Can you make a careers in the regional?
I here a lot of pilots stay at regionals base on time, seniority, and other life issues. If you stay at a regional, over time what can a pilot expect ? (Eg. bids,days off, pay)
Yeah, this is interesting. I’ve seen conflicting reports on this. Particularly when talking about an upgrade to a LCC. Some people say if you’re at X regional, you should jump as soon as you can to jetBlue or Spirit. Some other people say you should stay an keep building PIC if your goal is a legacy, since at the LCC you will have to wait a while to build PIC time again. Will be interesting to see what the mentors think about these things.
Eric,
I know quite a few people who are fat, dumb and happy as Regional pilots. I’ve often said that my ultimate goal was Hawaiian but if I never got here I would’ve been quite happy spending my career at a Regional. The answer to you question is the same answer as most airline related questions. SENIORITY. Seniority governs every aspect of the job so obviously if the majority of pilots are chomping at the bit to get out of the Regionals ASAP those who stay will continue to rise through the ranks building higher and higher seniority. That means the best schedules, most days off, holidays, weekends etc. The only issue really is pay as most Regionals top out in the upper $80s so you’ll never be making the really big bucks. Then again I know quite a few people who live quite well in more modest neighborhoods, have 18-20 days off a month, 4 weeks vacation and are happy as clams.
Adam
Eric,
Yes, many pilots chose to stay at the regionals. A pilot who does so can expect to be at the top regional pay and get the most desirable schedules at his airline. It is hard to answer your question with any more specifics as every airline is different.
Chris