Just had my phone interview this morning. I asked specifically about the contradiction from the recruiting board at WIA (no mass app window) and what she was telling me (mid to late April opening an app window). She stated that Alaska HR/Recruiting was under the impression that it would be a single app request sent out to individuals as they were being offered an interview. She further stated that this is the goal, but that they had not met the goal as of yet and probably would not meet the goal until late this year. And since AAG had turned over this process to them, it would be a window of opportunity (mass app window) mid to late April (2 months behind schedule given by AAG).

I would check the website given in the phone interview every few days beginning next week and see what happens.

So basically if you get tagged for an interview, you fill out another app.

Basically what you are saying is no one has a clue. Including Alaska. But hey, they want to sell me steak knives and a spot at Horizon.

Pretty much.

Seriously, though, people with times like yours tend to get pointed toward Horizon. And although I'm not sure that Horizon is the place to go necessarily, it probably is worth seriously considering one of the regionals. You should be able to get on with any of them tomorrow, and you'll get some of that much-vaunted 121 time that the major airlines all say you don't need, but always ask if you have any.

I agree with this. As much as anyone with your experience would like to bypass the regionals, you will likely need to check the 121 box. Horizon is one of the few regionals actually taking military pilots right now. Many wont even look at military because they don't want to invest the money since they leave to the majors too quickly. There have been a lot of 6 month to a year military guys at Horizon that have been hired by Alaska recently (although the pool wait sounds like its around 8 months or more, so you will still be at Horizon for at least a year). Might be something worth considering in the mean time.

Which regionals, specifically, "won't even look at military"?

I personally know military guys (both current pilots who've separated and non-current retirees getting back current) hired at Horizon, Compass, SkyWest, ExpressJet, and Republic just in the last 12 months.

I have not heard any regionals in the current hiring environment turning down qualified applicants because of the fear that they'll run off to an LCC/major/legacy in less than a year. The regionals I mention above all noted to the respective guys they hired that they are happy to get whatever time in the seat they can from guys coming out of the military. They know the deal, and they're willing to take the risk to fill FO seats with guys who are going to pass training and fly the line.

This is from a few of my military friends who said when they went to a job fairs that Horizon and Skywest were the only ones that would talk to them. They said the rest of the regionals told them they were 'over qualified'.

Most of the FO I fly with at TSA are military. Some are just getting current after retiring with the military. Others are getting their flight time in the part 121 world. While staying active reserve in the guard.

I have two interviews with majors. The 121 box is not a thing for us. Also I was specifically told by an Alaskan rep at NGPA that flying with Horizon will not help my resume.

So there again is the disconnect between Alaska and their outsourced recruiting people.