Originally Posted by
tnkrdrvr
You will almost certainly have to spend a year or two at a regional building experience. However, I would absolutely apply now for where you want to wind up. You might get lucky with the hiring currently happening.
+1. Delta just eliminated the degree requirement and Frontier just hired its first pure RW aviator ("pure RW" as in he went from army helicopters straight to Frontier, had the requisite FW time from GA aircraft but skipped the regionals). United is offering the 777/787 for newhires at EWR/SFO, who can also go to almost any base for NB, and UA NB upgrades are less than 2 years. Times they are a changing. This is the best hiring environment I've seen in my entire career.