Hello all...I've been lurking around APC for a while now, and would like to thank everyone for the good (and sometimes, comically animated) advice I've found.

I am flying an RJ now, and looking seriously at getting on with Republic. I am certainly not chasing any upgrade time (I'd upgrade just as quick here, if not sooner). What I am looking for is stability (though not AE-type Stability LoL), which I know doesn't exist in the Regional-world, but relatively speaking...don't all jump on me for saying that haha...

Anyway, I'm a bit concerned about Republic's current growing pains, and their troubles with the CAL flying they picked up...Can any insider shed some light on their situation at all? Will they still grow, albeit at a slower pace, or will they stagnate? How is their Reputation with their Codeshares, and when are the current contracts good until?

Thanks!

If you buy one of those magic 8 balls, shake it, and read the message in the window, it's about as accurate as anybody's guess on this forum. This industry is so screwy it is almost impossible to predict what will happen there or anywhere else for that matter. Good luck!

Amen... I own two magic 8 balls, one for advice on the industry and the other for advice with women

Me: Should I grab her ass?
8 Ball: Answer unclear...
Me: Damn, now what!?

coming from a person who has jumped from job to job, I really would hang out where your at, unless the opportunity arises in which it would be a major advantage to switch jobs, like money, upgrade or moving closer to home. Otherwise you WILL and I guarantee you will kick yourself in the butt after you jump ship and realize that your now at the bottom of the pool again.

The growing pains at RAH have led to some fun reshcedules out on the line, but we are not in danger of losing flying (Bedford's ego won't allow it). He has made arrangements with our partner carriers that should resolve the growth issues. Hiring has not slowed, and we cannot afford to slow our hiring. So, I would not worry about these start up issues affecting job stability here.

What I would consider though is that contract negotiations are coming, and RAH management likes to play dirty. In that past they have hired people solely to furlough them for shock value during negotiations. This time should be different, as we have very real growth needs to fulfill, needs that if not fulfilled WILL result in a loss of flying (bad for our stock value, which means real bad for Bedford). Coming on board now should be safe, as we are not negotiating yet, and won't be for a few more months. That should put a nice furlough buffer beneath you if things get ugly for a while

Where are you at now? Do you live in domicile or commute? If you do commute, would RAH provide a domicile(s) you want to live in or would be an easier commute to?

IMO, the only reason to make a lateral move is for QOL reasons. I know a guy that left AWAC after a year to go to CHQ...just so he could be based at home. Probably won't upgrade any faster and certainly won't make more $$$, but his QOL just quadrupled and you can't buy that while commuting in this business.

What he said.

Besides, current returns do not guarantee future performance.

Things can change rapidly in this business. Not saying they will. But AWAC is one of the oldest regional airlines out there and for years was one of the most stable and best jobs. Suddenly in 2005 that all changed. It can change for the others too. Domiciles come and go and the once untouchable ATW domicile is no more.

Not saying not to make the move. But be 100% sure about what you are doing. Lateral moves can be very risky and you may end up kicking yourself later for having done it.

Well, I was never too keen on making any lateral moves in the industry, but I'm convinced that this would be slightly lateral and more upwards...I am barely scraping by now, second-year pay at RAH is much better, the bonus would be great, and there are two domiciles which would make life peachy for me, as opposed to one good one where I am now.

FreezingFlyboy: Thanks for the laugh...that's awesome ;-P

P.S. I am super-curious about what schedules are like i.e. do you fly all hub and spoke out of one hub for the entire trip, or fly from hub to hub and point to point fairly often? Do you switch codeshares mid-trip?? I would love to talk to a Republic 145 driver - feel free to PM me!

where do you currently work?

You have to rack up a few more posts before you can PM anyone (and consequently before they can PM you). Our schedules range from crap to not too bad. For every high time trip, there's a low time trip waiting in the wings for the new guys to get hosed on. It mostly depends on which base your at. As a 145 guy, CMH and STL have the best trips. CVG has the worst. You do not switch codeshares mid trip unless (maybe) you are on reserve. Even then though, it's a little unlikely. And, again, depending on your trip, you can do hub and spoke stuff or bounce around. Some DAL trips are fly to CVG, then bounce back and forth from there. Others are fly to MCO, somewhere else, TPA, somewhere else, TP again, somewhere else etc. etc. The CAL flying is mostly all out-and-backs from IAH. You bounce around pretty nicely on the Airways side too.

I wouldn't worry about the reduced flying thing. We had more flying than we could physically cover and it's not like that flying is getting taken away from us. Our codeshares are just allowing us to reduce our flying until we have the crews to cover it.