Regional Choices

Hey guys,
I am currently a student at a part 61 school (started in May) just finishing up my instrument rating. My flight instructor thinks I will have my commercial by the end of the year and be instructing early next year. He also told me I should start looking into regionals I want to work for. It’s a little overwhelming with so many regionals but I think I have it narrowed down to SkyWest and Endeavor. I’ve also considered Envoy but have heard things aren’t great at Envoy and AA. Is it that beneficial to have a direct flow through program or should I really be more concerned about quality of life? I also realize that me going to a regional is about two years away and things could change a lot between now and then. Thanks fo your insight!

Nick,

Honestly, I think you are getting a little ahead of yourself. You need to be focusing on your flight training and becoming a CFI so you can build hours, you really can’t even commit to an airline before reaching 500 hours and of course cannot be hired until 1,500 hours. I understand it is good to look ahead, but so much can change in this industry that I would not be so worried about it right now.

That being said, I have not heard that things are not good good at Envoy, quite the opposite in fact. Wages are up, there is a flow through and the company seems to have decent movement. OF course direct flow throughs are great, but I wouldn’t make life choices off of them as things can and do change. I would pick the regional that works best for you and go from there.

Chris

Nick,

As Chris said I think you’re getting WAYYYYY ahead of yourself. Regional agreements, pilot contracts etc change and the Regional that’s seemingly #1 today may not be in 2 year. I also have heard nothing but good things regarding Envoy but I’ve also never been a big fan of flows. That’s because no Major is going to cannibalize their Regional partners. More times than not pilots outside the flow get hired long before those with it. Unless you need the flow due to some blemish that would cause you to not get hired elsewhere and you’re hoping to “sneak” in, a flow agreement wouldn’t even be a factor in my decision.

Adam