My final destination is Asia and I would like to bypass regionals in the US if I could. I am a US citizen originally from Nepal so I would like to be based pretty much anywhere in Asia but India or China would be close and great for me regarding commute. For the first couple of years of my aviation career I will be able to survive on $2k to 3k per month salary. I have some inheritance, other nominal source of income and savings from my current job will provide some cushion for the starting years. Would you suggest building some time at regionals in the US and taking shot at Asian airlines or jumping to any Asian gig after my training here in the US?
This may not be what you want to hear, but it needs to be said.
I understand the concept of not wanting to get stuck at a regional, but regionals serve a good purpose. That purpose is to teach you how to work in an airliner as a crew member. They provide structure and discipline to your flying. It is valuable experience that will serve you well as your career moves forward.
Some regionals have higher standards than others (others on the board can chime in who they think is best, in my day it was WestAir/Atlantic Coast). Those would be the ones to target as a first choice to get hired by. Spend a year or two there and learn how to be an airline pilot. Then go in the direction you want.
The flipside is that you get extremely lucky, or spend a lot of money, and start at an Asian carrier as a 737NG/A320 F.O. with zero time. Depending which one they might be terribly unsafe operators. Without any experience you won't know whether it is safe or not, you just go with the flow. Basically this becomes your baseline for airline operations. You get experience there then try to move on, but you keep failing interviews. You have no idea why, but all the people who are interviewing you clearly see that you never learned how to be a safe and competent airline pilot.
By going to a U.S regional with high standards your baseline for being an airline pilot is set very high. When you go to the Asian carrier you can plainly see how dangerous they operate ( and some still do, believe me ). You still go with the flow to a certain extent, but you know enough to keep the captain from killing you as you gain your experience for the next step. When you interview for that next step you are successful because you know how to show an interviewer that you are a safe and competent pilot.
It's not impossible to get hired by Asian carriers with low time, but it is difficult. Then you need to think about upgrade. There are not many Asian carriers that upgrade expat F.O.s Realistically only the Japanese contract jobs, Cathay/Dragonair, and the Middle East carriers will do upgrades. They can occur at other places, but take a long time. The Singapore LCCs might do upgrades.
You'll need to use some Asian carriers as stepping stones to others. Take the one that hires you as a 0 time F.O., but doesn't upgrade. Build time there then move to the one that hires experienced F.O.s and does upgrade.
Forget about commuting to Nepal. There is no way that is going to happen in the first part of your career. Only when you are a captain, and only if you are willing to make sacrifices, will commuting be an option.
.....The more I think about it, the more the Japanese jobs seem like they might fit your desires. Talk to The Dominican, he's got the scoop there. Oh, and to be successful at the Japanese jobs you need to be extremely disciplined.
Typhoonpilot