Originally Posted by 2GoodEngines

Hey everyone – I’m posting this in a couple of different forums so that I can hopefully get input from a good cross section of the community.

I’m 47 years old. Currently flying light jets and turboprops PIC part 91 and 135. I have an ATP, 3540 TT, 2250 Multi, 1860 total turbine (1300 jet), 880 PIC turbine (690 jet). All the turbine time is in light jets (Citations & Lears) and King Airs. Clean record, no restrictions, etc. etc. Based on the state of the industry (particularly the airline industry), I’m seriously considering the jump over to 121. I know there are pros and cons to both and those have been debated ad nauseum. What I’m trying to get a feel for is whether my times, type of experience (91/135), age, etc. make me anywhere near competitive for any of the majors (including the ULCC’s, particularly Spirit). I meet the minimums for all of them, but I know I’d likely be at the bottom of the stack at American, Southwest, etc. But, is direct to somewhere like Spirit a realistic goal right now? I know the 121’s prefer 121 experience (i.e. Regional), but I feel like I might be right on the edge of being attractive to those guys with my current times. I have NOT put in any applications at this point, because I’m trying to decide how best to focus my efforts and how I need to set my expectations. I know everyone says “apply when you have the minimums”, and I’ll certainly do that when/if I decide to pull the trigger, but I’m wondering if I’d be fooling myself trying to break in to a major without any previous 121 time. Worst case, I suspect (based on everything I’ve seen/read/heard) that I could do 2 or 3 years at a regional and be a pretty good candidate (on paper at least) for pretty much all the majors. That would still give me almost 15 years flying with the big boys.

I know there are posts that address this issue at least tangentially, but I decided (hopefully not in error) to make a post with my specific numbers and situation. Just looking to get feedback or possibly experiences from those who have been in the middle of this for a while or that may have taken a similar path. Thanks for any and all input and advice, and best of luck to everyone with getting where you want to go!