Originally Posted by
Fly Navy
Unless, of course, the new FAA mandated hiring mins (1500 TT) and the upcoming age 65 retirements will drive FO pay at the regionals way up.
Also, if I was hired by say, the new American, I wonder roughly how long I could expect before upgrading to captain. With a 25 year flying career before turning 65, I wonder how much of that I could reasonably expect to be sitting in the left seat.
Thank you in advance for the helpful replies!
Labor supply and demand will affect wages to an extent, but that doesn't happen quickly. As noted, there really isn't a shortage of qualified pilots, it's really more of a shortage of pilots willing to work for crap wages. It will be interesting to see the industry answer to that problem. A $6,000 (taxable) signing bonus is as good as it gets right now, hardly the stuff dreams are made of.
Your bigger problem is that you're not currently qualified. You'll need an ATP-Airplane rating with more than 125 hours fixed wing to get an interview anywhere.