Originally Posted by
Blackhawk
Same here. I know dozens of FO’s, no prior military, no prior 121 or TPIC hired at legacy carriers without a flow. All their PIC time was from GA piston airplanes.
I think it’s part of what killed ASA as it became very top heavy (expensive).
My buddies and I have concluded they do that by lottery, nobody is sure why (other than the obvious affirmative action picks). Possibly to smooth out their age demographics to prevent *another* retirement bubble in 20 years, possibly to leverage optimism among entry-level/ junior regional pilots... if one of them gets hired, they all think they'll be next.
For planning purposes, the only *predictable* way to get called is still to have a relatively clean record, a degree, multiple types, 5K+ hours w/ 2K+ TPIC, and usually something else on the resume that makes you interesting... masters, volunteer, check airman, etc, etc