It's all about the "upgrade" times...or is it?

[BoDEAN]

Whether you are a regional now, or applying to one, how important is upgrade time to you? If you are somewhere where the upgrade time is years down the line, does that influence your decision to stay/leave?

Also, for those at Skywest or Chautauqua, what are the current upgrade times at this point? Thanks in advance.

 

[The_Russian]

Upgrade time should be as short as possible. For your resume, and your wallet! Don't go to a jet regional. They are unstable and have very long upgrade times. Go fly a turboprop and build your career.

 

[aerobat21]

Skywest has about a year for the EMB two for the jet - I think.

Don't go to a jet regional. They are unstable and have very long upgrade times. Go fly a turboprop and build your career.

Skywest Has turboprops and jets how are they unstable??

 

[check6]

Yeah. . .and how can anyone build a career at a place like Piedmont??

 

[hockeypilot44]

Upgrade time should be as short as possible. For your resume, and your wallet! Don't go to a jet regional. They are unstable and have very long upgrade times. Go fly a turboprop and build your career.

My jet airline promised me a 1 1/2 to 2 year upgrade. That is why I chose it, to get my "turbo-jet" pic time and get out. The lying sacks of ******************** took 25 months to upgrade me though. I feel like I was cheated out of 1-7 months of mainline seniority. LOL.

 

[SizzleChest]

The CRJ at CHQ went as low as 2.5 yrs. for the CRJ in the SDF base. The IAH bid award isn't out for a little bit.

 

[suupah]

Skywest has about a year for the EMB two for the jet - I think.





Skywest Has turboprops and jets how are they unstable??

not bad at all!

 

[PunchTheClown]

Like Russian said, the upgrade should be short. HOWEVER, do not chase an upgrade (I cannot place enough emphasis on this)! I went to a carrier that would have a quick upgarde and in less then 2 months it went from that to an place where I will never upgrade unless I want to make it a career at this airline.

Make the choice that is right for you at this particular moment. Dont just chase the upgrade.

 

[Rook]

And don't count out the 135 gigs Bo. I think at some places (whether they're reputable or not) you could be a Lear or Falcon captain in 1.5 to 2 years. I left my 135 gig to get my a$$ out of Detroit. After a short stay at Comair I ended up at Pinnacle where I'm based out of...Detroit. Whatever you choose good luck. You've got the 145 in your profile so hopefully the SJS you were infected with has gotten out of your system by now.

Rook

 

[miles otoole]

Whether you are a regional now, or applying to one, how important is upgrade time to you? If you are somewhere where the upgrade time is years down the line, does that influence your decision to stay/leave?

Also, for those at Skywest or Chautauqua, what are the current upgrade times at this point? Thanks in advance.

Where's Sammy Hagar's other hand?

 

[EMB170Pilot]

Where's Sammy Hagar's other hand?

HAHAHAHA

 

[EMB170Pilot]

Upgrade time should be as short as possible. For your resume, and your wallet! Don't go to a jet regional. They are unstable and have very long upgrade times. Go fly a turboprop and build your career.

That's right ladies and gents! You can be a captin on the WONDERFUL Beech 1900 for only $25,000 dollars. That's right! You will start off as a right seat Firt Officer and then after completing 250 hours, you "may" get hired on to fly as a first officer.

And then maybe after you do enough d!ck sucking, we wil upgrade you to captain.

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh yeahhhhhhhh, Im going to have to disagree with you. I'm just not sure about that. Mmmmmmmmmmmm Kay!

 

[rickair7777]

Skywest has about a year for the EMB two for the jet - I think.

1.5 EMB

3-4 CRJ

 

[av8er2]

Upgrade is a huge part!

 

[John Pennekamp]

Everyone suffering from SJS please raise your hand...

 

[amcnd]

The EMB is about a year right now may go lower if they get better staffing on the RJ. (to let the guy/gals off the rj to upgrade to the emb) The Rj Right now is as low a 2 years im sure the nov/dec classes will go that low if not lower.

 

[MYFpilot]

Yes indeed, it is all about the upgrade. The upgrade to 121 captain is so important because it is both the ticket for financial freedom (that is financial freedom from your parents/wife/girlfriend) and the ticket for your chance to move beyond the "regional (4 to 8 legs a day 4 to 6 days a week)" level. When it comes down to it, Eagle, Mesa, SkyWest, Coex, ASA, Chit-ta-qwua, etc are all pretty much the same. Sure I'll make a little more here or have to work a little less there, The only real difference is where you want to live (or commute to) and how long It will take you to upgrade. And the latter can and does change overnight.

The recent round of Upgrade awards a my airline (SkyWest)...

Most junior EMB-120 captain award (SFO) DOH of 7/28/2005

Most junior CRJ captain award (ORD) DOH of 8/2/2004

 

[The_Russian]

Skywest Has turboprops and jets how are they unstable??

Higher operating costs. Delta is in bankruptcy. Thats just two reasons I got for ya!

That's right ladies and gents! You can be a captin on the WONDERFUL Beech 1900 for only $25,000 dollars. That's right! You will start off as a right seat Firt Officer and then after completing 250 hours, you "may" get hired on to fly as a first officer.

And then maybe after you do enough d!ck sucking, we wil upgrade you to captain.

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh yeahhhhhhhh, Im going to have to disagree with you. I'm just not sure about that. Mmmmmmmmmmmm Kay!

And then there are guys like you. As worthless as tits on a bull. I feel for your mother.

 

[kansas]

Upgrade is huge. Even though airlines may change their minimums someday to decrease the importance of PIC time, being the captain of the ship shows that you have been through some invaluable training, not to mention have been seasoned by the judgment calls you have to make day in, day out. This career is about hitting the left seat, IMHO. Good luck.

 

[BoDEAN]

And don't count out the 135 gigs Bo. I think at some places (whether they're reputable or not) you could be a Lear or Falcon captain in 1.5 to 2 years. I left my 135 gig to get my a$$ out of Detroit. After a short stay at Comair I ended up at Pinnacle where I'm based out of...Detroit. Whatever you choose good luck. You've got the 145 in your profile so hopefully the SJS you were infected with has gotten out of your system by now.

Rook

Gotta love Detroit (hometown). LOL. Just looking around now. I know where I am now, the upgrade time is 8+ years if that. I have been hearing FO's who have been here 8+ yrs complain, but they are already married, own condo's, and have debt, so they can not go somewhere else for PIC time.

 

[BoDEAN]

Where's Sammy Hagar's other hand?

That's Michael Anthony (Bass Guitariest of Van Halen) in my Aviator. SO a laugh back at you (sigh).

 

[Rook]

Gotta love Detroit (hometown). LOL. Just looking around now. I know where I am now, the upgrade time is 8+ years if that. I have been hearing FO's who have been here 8+ yrs complain, but they are already married, own condo's, and have debt, so they can not go somewhere else for PIC time.

Yeah I hear ya. You're too junior to have any kind of QOL issues. Look into RAH/CHQ if you want to stay on the 121 side of the fence. What little seniority you have at AE could be made up in a 'relatively' short time. If you want to stay in the Michigan area, man you could take your pick of the 135 gigs. Might be on a pager, but if you're at home I think that would beat commuting to a crashpad for reserve. Whatever you choose good luck to you.

Rook

 

[Coool Hand Luke]

That's Michael Anthony (Bass Guitariest of Van Halen) in my Aviator. SO a laugh back at you (sigh).

I thought it was the drummer from Def Leppard that only had one arm. I stand corrected.

 

[WMUSIGPI]

It's all about the Benjamins... or well the Washingtons in my case. Granted part of that is the upgrade is where the money is. But I am not going to a place that doesn't pay during training and then pays you 15-17k your first year and maybe a couple more your second to chase that captain upgrade. (that probably pays the same as fo at a decent place)

 

[igneousy2]

When I got hired at Eagle in 1999 the junior captain with us in ground school had been at Eagle for 14 months. Guy's in my class till this day have never seen the left seat of anything at Eagle. 7 years and can't even hold ready reserve Captain in San Juan Puerto Rico on an ATR.

Don't chase the upgrade.

Later

 

[BoDEAN]

When I got hired at Eagle in 1999 the junior captain with us in ground school had been at Eagle for 14 months. Guy's in my class till this day have never seen the left seat of anything at Eagle. 7 years and can't even hold ready reserve Captain in San Juan Puerto Rico on an ATR.

Don't chase the upgrade.

Later

Interesting.

 

[BRA]

When I got hired at Eagle in 1999 the junior captain with us in ground school had been at Eagle for 14 months. Guy's in my class till this day have never seen the left seat of anything at Eagle. 7 years and can't even hold ready reserve Captain in San Juan Puerto Rico on an ATR.

Don't chase the upgrade.

Later

Is that really true??? They never held a captain spot even for a few months? I got my private pilot certificate in 99 and had whopping 56 hours or so.

 

[US Flyer]

Six years ago I left what is probably the best regional in the country (with the longest upgrade time) in a part of the country I loved. I did it for the faster upgrade, which never happened until recently. It took the same amount of time, but the irony is my 2nd company is not nearly as nice a place to work and I hate where I live.

This is not an easy decision, but MOST of the regionals are probably not much different from each other in my opinion. I would say live where you want to, unless you just don't care. If you don't care go for the fastest upgrade.

But its not THAT easy to leave the regional level once you have your 1000 Turbine PIC. The phone doesn't start ringing on its own- its a lot of work to pursue the job, get the resume/logbooks in order and network you rear off to get out of that environment and move on to the final level at the majors.

I'm not trying to discourage anyone, just know that upgrade times can and do change rapidly in this industry - don't plan your entire life around something you don't have total control of.

(In today's environment, Skywest is one that seems to be pretty stable, a fast upgrade, and lots of domiciles to chose from.) Hope this helps!

 

[DGdaPilot]

The Eagle'ers need to understand that the buyout of BizEx and the 3 year hiring freeze really held up a lot of people. I didn't come here for the PIC but for the career. No I won't stay here till retirement, but it's good to know that I probably could.

 

[BoDEAN]

Any ideas on what the upgrade times currently are at Chautauqua?
Unlike Skywest who flys CRJ, CHQ has EMB's which I am currently flying now, and I am looking at their payscale, and FO pay only goes up to 4yrs.