Originally Posted by
DocVoliday
Legacies still want TPIC (yes, there are always 1 or 2 in each class who are hired at the big three with 0TPIC and it’s no longer “required”). But, as a whole, that’s how you’re getting hired there.
The above statement is completely incorrect.
I know because I have 0 TPIC and recently interviewed at a legacy airline.
Prior to the actual interviews, a captain in the recruiting department welcomed us and had us all introduce ourselves to the group. Many of us were FOs from Spirit, Frontier, or JetBlue, and most of the others were currently at regionals (either captain or FO). By my estimate, between 1/3 and 1/2 of the group had 0 TPIC.
Originally Posted by
DocVoliday
Coming to JB with the sole intent of using it to leave without already having TPIC time is not the recipe for moving on to a legacy from here.
Actually, it is a perfectly good recipe for getting to the legacy airline. I know this because it worked for me.
At 1000 hours at my regional, I had the chance to upgrade… and also received a CJO from JetBlue around the same time. I had to choose which would likely get me to a legacy faster - getting TPIC at a regional, or SIC at JetBlue. I chose to move to JetBlue, and had a CJO from a legacy five months later.
The main reasons for my choice were:
1. If the music stops (industry downturn), and I don’t get to a legacy at all, I would rather be stuck at JetBlue than at a regional. Regionals, after all, can be shut down (or close bases) at any time. JetBlue is independent, financially healthy, and will soon be the fifth largest airline in the country.
Wall Street Journal video on Spirit acquisition
2. If I stayed at my wholly-owned regional, I was effectively ineligible for hire at the legacy that owned that regional - they aren’t hiring any captains from their own regional other than by flow. Due to my location, there were only 3 legacy airlines I was applying to,. And I did not want to disqualify myself from one of the three. Leaving the regional was the only way to be eligible for an interview at all three.
(Staying in hopes of using the flow would have required me to stay at the regional for another two years at least. I wasn’t willing to wait that long.)
3. Legacies love to hire pilots away from their competitors: JetBlue, Frontier, and the like. These are, after all, pilots who have passed TWO interviews, TWO background checks, TWO indoc and systems courses, and TWO type rating checkrides! What is the likelihood that they will have trouble getting through AA/DL/UA training?
4. First year pay at JetBlue was no improvement over the pay I’d get for upgrading, but second year FO pay was better than I would make as a regional CA. (This is no longer the case - the regionals all doubled their pay rates since I moved. But I expect JetBlue will soon announce new pay rates that will put them back above regional captain pay.)
My experience is no guarantee. But I’m not the first person in my JetBlue class to get a legacy CJO after arriving.