Does it suck to fly for a reginonal?

[bigbird]

It seems like all everyone does is complain about flying for a reigional airline... I have been considering maybe finding a new line of work instead of flying. I mean come on, low pay, crap schedule, job unstablity. Whats so great about it? Sure if you maybe make it to a major. Which there is a good chance that you wont. Give me some input please.

 

[bigbird]

I mean regional.

 

[banned username 2]

No one ever said it was an easy career....

A lot of guys who got started flying in the late 90's say only the good times... thought it would be a quick trip to the Majors... Little did they know (or want to believe) that the hiring boom of the late 90's was an anomoly that will probably not be repeated anytime soon... There has never been a pilot shortage, and probably never will be (no matter what Kit Darby says)...

If your heart is in flying 100% then you will grin and bear it... working through the crappy hours, poor schedule, terrible pay and other not-so-nice aspects of flying... and maybe someday, in the distant future, you will land a decent paying job that has a halfway decent schedule... But then again, who knows... with the way the economy is going and the Industry is going... there are going to be a LOT of guys making careers at the regionals...

Good luck to you...

 

[utahpilot]

I guess it depends on your perspective.

I got into the game later than some at 28. I imagine that starting at a regional at age 32 puts me further away from ending up at a major with a good schedule than I thought when I got into flying.

however....

say I spend 28 years at a regional. I'll spend my 40's and 50's working maybe 3 days a week and making over 100K. I'll have seniority enough to do most of what I want with wife and kids and still fly. I'll get to travel to pretty much wherever I want for free. I'll retire at 60.

I don't know of any other options I have in front of me that offer anything close to that as far as pay, time off, etc. I could go back to school and re-train for business, finance, or something that could pay me more, but I WANT to fly airplanes.

I'm convinced it'll be worth. Who knows what changes will come? Either way, I'll make the most of it because it's what I want to do, and for me is a lot more fun than any other JOB I've had.

cieli azuri,

UP

 

[barondriver]

Thanks Utah.. Same story here. 34 yrs old, career changer, etc. Do I have any ambition going to a major? Absolutely not. Perspective is everything. If there are pilots out there that must make 200k a year or more, more power to them. I will be very content as stated earlier enjoying seniority, good pay and travel at a fantastic regional.

 

[bigbird]

Ummm over 100,000$ per year at a regional?? I dont think so. Show me where you see those salaries??

 

[TankerPuke]

I personally know of a Captain at SkyWest who will pull down $130,000 this year. Not too bad

 

[banned username 2]

Ummm over 100,000$ per year at a regional?? I dont think so. Show me where you see those salaries??

That would be max Captain pay which would probably take 12-15 years to get to as a Captain... plus probably needing some overtime in there to make up the difference...

 

[trainerjet]

Ummm over 100,000$ per year at a regional?? I dont think so. Show me where you see those salaries??

I've seen pay rates posted for the larger regionals ...

for example: Air Wisconsin's top pay for CRJ CA at the end of the current contract is $106.60/hr., and for the BAe 146 it's $135.65.

Comair and the other top regionals have similar pay rates, so $100,000/year is certainly possible at these companies. And as utahpilot pointed out, those that make a career at one of the better regionals can reasonably expect this kind of salary, along with the good schedule that comes with seniority.

However, since what you see is "low pay, crap schedule, and job unstablility" (whatever that is); then perhaps it is not the career for you.

 

[rightrudder]

Most working slobs would be very envious of a person who works 3 days a weeks for over $100,000 a year and can fly for free anywhere in the world.

Get on a with a top notch "regional" carrier and have a pretty decent career. If I don't have the opportunity to work for a major, i'll still be very happy where I am at.

RR

 

[LR25]

No one said this was an easy business to get into. Do some research and you will see that there are regional pilots out there making 6 figures.

Why do they stay that long at a regional to make that kind of maney you ask, quality of life, shedule, senoirity along with other reasons Im sure.

There is more to life than flying a heavy jet, some may argue that thought but its true.

And no, flying for a regional does not suck. Its alot better than alot of jobs I have had in the past, what about you.

You set a goal, and you go out to meet it.

Good luck on your decision.

 

[d328pilot]

Even with all of the crappy stuff going on at my airline, it still beats working for a living.

 

[flyinhard]

Bigbird, it sounds like you are maybe in it for just the money. I am not slamming you about that at all. If you are not willing to take the crap, sit in airports for hours on end not getting paid, sleeping in hotels 4 nights or more out of the week, maybe you should look at other alternatives. I, for one, am willing to do that and get paid what the manager at my local McDonalds makes, at least at the beginning. If you stick with it, it will come. Times are tough now and this is going to weed out the people who really want to fly and the people who are looking for that quick dollar. Don't get me wrong, I have thought the same thing as you lately waiting to go to a regional. I finally came to the assumption, i love flying, and where else are you going to find an office at 28,000 feet. My two cents, did not want to offend you. Think long and hard and the right answer will come to you.
P.S. My next door neighbor is flying regional as a captain, got 13 years in at the company. He makes $118,000 a year and flies 15 days a month. Something to think about.

 

[Pilot877]

Hey, dont let the opinions of a bitter few on this board change your mind about flying. Every so-called regional is a completely different company with its ups and down's, so to say flying at the regionals sucks is a very broad negative stereotype.
I am one lucky dog to get hired at a great airline flying a sweet jet, but I had to do hard time first as a CFII and then as a charter pilot in cruddy old twins. I cant honestly say I loved every minute of it, but I wouldnt trade that experience for anything in the world.
In comparison, my current gig is paradise, its not even work. If you are in a position to get hired, and bite the bullet for the first year or so, go get that job and good luck to you. I think most of the bitter guys on this board still love it, they are just lettin' out steam like anybody else in any job.

 

[trans2fly]

Hey,

Don't complain too much...like some of the others, I gave up a stable, well-paying career to work for a regional. Then 9/11/01 came, I was on the street and I couldn't return to my previous career 'cause that was/is still dead too. Heck, I didn't want to go back anyway. So at 35, I'm starting again with a different regional, and even with the difficulties that come with ANY job, I feel incredibly lucky to be there. So what if I don't make it to a major? Big fat whoop. If you're a PILOT any flying job beats any desk job; I traded for it and would do it again. My only regret is that I waited so long...

As I've always told students, flying is self-selective. Those who are meant to be pilots will be pilots. Those who aren't, won't.

Good luck to all. See ya in class!

Jerry

 

[Beechnut]

I mean come on, low pay, crap schedule, job unstablity.

The better regionals don't have these problems from about the second year on, depending on your financial situation.

But, as long as more people think the way you do, the easier it'll be for me to advance in my career.

S.

 

[F/O]

Bigbird

Everybody that has posted to this thread has given a pretty level headed answer to your question. I respect and agree with all of the opinions that have been posted.

The people that tend to upset me are the 700 hr CFIs that got hired directly into an RJ and within a year are bitching and moaning about how crappy their job is. While certainly not in the majority, the ones that have developed the attitudes are definitely out there; you will see their posts as you surf around the board a bit.

I would advise these individuals to get niiiiiiice and comfy in the right seat of that RJ. It will be many years before they even have a chance to get hired by a major.

 

[Pilot877]

And its a d@mn fine comfy seat too!!

 

[climbhappy]

bigbird...it doesn't

look! to give you perspective, i just returned from ground school. at a regional, been laid off all year...one of my budds was a mainline furloughee... been let go four times in 15 years...has a wife and two kids.. like I do... it's tight now, but I ask myself, "is money why I'm doing it" don't think so...the rat race sucks...been there... if you love to fly...just do it... and don't listen to bitchers and complainers and whiners...life's too short

 

[bobbysamd]

Regional flying

Define "sucks." Fifteen years ago, I was 36 and decided to go to aviation full-time. The only thing I ever wanted to do is fly for a decent regional. I realize that "decent" begs a definition as well. My idea of decent would have been to make sufficient pay to be comfortable (I'm not a big spender, but I'm not a tighta$$, either) and pay the bills. Read my other posts for my success, or lack thereof, in getting on with the regionals.

I had a friend who was a Captain for a now-defunct regional in Colorado. His line was odd insofar as he had to sit reserve part of the time as well as have regular trips. Just the same, he was paid $25K in the late '80s, which was pretty good money for those days, and he had plenty of time off. That sounded pretty good to me. I guess "sucks" is relative.

I will give a hearty second to the comments above about low-timers who were hired immediately into RJs and grouse. As recently as ten years ago, there really weren't RJs, much less people with less than a thousand hours being hired into them (I realize WestAir and a couple of others were operating BAe-146s, which you could regard as RJs, but there weren't many of them around.). Nevertheless, most commuters were operating turboprop equipment, and except for the you-know-what'ers, you needed no less than 1500 total-500 multi and probably your ATP to get hired. The usual totals were far more - like 2000+ total - and this was at the peak of the hiring boom back then.

My point for the low-timers is to count your blessings. There are tons of others ready to take that seat you're occupying, and will gladly do so for the money you're getting, and who will come to the airport every day with big smiles on their faces.

Finally, I'll second the other comments about not expecting fast upgrades, or even steady upgrades. The regionals now are like the majors many years ago. There were new-hires who were FEs and who waited for years to upgrade to the right seat. And, FOs waited for years to upgrade to Captain. I'd even bet that many FOs had to retire before ever making Captain. So, bear that in mind. The hiring boom during the last decade and the one in the late '80s were aberrations. Today's slow hiring is more the norm.

Once more, I will recommend this book: Takeoff! : The Story of America's First Woman Pilot for a Major Airline, by Bonnie Tiburzi, ISBN: 0517552639. It's available on www.amazon.com and plenty of other places. She talks about, among other things, her slow upgrade.

Enjoy your flying.