Omega 3

I am currently flying as an expat in the Middle East and considering if I should try my luck at the US market. The wife is American and wants to go back home. The problem is, even though I have about 8000hs of heavy airline time, international experience, etc, I have little PIC (600hs) and zero TPIC time. I do have a 4 yr degree. What are my odds at the 121 world with those qualifications? Any chance at the legacies?

With two kids, it becomes a little bit challenging to go to a regional as a FO (don’t qualify for regional DEC as my hours don’t count for the 1000hs FAR 121 time). I am still deciding if I should invest the money and time for the ATP-CTP for FAA license conversion depending on my chances of getting hired.

Cheers.

TiredSoul

At a regional you’ll fly 1000 hrs SIC in a year and a half.
So that’s your upgrade time.
Pick the regional with the highest bonus and fly your ass off.
As soon as you’re passed 500 hrs SIC start applying at the usual suspects.
I personally know two pilots at United that never had TPIC.
Both from regional FO > Major.

By the way if you’re making big cash in the ME you should have $50k-$60k stashed away exactly for this reason.
If you don’t you’ve got bigger problems.

Oh and tell your kids to suck it up.
It’s called growing up.

sailingfun

I think you have a decent chance of going straight to a major. The only way you will know is to apply.

123494

I just flew with a CA at my regional who came from a Middle Eastern carrier. Similar stats as you, but he had the SIC time and got hired on as a DEC. He was surprised that he hadn't gotten a call from a major with his experience, but I guess it's not a shoe in. If you can't get on with a major right away, it may only take you a year or so at a regional to get the time to upgrade. Combine that with a hefty signing bonus and it's not too bad.

Otterbox

There are FOs with 0TPIC who get hired by legacies but they’re unicorns. Lack of 121 time will probably hold you back.

DEC programs look great in year one, then the bonuses go away and you take a 50% pay cut in year two at regionals that have them. Look at the better paying regionals like Endeavor, Republic and now Skywest and pay over the first 3 years (1 year FO 2+3 as CA) pretty much matches or surpasses regionals with a DEC program over the same period time as DECs hang out on perpetual reserve.

Learflyer

To contradict the above post, plenty of FO's have been hired at the majors with no TPIC, nor did they have any 121 time whatsoever. No. Not unicorns at all.

rickair7777

Depends on what you mean by "major". Lower tier, yes, plenty getting called and that's probably going to continue.

For the big-six it is a unicorn thing and I don't think FDX/UPS/AA do it at all, my buddies in the know cannot figure out what the formula is, we have come to suspect that it's a lottery, they just randomly select a tiny handful of very young, very inexperienced pilots to help keep the enthusiasm up at the entry-level. Word spreads like wildfire, and pilot's pathological optimism will do the rest. Also possible they are trying to spread out the age demographic to minimize additional retirements over the next 15 years, and prevent another big retirement wave in 25 years.

The expats in my legacy class were all dual citizens and all had overseas CA experience. My Navy bros who went overseas are all coming back now, but they are mostly having to do a T&G at a regional first.

EMBskillz

What legacy is that bro? U been saying u were going to stay at skywest right?

rickair7777

When did I say I was staying at SKW? That was hopefully an option years ago, but ended not being the best option.

zondaracer

I know three people who went to UA with 0 TPIC in the last year. Two of them had family members working there and the other one was a DPE. No, not all of them were female. All three had spent less than 3 years at a regional and one had some time at an LCC.