets pushed back even further.

Look at the Cape Air JetBlue pathway.

Otherwise, pick the regional you want to be at and suck up the delay, unless your plan is to lateral over later as a DEC.