Originally Posted by
atpmax
So the original question was not a statement of dissatisfaction with the industry but a legit question to help make the best career choice. Not all airlines are the same, so the question is put out for an insider's perspective from those of you currently flying for 121 carriers of all types on where a newly minted 1500hr ATP can get hired and best be able to fly and build time and experience other than sitting on reserve gaining nothing but pay. I would happily earn less to sign up with the best carrier (121 or 135) to gain the most flight time and best overall experience to help my career progress. QOL does not always mean time on the couch at home. I have plenty of time later to get jaded, disgruntled and angry and sit on the couch at home.
Most of us are performing the same evaluation, to find a place they can get hired that gives them the best total chance of achieving their individual goals which differ for everyone. There are a number of variables that have a different hierarchy of importance for each person. The whole point of APC is for each of us to be able to ask each other "what can you see from your perspective that I can't see from mine"?
If you have information on a carrier that fly's their pilot's more than average then that's what I (we) are looking for so we can consider them. If you know of a carrier that fly's significantly less than average then that is also useful information on who to avoid (unless your goal is more couch time). If all you can say is," you should just be grateful,and back in my day..." then thanks anyway and commentary not needed. Help a fellow pilot out with some useful information.
Any useful information is GREATLY appreciated.
many Thanks and much respect
If I were doing it all over again, I would have focused more on how cyclical the industry is. Right now, FO slots are few and far between. They are hiring waves of FOs in short bursts and if you're on the front of the wave, then great, you have good seniority and you fly. If you're at the back of the wave, you're a casualty of the Captain shortage and you are on reserve forever until you quit to go to Frontier with 150 hours to show for the last 6 months.
Why do you think new hire Republic FOs have been flying so much? Because Republic didnt hire from October 2022 until like May 2023 and the people you are hearing about who are flying 80 hours a month were people who went to class in May and finished IOE in August. Ill bet all those September 2022 hires who were the plug for 7 months would tell you a very different story about their time-building efforts.
That being said, I would look at the airlines that recently haven't run much of any classes. I don't keep super current on who that is, maybe Endeavor and CommuteAir, but I would say if you really want to build time fast in the era of CA-shortage regionals, you need to have as few new hire FOs senior to you as possible. If you hear people consistently saying "X regional sucks, they haven't been hiring because there's no flight time and all the FOs are quitting", put your app in to that one right away because soon enough, they are going to need to hire again and you'll be at the front of the wave.