Are you happy with the regional your with?

[EMB170Pilot]

Was in the early classes of FOs at CHQ for the 170. So far so good. Great bunch of people to work with. I commute, yeah commuting sucks but oh well. My last job I drove 3 mins to FLL (5 mins if I hit the 1 traffic light) so I def miss being home in 10 mins after a days work of flying out of FLL.

Excited that the 170 is now opening up in ORD (makes sense since United is based there)

Cannot wait till the 170 flies for Delta. Enjoy the airplane very much. Was worried that I would not like the "regional lifestyle" but so far so good. Of course cant wait till the pay increases but I have other things going for me so that helps.

Being new and high senioity (very lucky and blessed), I can pick and choose what I want for the month. Have had 15-17 days off a month.

 

[wahoo250]

well...how can I explain this...This was just my situation. There are very good corp. outfits out there that would beat the hell out of a airline job. they are however very very hard to get. I am fortunate to be a second generation pilot with good connections in the corp. world, however I know what it can be like both as a son of a pilot and as a pilot. You most likely will end up not having controll of your schedule for the most part. The money is very good but 2 week trips or more are common. at an airline, 4 days your done...at the most. Im 26 right now and felt that i can take the hit now money wise for a better opportunity to have control of my time off later on. I also dont long to own a benz or anything like that. I have other hobbies like fishing with my family and friends that mean more to me, so really time off means more to me than money. but evan at a regional you will make a respectable living with more time off than any other profession i can think of. plus you dont bring your work home with you. you show up fly and go home...see ya next time. like i said there are corp jobs like an ailine type schedule, they are just few and far between...hope that explains a little more. I must add also that ive noticed it takes a certain type of woman to stay with someone in this business. Family values must go a long way. Ive never had to live through a devorce or anything like that. It takes a very strong independant woman. ...I am not saying I know everything about this industry, this is just what i have experienced throughout my life and talking with close family friends who are also in the industry. by the way most say...you dont want to go to law school? for the most part they want my schedule, I want their money. take your choice. they both have their good and bad sides, like any job.

 

[Red Swingline]

NHaviator ,

I'll admit it I was stirring the pot. We in the training dept need to keep potentials on there toes. The process gets dull if everybody knows what to expect.

So fly fast and land soft

 

[millhouse21]

Well, I've been at my regional for a little over a year now and I've done my share of complaining. However, with recurrent, military reserve duty, and some decent bidding, I haven't flown in over 2 weeks. I'm a little ashamed to admit it here but I'm a little excited about going to work today. Maybe it isn't really so bad after all...

 

[Rook]

Being a regional pilot is not healthy for a marriage. Especially when you are junior and being screwed on reserve. Your wife will ask "why do they always call YOU? Your friend John Smith doesn't fly as much" All you can tell her is, "look, they call and I have to go--it's that simple." This will wear pretty thin with her quickly.

Then you married the wrong girl my friend. For better or for worse remember? I married the wrong girl. She married into poverty when I was a CFI and even more poverty when I was a FR8 dog slinging pizzas on weekends and donating plasma to make ends meet. Now my current lady is much more understanding(seeing how she was supporting my arse when I was a poor F/O. Not that I'm a rich CA or anything but at least I can afford to take her out every now and then) and knows the drawbacks of the industry. Not a personal bash pal, so don't be offended.

Am I happy with my regional? Sure. It got me off the pager in YIP, and for the most part has been good to me. Until it comes to junior assignments. Can't seem to understand why I should be punished for not wanting to work on my day off I've acheived what I set out to do when I was a flight student. Saw my first RJ and said I wanted to work for that company flying that aircraft. This was before I knew how much pilots at the majors got paid of course. So I'm looking to move on someday but I try my best not to b1tch too much about my current employer because It could always be worse, and there are tons of guys just waiting to take your place.

Rook
'what the fcuk are you carrying a gun for? What in case somebody steps to you Snoop Dog?'
Mikey...'Swingers'

 

[ATRCA]

Was in the early classes of FOs at CHQ for the 170. So far so good. Great bunch of people to work with. I commute, yeah commuting sucks but oh well. My last job I drove 3 mins to FLL (5 mins if I hit the 1 traffic light) so I def miss being home in 10 mins after a days work of flying out of FLL.

Excited that the 170 is now opening up in ORD (makes sense since United is based there)

Cannot wait till the 170 flies for Delta. Enjoy the airplane very much. Was worried that I would not like the "regional lifestyle" but so far so good. Of course cant wait till the pay increases but I have other things going for me so that helps.

Being new and high senioity (very lucky and blessed), I can pick and choose what I want for the month. Have had 15-17 days off a month.

Dude, thats a great friggin picture! Who is that?

 

[white E]

interesting thread. We need regionals to feed the mainline. I thought that after 9/11 majors were going to eat up regional carriers, but I was wrong. I think that (CO) for example should have kept XJT 100% and others should have followed. Logistically challenging, but financially worth it.

The problem with the regional cash cows is that you have a ton of young bucks that will fly for pennies. That is crap. People need to be thinking in the long term and voting on contracs with the intent that they are stuck at that airline for 30 years.....if it survives. RJ's are cash cows right now and contracts should reflect it. If we based %'s as pay, then RJ pilots should be rewarded appropriately and not payed 60K/yr. That is BS. ON the flip side one would hope that the majors rebound sometime soon and start recording balance sheets using black ink.

I personally think that there is a ton of potential in this industry. We have retirements up the wazoo here shortly. Eventually (sooner than later in some cases) and historically the operating costs of JB and SWA are going to sky rocket and there is going to be a higher demand for the wide body a/c. This is a huge pie that a handful of well structured airlines (Not US Air) are going to ride another wave of high revenue....potentially.

If you look (might be coincidence) at the airlines that are doing well (all things considered) the CEO's that were adamant and determine to make a great airline are the airlines that are performing well. ex...Kellher, Bethune, Neeleman. However that is a different topic.

The BL is regionals are a necessary evil. It is much more efficient that flying a 73-100, F100, blah blah blah between CRW and PIT. However if you are working for a company that the CEO and CFO each took 5 million dollar bonus and didn't give anyone in the company a cent, then that is a foul. We don't ask for much and that money these days could have been invested into something or some market that may provide more security.
-W-