Thread: Regional upgrade time
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Old 03-12-2007 | 12:00 PM
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Originally Posted by MTBrulz
Anyone care to comment on the current upgrade times for regional airlines?? Which one's fastest??


From the looks of it seems like you are left seat in a 135 operator. So you should be fairly familiar with the uncertainty of the aviation industry. Upgrade times can quickly change XJT was at 5+ years then for those hired around March/April of 2004 it dropped to 2 years, then for folks hired in June/ July 2004 its running about 18 months. At American Eagle the upgrade time is at 8 years or so, but with a few extra planes and maybe 10 AA pilots flowing back over the next year that may drop to a 4 Year upgrade for those hired in 2003 and maybe in the future will be a 2 year upgrade for those hired in late 2007.

The important thing may be to look at quality of pay/work rules/benefits at the airline you would like to work for. 1000 PIC turbine doesn’t mean you are getting hired at a Legacy anymore, any even more importantly, getting hired at a legacy is not the final stop anymore. The Avg Part121 captain now has about 4000 hours PIC because of Sept 11. So with 1000 Hrs you have to be very competitive in other areas to really match up. Maybe you are related to a pilot, have an internal recommendation, whatever the matter it should be known that airlines try to get the most experience pilots that are available in the market.

Back to your fast upgrade question, what are your goals? If you just want the 1000 PIC then you should just stay with the 135 job, if you want money, get hired with a well paying Part 121 like AWAC, XJT, etc...

The DC9 used to be a happy ending at a Major for a pilots career in many cases, pay was about 191/Hr in many cases but now that DC9 is called the CRJ900/1000 or EMB 175/190 in the haste to get to the big pay as pilots we may eliminate many of the well paying jobs out there.

The APC website shows most junior Captain hire dates and that would be your best bet at a guess to what the current outlook is. You might also look at the 10K reports and stock info for your favorite airlines to see if expansion is on the horizon.

Good Luck
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