Originally Posted by
BlueHarper
Ok, thank you for the clarification, so this just means a pilot who's built their experience in Europe cannot upgrade to captain until they fly 1000 hours in the US with a part 121 carrier, right?
Which I guess is a requirement at most regionals anyway and will never happen at any of the majors. I just want to make sure if I commit and pay $13k to convert my licence and 737 rating, I won't be caught out by any technicalities.
That's correct. You need 1000 hours 121 SIC ("121" means strictly US carrier) in order to serve as PIC. You can also qualify with specific types of US military or 135 time.
But I wouldn't say it won't happen at the majors... several legacies have unfilled CA slots and several have awarded CA assignments after less than one year on property. Not the norm, but it's happening right now. But they do not require that you be upgrade eligible to get hired, that would rule out many military pilots.