Originally Posted by
AlphaTexan31
Along that same logic, two years at AMF and two years at an LCC will get you to the same place. As stated before, if there are half a dozen ways to end up at the same end goal, it all comes down to lifestyle choices. Whichever path is going to allow you to most enjoy going to work every day is the path you should choose.
Well, that's a big hypothetical. Nobody should argue the fact that 121 flying is the most relevant flying to 121. And 121 PIC is the pinnacle of logbook time if your goal is a top tier employer. Nobody should even remotely begin to argue that, it is fact, and it is statistically proven if you look at hiring metrics.
With that being said, why not go get a seniority number sooner at a 121 which brings you that much closer to 121 PIC? Nobody at AMF is going from AMF to LCC right now. Hell just to have Omni look at you at AMF isn't it 3 years of employment? Same with Allegiant. Will that change? Maybe. If you want to cover your bases, by all means go get some 135 turbine PIC time flying old airplanes. It's an experience I'm glad I have done, I don't EVER want to do it again because of the lifestyle and a multitude of other issues. But if that's your jam, go for it. If your eye is on a 121 major airline, you are shorting yourself in the foot by going 135 freight. Sure you can check the 1,000TPIC box a little more quickly, but that won't mean much. The only prior AMF pilot I know at SWA was a guy who was unjustly fired from AMF in 2001, went to ExpressJet, and left last month for class.
There are a bunch of ways to skin a cat, and some avenues take longer than others. But the selling of 135 turbine pic time because it's super valuable and hard to come by is pretty disingenuous. One should also consider the QOL while you're gaining this time and experience. For me, AMF was a slave ship and horrendously fatiguing. For others, having to commute for a regional might be pure misery. AMF is stuck in the 1990s in lots of ways, not the least of which is selling the line that 1,000 TPIC is the benchmark to which everyone measures.