Thanks for all the replies guys...yea this was what I was kinda worried about which prompted me to post this. The lack of 121 time. What exactly would they deem subpar training? Personally, I've been trained with all initials and recurrents for types at FSI or CAE. I wouldn't be opposed to the LCC's either for some 121 exp.

 

Avoid the regionals. You could be stuck in regional HE double chopsticks for a lot longer then you planned.

 

When I heard this in indoc I thought it was sort of strange too. FSI does a good job, the others too. I think it had as much or more to do with how professionally the flight departments do their business and what habits their pilots bring. Some are great, some are very sloppy, reference the G-IV that crashed on takeoff at KBED. That accident report shows a pattern of bad ops that ended up killing 7 people.

Apply far and wide, take the best offer and keep your app updated at your target company. You have the experience for sure. You might need some 121 time for the majors. If not, and they call, great, but be willing to try regional and/or LCC.

A buddy of mine, retired military but similar hours and 5 years non-flying, interviewed and got offers with ExpressJet and Skywest within 2 or 3 weeks after applying. He went to ExpressJet and before he finished his first year he interviewed with and was hired by JetBlue and got a Delta interview offer.

 

How old are you?
Married? Kids?
When's the last time you went through a new training cycle, like a new a/c or upgrade?

Spoke with a 7000+ TT guy recently. Single. Young (32?). Coming up in 2000 TPIC and 1000 hrs as CKA. All on one type. IMO once he hits those numbers he might as well take any large jet, especially a heavy international jet or LCC job, to pass a new training course, get another type, and broaden his experience.

Sometimes there's a value to staying and sometimes there's value in leaving for pastures of a similar shade of green.

 

38 years old. Married with 2 kids. The last training event for a new a/c that I did was in 2009. Current type that I'm in now(G-V).

 

I think a short stint at any 121 outfit and you should be golden! Although, there is a possibility of being picked up without it. No just never know these days.

A friend of mine was flying a G-650/GV/GIV for 13 years and left to fly for a LCC to get that 121 box checked, even though he was a former 121 Capt 15 years ago. It's been about a year, took the 150K/yr+ pay cut, still waiting.

 

Kids, and marriage, make the ability to pursue the job market harder. So all decisions include factoring the impact on others vs. just yourself. Hopefully your wife is fabulously wealthy and the financial impact is meaningless.

You're below the industry average for civilian new hires. I posted some data earlier today on the average flight hour poll thread. It's roughly 7700 TT/4100 PIC for DL.

Airlines value 121 experience, large organization experience (enforced standardization?), diversity of experience (lack of movement can be a negative), etc.

Airlines have made various comments about some of their hiring -

96% of their civilian hires had 121 experience (is that greater or less than the percentage of 121 applicants? If it's greater it shows a desire to hire 121 guys)

85% were RJ pilots. 15% 'other'. Corporate, sup 121, ACMI 121, etc. Again what percentage of the applicants are RJ/121 vs 'other'?

1000 TPIC = "highly qualified".


How long would it take to get to 7700 TT/4100 PIC at your current job? What if you went the RJ/121 route? I tell guys to write their next five annual resumes if they stay or choose another job. Sometimes the answer becomes more obvious. But that takes a certain amount of estimating when you think you'd be in the sweet spot for hiring. Does five more years of G-V flying materially improve your resume? Does five years of RJ flying look better? But what if you can achieve 7700/4100 in two years? What if it takes 3 years? Four? Five? What's the financial impact?

I'd look at the 'who got hired' thread and write down the data from the guys who got hired, especially the corporate guys. Do you exceed, or lag, their resumes? What about the average guy? Bottom 25%?

The path isn't easy or always obvious. Good luck.