Corporate or regional on way to Major?

[cvoav8r]

Does it matter if you are flying corporate or regional with a goal of flying heavy iron someday?

 

[LAXSaabdude]

I would say that - generally speaking - you would probably be better off with the regional.

You need a things to get hired at the majors. Total time, PIC turbine time, and, oh yeah, LOTS of time!

At the regionals generally fly a pretty significant amount in a year, and the captain upgrades are relatively easier to predict. In a corporate gig, there is generally a lot of sit time, "on call" time, and captain upgrades may be decided by the "ol' boys' network", as opposed to seniority. Someone the boss likes could get hired as a captain right above you, thus delaying your valuable PIC time.

Now, that being said...there may be some opportunites available where you could fly a whole lot at a corporate gig, and you may be able to upgrade quicker into some really cool jet equipment, but it's much more of a crapshoot in the corporate world.

LAXSaabdude.

 

[MW44]

I'm not so sure about captain upgrades being easier to predict at a regional. Of course I've had no corporate experience but the first airline I went to said upgrade was running 4-6 months, then 10 months later I was furloughed. Second airline told me I should expect to upgrade in about 2 years, 2 years and change later and I'm still in the bottom 10% of the seniority list. But you could just chalk that up to bad luck and Osama.

 

[LAXSaabdude]

I'm not so sure about captain upgrades being easier to predict at a regional.

Relatively speaking, it is easier. Everything is decided by seniority, so when you get to that approximate 50% point on the list, you will make captain. The speed of movement on the list is hard to predict, sometimes it moves quickly, sometimes slowly, but it does move, and you do get closer. Eventually you will get there.

In a corporate gig, typically there is no seniority, and the boss will promote whoever he feels like. You may feel you are ready to be a captain, yet the boss may have some buddy looking for a job who he likes better, and he may make him captain. There is ZERO predictability in that.

Furthermore, at the regionals, you just fly airplanes. In the corporate world, the job descriptions can be much looser (read, you can be the boss' "beyaaatch").

My grandpa was a corporate pilot many years ago. At one point they decided to get rid of the airplane and get a boat to use for wining and dining clients. They wanted to make my grandpa the boat captain, figuring, hey, a boat can't be that much different, right?

LAXSaabdude.