I spent 21 of my 34 months at Colgan as a captain, meaning 121 PIC time. It's worked out very well for me. It was the 121 PIC experience and a good recommendation that landed me the interview. Everyone in my class was a former captain, either regional, military, or corporate (as was everyone in the two classes behind me, with one exception). When I hired with Colgan in 2004, they had the shortest upgrade time. I turned down both ExpressJet and SkyWest to go with them. I've never regretted that decision.

I can't tell you the number of captains here at CAL I've now flown with that have responded with a big smile when I tell them I was a former turboprop driver. You can watch them visibly relax and they usually start immediately talking about their days flying props for their ol' regional. It's been a good ice breaker.