Originally Posted by
Jhsouders
Got it. So it sounds like regionals are most likely the better bet. The 135 gig I was looking at was a 7 on 7 off flying citations around the country. The schedule sounds workable, but like you said there can be a bunch of random and unfortunate caveats that make the job undesirable over just showing up and flying at a regional.
Again, the devil is in the details but it's generally true that the best jobs go to somebody's best buddy.
Originally Posted by
Jhsouders
I will only have around 100 TPIC time from the military. Will that be looked down upon? While working as a FO at a regional, will "time at the controls" qualify as PIC time should I want to upgrade to the Majors?
100 TPIC is a bit low from the mil but in this climate I think they'd call it good enough (assuming your record is good). They do hire a few regional SICs with zero TPIC, and you're head and shoulders above that.
For airline (and most civilian employer) purposes TPIC means only the time that you signed for the airplane. Even CA IOE is still SIC since the LCA is the PIC. Do not muddy your TPIC waters with "sole manipulator" time. I know we logged sole man PIC in general aviation and that's OK, they're used to seeing it but not for TPIC.
Originally Posted by
Jhsouders
Any concerns with picking a certain regional carrier if you have a specific Major in mind? It seems like with the hiring these days, it wouldn't make sense to sit the 5+ years at a regional until you get flowed to the Major they have a deal with. I would like to pick a regional that has the best chance of giving me a close domicile, then move to the domicile I get slotted for at a major. Coming out of the military I would like to reduce the number of moves where possible.
With mil wings you're not going to need flow, unless maybe you had some really bad adverse event and thrown out of the mil early. You probably don't even need flow for a DUI right now, if it was in the distant past.
I would focus on junior domiciles like you say. But consider that some of the smaller regionals might shut down in the near/mid-term due to pilot shortage. Especially if they operate only 50-seaters. If it were me I'd probably stick with a bigger one. Or a wholly owned... if they shut down the wholly-owned regionals, they'd probably just flow all the pilots as quickly as they can train them.
Originally Posted by
Jhsouders
Upgrade to a regional Captain or upgrade to a Major legacy? What requirements would there be for each?
Legally both are the same: Unrestricted ATP + 1000 hours 121 SIC. Certain 135 PIC time can count, and certain mil time can also count for partial credit, but I'm not sure where the plopter fits into that, look at 121.436. IIRC plopter is not an "airplane".
For regionals right now, you should be able to upgrade as soon as you meet the regulatory mins, although it might or might not be in your preferred base.
For majors, it totally depends on growth/retirements... for the big three it's going to be very quick, ie as low as one year. Maybe even less if the airline allows probationary pilots to upgrade... UAL does not, but DAL does IIRC. ULCC's probably 3-5 years? AS and SW probably ten+ years.