Why would a RJ Capt. leave for CAL, DAL, UAL, UAW, or NW?

[YourPilotFriend]

Well the top of the regional list is certainly more stable than the bottom of a major carrier. First year pay for the next nwa new hire will be $19500.

 

[jtf]

Do what you think is best for you. If you go to a major you may very well be furloughed since you will be so low on the list. You will also most likely make more money by the end of your career if you have lots of time left and don't lose your medical. If you stay at the regional you may be out of a job if the regional bites the dust. Everything in aviation is a gamble. How is staying at Express Jet not a gamle now- starting their own independent airline operations and their own charter is a gamble that must be made under the current circumstances, but it is not a small gamble. If those ops tank and and the company wants to live they will have to take pay cuts just like all the majors that are being ripped in this thread. I can understand staying put at Eagle more than Express Jet since it is currently wholly owned by who it feeds, but even that isn't much safer. Comair is wholly owned and was a good place in the very recent past and it is now going down. Is any regional really safer than the majors? I think salaries at the majors will go up, but they won't ever be like the glory years we all dreamed about when we started flying airplanes. This is a cyclical business, but the cycle went pretty darn low and with all the LCCs keeping pricing pressure on, I just can't see things getting as good as before. I can't believe that Skybus and Vigin America are going to do anything good to help raise the bar anywhere else during negotiations at the majors once the bankrupcy contracts are up. Analyze your specific situation and then roll the dice since either choice could be wrong.

 

[jtm2222]

I left for a major over a year ago and its the best move i've made.. Flying big equipment vs. RJ is a whole different world. Not having to deal with canceled RJ flights is huge. I think anyone under 40 should jump ship to a major if they have a chance. To me this is a very simple question. Overall you make a sh$t pile more money at a major than a regional. Get onboard and get that senority number.

 

[Thedude]

Regionals are performing all the DC-9, Folker Jet, 737 and most of the 727 routes, as well as a lot of South America.

What commuters are flying to South America??!! Thats news for me.

 

[AutoBus]

I left for a major over a year ago and its the best move i've made.. Flying big equipment vs. RJ is a whole different world. Not having to deal with canceled RJ flights is huge. I think anyone under 40 should jump ship to a major if they have a chance. To me this is a very simple question. Overall you make a sh$t pile more money at a major than a regional. Get onboard and get that senority number.

Good advise! It's easy to get sucked into the this is not so bad, kind of OK paycheck. But over the LONG haul you will be better off at a major, regionals come and go, code share agreements come and go, it's better to be working for the company that actually writes the checks rather than a sub-contractor.

There is really no arguement if you do the math and the research you will come up with the same answers. As an FO I've been working 4 on 3 off, with no weekends and all holidays off since year about year 5, averaging around 100K for the past 3 years.

 

[Non Union]

Trust me, I am having this conversation with myself. I am at XJT, made almost 80K this year and have 3 hard weeks of vacation (which is really 6 the way our contract works). There are also over 2000 pilots at this company jr to me.

I'd bet that the days of making $80k or so with 3 weeks of vacation will soon come to an end for you at ExpressJet as well as the other regional airlines.

It really boils down to simple math; if the companies are not profitable, the pay and benefits will come down. On the other hand, some companies like UPS/FedEx are extremely profitable, so they will continue to pay good salaries and benefits.

Staying at a regional, especially one that has a shaky future to be sure, like ExpressJet, is just idiotic.

 

[AA717driver]

Ok, here's an example: In 1988, Air Wisconsin was the king of the mountain when it came to "feeders", "regionals", "commuters", whatever. The F27 CA's were making $70k (pretty good money for 1988) and the BaE-146 guys who worked the system were making near $100k (not much less than UAL 737 CA's).

None of those guys were going anywhere. It was a great deal.

UAL bought them and look where they are now. Just another commuter airline offering its services up to the lowest...er, I mean the highest bidder.

I've always said my worst day at a major is still better than my best day at a commuter. FWIW. TC

 

[Howard Hughes]

One thing to keep in mind is that the regionals have nearly maxed out their growth unless they can get anything bigger than a 76 seat aircraft and that AINT gonna happen, at least not for the ones feeding the likes of Delta, United, AA, and Continental. NWA has compass which Im not sure about RE seats.

The fact is that regionals were used to hold ground and even add some smaller destinations while the majors restructured. You can bet the guys/gals at most of the legacies, along with pay increases will be jumping all over scope to cut off anymore farming to the little guys as contract negotiatons come up again and most of these legacies are projected to be profitible (cant hide behind a BK judge anymore). If you were at a regional the past 7 years or less you probably moved up faster than you ever will in your career. There will still be some movement for junior guys as many at the middle and even top seniority level jump ship. Dont expect the pay rates to increase by much though and if you had visions of your regional getting airbusses some day you can abandon those thoughts as well. This business is indeed cyclical and has everything to do with timing. Expect to see the Majors trending back upward in pay, work rules and quality of life as their respective companies make money again, on the flip side, expect the regionals to taper off growth and even downsize. Delta in recent months has repeatedly said it is getting a 100 seat aircraft and it will be flown by Delta pilots. You can fully expect that airplane at the new rates to replace some of the RJ flying in certain areas. One last thing, the guy who started this thread is comparing apples to oranges when it comes to pay and hours flown. The RJ guy who likes to say hes making near 100K is usually flying his tail off, picking up trips, more legs, walking through snow and rain to get to his airplane, nowhere to put his bag/flight kit, dealing with pax who like to comment getting on their plane of how small it is each of many legs each day, having a hard time raising the bar because hes always flying with some new kid whos eyes are as big as saucers cause he so excited to fly a CRJ "Heavy" and doesnt want to rock the boat so hurts in contract negotiations, etc. Contrast that with sitting in the right seat of a 757/767 flying less hours to make the same pay (as the major pay rates are the lowest low they have been in many moons they WILL be coming back up....maybe not to the $365/hr levels but to a much higher wage than any RJ captain can ever hope to achieve even selling his soul to the company picking up trips etc. And then there is the possability of international and what they like to call "paid vacation" at the majors but we will save that topic for another day. I think if you are 45 or less you really need to take the hit now and make the move. You will be be kicking yourself in five years for not making that move as the major airline job once again distances itself away from regionals catagorically in every respect and five more years are added to the retirement age.

Just thought of one last thing. If you want days off more quickly at an airline that flys multiple equipment you can always bid the smaller aircraft (ie 737) and build super seniority faster if quality of life is your ultimate goal.

 

[N2264J]

Re: Why would a RJ Capt. leave for CAL, DAL, UAL, or NW?

I like lifers that think regionals are good jobs

Are there any "lifers" at the majors or do they all have their resumes out too?

 

[Yuppyguppy]

all you RJ guys questioning whether you should leave...please stay there.