Originally Posted by
CFI 1981
Guys,
A few questions, would appreciate your opinions.
I am a CFI close to ATP mins thinking of applying to the regionals. When a new hire finally gets a line, could you change around trips to maybe have 6 or 7 days ON in a row in order to get four or five days OFF in a row during the month?
Since hiring picked up, how long are new hires on reserve these days before they get a line? Looking especially at Compass, Commutair, Skywest and PSA.
Have there been many CFIs getting on with Compass, even though their preferred minimums ask for Part 121 and FMS time?
Have there been many regional F/Os (t-prop or jet) that have moved on and been hired by the nationals and majors, or do they still hire regional captains only?
This is a bit of a loaded question, because every airline does things slightly differently. Also, if a company has a senior base somewhere, reserve there may run years, but with all of the hiring, most new-hire FO's will not be on reserve too terribly long.
As for a string of days off or days on, once you learn to work the system, you can make this happen. The most effective method varies, but usually means backing up days off at the end of one month with days off at the beginning of another.
As for getting on with a national or a major, Allegiant, Spirit and JB have hired a lot of FO's with no TPIC time, but understand that the reason they do that is that they pretty much own you. You aren't getting hired at a legacy/SWA without it, so if you get to one of the above named and hate it, you may be stuck. The only exception is if you can get hired by one of the ACMI cargo carriers (Atlas, Southern) flying heavies. The international time
can, but won't
always, make up for the TPIC time. I can vouch for this, having seen a few in these circumstances make it to UA and DL.
If you want to move on quickly, skip SkyWest, as the upgrade time there is much longer than others.