Republic Airways...again
Posted by Cdraw51@reddit | flying | View on Reddit | 71 comments
Hello, just thought I'd ask some Republic guys some questions about the airline.
Disclaimer, I fully realize that there are a million posts like mine asking about Republic. I'm not asking about the timeline from interview to class date, I recognize that could take a year or maybe even two years. I'm not a cadet, and understand that cadets usually get priority. I am 27 years old, have an unrestricted ATP, have roughly 2,300 hours total time, 793 multi engine, 775 of that is turbine (with 90 of that being turbine PIC), and 960 cross country. I plan on submitting an application very soon.
So my questions are as follows:
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Assuming I get hired, get a class date and all that, what are the base assignments looking like right now? Are people getting what they bid, or is Republic sending them where they're needed? If you weren't to get what you bid right off the bat, how long before you could? For reference my top bid would be CMH, since I currently live near Columbus. And yes I'm aware that this could/will change by the time I'm sitting in indoc. Just was generally curious.
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How long are people usually on reserve, before being able to hold a line? The answers I've seen have either been outdated or wildly contradictory, which probably should tell me there's not necessarily a uniform answer to that question. Still, if you guys have heard/experienced differently, I'd appreciate feedback.
-
Anybody make a career at Republic specifically? I know there's posts about careers at regionals in general, but nothing just for Republic. Yes I'm aware you can make a lot more at the Legacies and that you "work a lot less," but I still wanted to see what people say about Republic as a career.
Thanks in advance, appreciate you bearing with me.
Worried-Ebb-1699@reddit
Just gonna say….every post here is legacy legacy legacy. As if there is literally no other option.
Don’t lose sight of airlines like Southwest, spirit or JetBlue. They are equally great, if not more.
Money isn’t everything. I’d rather have amazing QOL flying domestic and make a little less money than go to another company (any company) and forever be junior
Wrongful-Lump@reddit
Have you kept up with the industry? The only good jobs out there are basically UA and Delta. Outside of that is third rate American, a mis-mash of airlines like Hawaiian-Alaska, Frontier, Spirit, Allegiant, ACMIs, and then the regoinals. The only jobs worth working are the top two, the rest are so in the dumps it feels like second class citizenship, and hell at this point even delta/united are question marks because our seniority system means going to those jobs will be QoL and schedule HELL because those lists are halting in movement very soon.
JasonThree@reddit
I'm perfectly happy at my ULCC and there's plenty of us that have no ambitions to move to the bottom of the list at a legacy. QOL is way higher and the money is still really good.
Yesthisisme50@reddit
Wow. You really are the most delusional person on this sub lol.
I honestly feel bad for how negative of an outlook that you have. You should go find a different career to complain about
Worried-Ebb-1699@reddit
I can’t tell if you’re serious or light hearted.. my reply to that depends on your inflection
Wrongful-Lump@reddit
lol I'm being serious.
Worried-Ebb-1699@reddit
Yeah, that’s a lot of process and quite an exaggeration.
Like Spirit where I am right now may not be doing amazing, but it doesn’t mean that they’re going to fail. and the pay is really good for the insane flexibility that we have and there’s literally nobody barking down your neck or chief Pilot calling you all the time. If you’re looking for a place to chill that’s easy and low threat Spirit it’s pretty good.
The funny thing is that the first thing people say when they talk about a legacy airline is simply the money they don’t talk about how great the schedule is or how flexible things are or the cruise. It’s always the money and that should say a lot about the culture there.
Am I a diehard spirit for life, girl? No, but I do know that it can be a lot worse, and it could be better people who make their career at spirit are not lesser pilots or lower experience or unworthy. It’s just a different business model and a different flying experience.
Lastly, once the honeymoon wears off from being at a different company, what exactly is the difference that maybe you can upgrade or change fleet types OK but even that wears off after a while.
Bottom line is some people value money other people value the schedule and quality of life. Neither is wrong and neither is right so you really need to kind of reevaluate your mindset.
Cdraw51@reddit (OP)
Very true
ginge111@reddit
With time like that hit up NetJets too
Cdraw51@reddit (OP)
I've thought about it, it just seems like the opinions on it are just so extreme, at least with the 5 or 6 NetJets guys I've personally spoken with. With some people it's literally the best job they've ever had, or it's "RegretJets." No in between lol
ginge111@reddit
Man I came from the Army over to it and I think it’s a great and fun company to work for. My buddies at regionals are all more unhappy than I am. The ones that are home based aren’t too bad off but they still just think of it as a job at best and can’t wait to leave. If I don’t make it to a legacy I could very easily stay here for a career the guys at regionals I know do not feel that way.
The only down side really is that you work hard your whole career at NetJets. At a legacy you work less as you gain seniority.
Cdraw51@reddit (OP)
Yeah, the main thing hanging me up is NetJet's schedule. The whole 7/7 or 8/6 personally doesn't excite me, not if I want to start a family soon. The plan was to do Republic, hopefully get CMH as a base, do the contract, then head on to one of the Legacies.
findquasar@reddit
When I was a junior RJ FO on reserve it was difficult for me to get more than 3 days off in a row.
Those NetJets schedules would have been heaven.
You start over at the bottom again when you upgrade, and Republic’s employment contract does force you up. So just keep that in mind, you’ll kiss any QOL there goodbye to upgrade, and if hiring at the “approved” airlines is still competitive, that QOL improves more slowly too.
Cdraw51@reddit (OP)
Just to clarify, you're saying there's a chance to get more or less stuck at a regional? I definitely see that, however if you don't get stuck and move to the legacies, then the schedule does get better, no?
findquasar@reddit
Not exactly.
I’m saying that at a regional like Republic, where you sign an employment contract that effectively states you’re supposed to do whatever it takes to get your upgrade hours as soon as possible, you’ll not only go through junior FO on reserve suck, but have to upgrade and take the junior CA on reserve and potentially even commuting suck.
No matter the reason, seniority (and thus your QOL) as a captain progresses more slowly and you are junior longer. Doubly so if legacy hiring is slow and people aren’t able to leave as quickly, which would be the only thing improving your QOL.
Your choosing to target somewhere like Republic because of schedule and QOL, where you have to deal with being junior twice vs. somewhere with more stable QOL like NetJets doesn’t make a whole hell of a lot of sense to most of us who have been RJ pilots.
Cdraw51@reddit (OP)
I get what you’re saying. Wasn’t really targeting Republic, I said that at the legacies your schedule gets better with time while at NetJets, your schedule is that 8/6 or 7/7 and that’s pretty much it. Sure there’s a chance that you can’t move on to a legacy. But I’ve talked to a NetJets guy who’s a captain on one of the globals and he friggin’ HATES it, and then I talk to another guy who’s a captain on the Latitude and he says it’s great. Meanwhile I talk to legacy guys and they’re all pretty much in agreement that their airline is pretty cool and they really like their jobs
Dependent-Place-4795@reddit
That NetJets global pilot complaining probably makes almost as much as a major airline pilot, so he’d probably bitch even more if he was a republic captain…
Cdraw51@reddit (OP)
Yup, but the point I was getting at was that with the legacies (NOT regionals) your schedule gets pretty good eventually, while at NetJets that 8/6 or 7/7 is what you get until you move on/retire.
cherrypickerr@reddit
Netjets has these schedules called 52, 60, 72, 76 CC (Crew choice) schedules. It's somewhat like an airline schedule. You bid for off days. CC 52- 13 working days a month CC 60 - 15 CC 72 - 18 CC 76- 19 I think the shortest tour you can have is a 5-day tour.
longlive737@reddit
You can bid the short tour schedules on the 60/72/76 where the maximum you can be scheduled is 5 days, but I end up with quite a few 4 day and even a couple 3 day tours in a bid period. They will do weird stuff to short tour guys to make the bid work.
cherrypickerr@reddit
4 days tour! Wow. I won't make any FDP.. but I would love to do 52 schedule.
longlive737@reddit
I’ve got a 3 day when I get back from this vacation I’m on. You’ll absolutely lose out on FDP doing the short tours but you’re never really wiped out by the time you’ve got an airline ticket home. But only 3-4 days off between trips is absolute ass and one of the reasons I’m getting off the short tour bus.
Now the CC52 was absolutely fantastic. I did it for 2 bid periods before upgrading. Barely even counted as having a job.
ginge111@reddit
I don’t have kids so I preferred the 8/6 so I know my schedule for the whole year and can take my 2 20 day vacations a year to travel.
Cdraw51@reddit (OP)
I don't have kids either, not yet anyway. But it is something that's coming down the line. That's the main reason why I wanted to do the airlines. I feel like in the long run I'd get to see them more often.
ginge111@reddit
If you’re commuting at an airline you’ll see them less than if you worked a 7/7 because your first and last day at NJ is your paid commute to and from work.
Cdraw51@reddit (OP)
Ah I see. So it's more like working 5 days, off 7
longlive737@reddit
If you’re counting any day where you’re home at least part of the day as ‘not working’ then yes. Best to think of it as 6 nights away, 8 nights in your bed.
Dependent-Place-4795@reddit
Upgrade times at NJ?
ginge111@reddit
Just went up. Some think it could be 3-5 years depending on what metal you want. Depends on aircraft deliveries though
Tricky-Age4711@reddit
There is no aviation job that doesn't have someone in it complaining about how shitty it is and how bad they have it.
Cdraw51@reddit (OP)
No argument there. But it’s usually a range of “oh it’s amazing” to “it’s alright I guess” to “I hate it here.” At NetJets it seems to go from “I love it and everyone should do it” to “this place is hell and I wanna leave immediately”
Yesthisisme50@reddit
Don’t think of staying at any regional for a career. It’s not worth it. Get your time and get out as soon as you can
Wrongful-Lump@reddit
Can't blame anyone these days for considering that they might be regional lifers.. There's going to be plenty of them in the next 20-30 years given the music has stopped - and when you consider the sheer number of 23-30 year olds hired at the top jobs the last 5 years, there's absolutely nowhere to go for the rest of us.
Yesthisisme50@reddit
That’s not true
MyPilotInterview@reddit
This should be the most upvoted post - if you’re 27, you’re goal for a regional should be there you can get to the left seat the fastest, build time the quickest, and update your legacy apps monthly - there is some consideration for base, QOL, etc - but I see too many people get comfy.
Cdraw51@reddit (OP)
Duly noted. But as I'm sure you know, not all regionals are created equal. How's Republic as a career specifically? Like I said in my post, I recognize you get paid less and have more legs in a day vs. the mainline guys, I was just curious to see if any Republic lifers would turn up and see what they have to say.
Yesthisisme50@reddit
I’ll put it this way: the first year I left a regional for a larger airline I made $200k. Some regional captains can’t even do that.
Cdraw51@reddit (OP)
You at Republic?
Yesthisisme50@reddit
No. That’s why I made $200k
Cdraw51@reddit (OP)
You don't think Republic Captains can make $200,000?
Yesthisisme50@reddit
Not as easily. Plus that would take someone being at Republic for a while. I made that as a year one FO.
Cdraw51@reddit (OP)
The point I'm getting at and which seems to be eluding you is that I'm asking people who fly at Republic Airways for a career what their experience has been. Never suggested that I wanted to make it my home, in another comment thread here I said I do plan on heading to the legacies after "doing my time" as it were. Edited my post to make that abundantly clear because I don't want more people getting hung up on point 3 and ignoring my other two questions.
Yesthisisme50@reddit
Geez. You’re this caught up on Republic and don’t even have a CJO lol.
Good luck dude, you’re definitely the regional lifer type
Cdraw51@reddit (OP)
Oh don't be like that man, I was just asking a question. You seemed to take some severe umbrage to that question, that ain't my problem.
Yesthisisme50@reddit
The point I’m getting at and which seems to be eluding you is that Republic is the best airline in the world and I can’t see any reason as to why someone would leave
Cdraw51@reddit (OP)
Lol you were upset well before that comment
Yesthisisme50@reddit
Why would I be upset not working at Republic?
Cdraw51@reddit (OP)
Idk bro, you set the tone here, not me. It's a mystery to me why you got annoyed
Yesthisisme50@reddit
How’d I set the tone? You asked about Republic, everyone else in the comments are saying don’t go there and if you do don’t stay but you’re mad a 30 year old Republic lifer hasn’t chimed in? They’re probably busy flying into Indy right now and will be for the next 6 days and then too tired to even reply
Cdraw51@reddit (OP)
Don't recall anyone else saying don't go there, they're saying don't make a career out of it, which I agree with. I'm just curious to see what all the perspectives are, even the unpopular ones. I already know everyone's opinions on regional lifers, believe me. Just wanted to see if any would be brave enough to chime in.
Dependent-Place-4795@reddit
They make 200k after 10 years lol
Cdraw51@reddit (OP)
Gotcha. Did you work at Republic by chance?
Dependent-Place-4795@reddit
No but their pay is public information
Cdraw51@reddit (OP)
I think you're getting hung up on the pay thing, which I acknowledged in my post doesn't really compare to the legacies. I also want to clarify that I do not plan at staying at Republic or any regional as a career. I just wanted to get ALL the points of view. Figured it couldn't hurt.
TraxenT-TR@reddit
All regionals are created equal. Equally shit.
There is ZERO reason to stay unless you are < 5 years out from retirement and it is your first gig.
Don't be a lifer, you get out as soon as you can and then you'll come back to this post and thank all of us for telling you to leave.
Cdraw51@reddit (OP)
Gotcha. And no I do not intend to stop at any regional. Just trying to get all the perspectives, even the unpopular ones.
OutOfBase@reddit
Let's see how you feel after working at Republic for 7 years and then hearing about how all your buddies have it at their legacy airline.
Wrongful-Lump@reddit
buddy, this guy has almost no prayers chance of making a legacy. That ship sailed last year for those of us not military or flow. Yeah a few out of 5000+ applicants per airline will get picked but then you're sitting at the bottom of the list for 10 years minimum and likely looking at 20 year upgrades..just to sit reserve in NYC on the 737...
Don't talk down to people shifting their career expectations just because you got lucky while the others didn't.
OutOfBase@reddit
You're just the guy who makes his weekly post whining about "missing the hiring wave." No one here cares what you think.
Wrongful-Lump@reddit
Great, you've done absolutely nothing to address my point, if anything you've just added to it.
OutOfBase@reddit
I spent 13 years flying freight with no union, then the regionals with no union (at $21/hour), no part 117, then downsizing, furloughed 3 times, mergers, struggled for years to make ends meet, commuted across the country. Finally got called to a legacy after 13 years of that.
What's been your trials and tribulations? Hired by an ACMI carrier to fly widebody airplanes with no jet time? Been doing it for maybe a year and already complaining about how hard you have it?
Wrongful-Lump@reddit
nope.. Just pointing out that even with those 13 years of suck, you will make millions more than tens of thousands of your peers coming up behind you to no fault of their own besides bad timing. The career expectations of those behind you is NOTHING like those of the folks hired in the last 8 years at the big 3 (really the big 2).
OutOfBase@reddit
You have to climb the ladder just like the rest of us buddy. I have zero sympathy for you.
Cdraw51@reddit (OP)
Duly noted. But as I'm sure you know, not all regionals are created equal. How's Republic as a career specifically? Like I said in my post, I recognize you get paid less and have more legs in a day vs. the mainline guys, I was just curious to see if any Republic lifers would turn up and see what they have to say.
OutOfBase@reddit
Are you even listening to yourself? You want to work more for less pay?
Tricky-Age4711@reddit
For some people, starting over at the bottom of the seniority list is enough of a hit that they just don't ever do it.
OutOfBase@reddit
Being the most junior pilot at a legacy airline is better than being the most senior pilot at a regional airline.
Cdraw51@reddit (OP)
Read my edit.
PLIKITYPLAK@reddit
Constantly changes
Constantly changes
Yes, many career pilots at Republic and they are one of the few regionals with a 20 year pay scale.
Cdraw51@reddit (OP)
Appreciate it
rFlyingTower@reddit
This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:
Hello, just thought I'd ask some Republic guys some questions about the airline.
Disclaimer, I fully realize that there are a million posts like mine asking about Republic. I'm not asking about the timeline from interview to class date, I recognize that could take a year or maybe even two years. I'm not a cadet, and understand that cadets usually get priority. I am 27 years old, have an unrestricted ATP, have roughly 2,300 hours total time, 793 multi engine, 775 of that is turbine (with 90 of that being turbine PIC), and 960 cross country. I plan on submitting an application very soon.
So my questions are as follows:
Assuming I get hired, get a class date and all that, what are the base assignments looking like right now? Are people getting what they bid, or is Republic sending them where they're needed? If you weren't to get what you bid right off the bat, how long before you could? For reference my top bid would be CMH, since I currently live near Columbus. And yes I'm aware that this could/will change by the time I'm sitting in indoc. Just was generally curious.
How long are people usually on reserve, before being able to hold a line? The answers I've seen have either been outdated or wildly contradictory, which probably should tell me there's not necessarily a uniform answer to that question. Still, if you guys have heard/experienced differently, I'd appreciate feedback.
Anybody make a career at Republic specifically? I know there's posts about careers at regionals in general, but nothing just for Republic. Yes I'm aware you can make a lot more at the Legacies and that you "work a lot less," but I still wanted to see what people say about Republic as a career.
Thanks in advance, appreciate you bearing with me.
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