Best Regional Airline To Fly For?

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XCFLYER

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XCFLYER
Any opinions from previous/current experience...
 
Geez...
Which turd will taste the best.

The one that will give you the best balance of a quick upgrade to get out fast and not be the worst quality of life. That’s my opinion.

Some say goto one that you don’t mind staying at for a long time if the music stops or slows way down.

Others think it’s best to disregard quality of life and just get the hours, upgrade and get out as quickly as possible.

Also depends on your long term goals. If American is your top choice for a major the I would recommend an American owned regional.

I don’t think there is a best regional but there is one that’s best for you. You have to make that decision.
 
The one where the name on the side of the jet matches the name on your paycheck.
 
Fastest upgrade. Get out, and get to a airline that doesn't participate in the fee for departure race to the bottom. And Unionized, so one doesn't get brainwashed into thinking that the company has the pilots best interest in mind.

And, for the one that said to fly for an airline who's paycheck and tails match, flipping brilliant!

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I stay away from airline forums. Drama and nearly zero good info. I've looked. I also suggest Carl Valeri podcast. I've known him for a very long time, and he always has great info for the next gen airline pilots. In his podcasts, you should be able to find some good, helpful info.

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The answer is whoever had the most recent contract negotiation. The regional airlines are constantly under a flux of change. One will get desperate, throw a bunch of money on the table and offer quick upgrades. They then get flooded with pilots and everything goes to heck in a heartbeat. They have pilots banging down their door every time they add a bonus or promises of some sort, it's kind of like buying a car while waiting on the best incentives.
 
Like others have said, it changes all the time.

I’d pick the one that gives you the easiest commute, or better yet - no commute at all.
 
Besides the regional airlines that feed to the major pax carrying airlines, one could also take a look at the FedEx feeders. Not sure if they provide a route to a job with FedEx or not but if they do, I'd probably prefer that if I was interested in flying the heavies.
 
SkyDog58 said:
Besides the regional airlines that feed to the major pax carrying airlines, one could also take a look at the FedEx feeders. Not sure if they provide a route to a job with FedEx or not but if they do, I'd probably prefer that if I was interested in flying the heavies.
Click to expand...

There is not a lot of hiring out of the feeders into mainline FedEx, despite what the "Purple Runways" PR might have you think.

If the two big freight flyers are on someone's list of desired career destinations, the regionals and/or the ACMI carriers like Atlas are the best route.
 
Sluggo63 said:
Not to take away from anyone here, because there are definitely a lot of smart people on this board in a wide range of fields. But besides a small handful, Part 121 aviation is not this groups forte. If you want an actual answer to your question, I’d suggest you go here:

https://www.airlinepilotforums.com/regional/
Click to expand...

I heartily second this.

For the OP, sit down, start reading, and take the time to begin to understand all of the forces that determine what a good vs bad regional would be to work for. Many of those factors -- commutes/bases, pay, scheduling, upgrades, flow, etc -- have been mentioned in this thread, but which mix of those factors is best for you is an answer only you can provide. Plus, there are more that you may never have even thought of that might pop up in all that research.

As mentioned those factors are changing all the time at every single regional. What is true today may not be true tomorrow. The regionals that were the vogue destinations when I was working at one are both in the crapper currently, and some that were written off and never to be heard from again are now popular and thriving. So, be careful what advice you listen to and beware from whom it is coming from. I've been away from the regionals for a few years, so outside of what I read on the forums and hear from newhires at my company, my knowledge of what's currently going on is just a bit stale.

So, do your research. Read what the pilots from each airline are complaining about on APC -- believe it or not, that's actually a pretty good means of detecting what the biggest problems are at each of the companies. It won't tell you much about what's "good" or "normal" (since the vast majority of the posts are people bitching about what's wrong), but it is a very useful means of comparison.

All that being said, OP, why do you tell us a little about what you're interested in doing long term, where you live, what the most important of the factors in your opinion is. Without knowing at least some of that, none of us can provide you with anything that might actually be helpful in an initial radar vector or two to start your research.
 
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