I haven't talked to many of the new-hires that are in the training pipeline, but it seems that they are picking guys with many thousands of hours of jet experience.

The job market right now lends itself to a buyer's market to the point that even the RJ guys are hard-pressed to getting an interview call. And just two years ago, we hired many high-time (mostly Captains) pilots from the Regional carriers.

I hate to discourage you from applying, because nobody really knows the mix of candidates that are getting the calls...but my experience at Atlas tells me that the current hiring cycle is not conducive for anyone without many hours of jet, and mostly heavy jet experience (B757 and above).

And your friend at Southern Air likely had Herc time vs the smaller turbo-prop that the Regional airlines fly...

Good luck...FWIW.