There is a ton of great info on this thread. Many of you who are in your early twenties are worrying about 175 vs Rj. My advice would be to choose an airframe that will provide you with flight time. I was hired in May - started ground school late June / July. My classmates have already started IOE. I chose RJ. I've had great instructors and on the RJ side feel that I haven't been waiting while twiddling my thumbs. Training has been quick and IOE coming quicker. if you are worrying about two years from now - then make your predictions and pick your airframe - but if you want to finish ground school and fly - in my novice opinion pick the RJ. Yes, the pay can't pay the rent if you're a guy with a family like me- but the people are good to be around here and unless they red stripe every RJ This year - you'll get to fly.

Crj................

Anyone in the AS system know if we get buddy passes on alaska?

Nope.......

If I was just starting, I would take the CRJ and start ASAP just to get my name on the senority list. Then, after a year I would transition if I really wanted the 175. I wouldn't sit around and wait 2-3 months for a 175 class date.

Going forward, will it be possible at all to get PDX if you are on the CRJ side or is all flying out of PDX going to be on the 175? Also how hard would it be to transition to the 175 once your seat lock is up? Thanks

All the Alaskan flying will be on the 175. As a FO transitioning isn't hard, as a captain it's getting harder

If I have 10 days of vacation in a couple of months, would it be better to bid reserve or a line. Financially speaking.
Will I still be able to get 76 or 65 hrs min with that many vac days?

You will still get at least 76:00 hrs. The vacation has a daily rate assigned to it. I had 28 days of vaction at 2:30 credit per day and was assigned a standup, so I ended up work 2 out of 3 of my avaliable days.

10 days vacation at 2.5 a day is 25 credit, so you just have to make up 51 hours somehow. On reserve that would be 12 days. A line it depends what you can hold. Reserve might not work because they need coverage on days you're on vacation so those reserve days wouldn't count towards your credit.