resume airline pilot career after 5 yrs off.
 

Hey all, I have a buddy who is a former 767/737/A320 captain at an airline that went under. She hasn’t flown a plane in 5 years and life has presented an opportunity to resume her flying career. She has 13 year until retirement age.

How does somebody go about doing this? Most airlines want us to have around 200 hours in the previous 12 months (I think). Any insight from someone who has does this would be appreciated. Or if anyone just happens to know what the deal is; I don’t know what airlines want for recent experience to be looked at seriously. Thanks gang.

My buddy just did this. Go to a regional, get current, then the big boys will call in accordance with her previous experience. Look at their web pages for specific requirements, they have evolved over recent years (mainly to give senior mil officers credit for flight time prior to their final 2-3 year staff tour).

My friend did absolutely nothing to get current/proficient before he showed up for regional class, they told him not to bother. I'd assume majors want you to have whatever they specify in recent turbine experience, they are not that desperate yet.

If she doesn't want to deal with regional BS, 135/91 (turbine) would do the trick too if she can find a convenient gig. Would normally take longer to get current than regionals, but many of the regionals are backed up and have long training delays right now.

She could also do DEC if she wants more $, but that's a scramble and has QOL ramifications being stuck at the bottom of the list in base for a while. That's what my buddy did... he needed the money, but got more than he bargained for when they doubled the pay rates lol. He also needed the PIC time since he had never upgraded in his previous 121 life.

Most regionals grant you longevity credit for pay (and vacay, 401k?) for previous 121 experience, up to 10 years. So if you had 15 years at the previous 121 gig, you would start at year 10 pay. My buddy had a decent white-collar gig, but the longevity credit and recent regional pay raises has him making more than he did at the office job... he was expecting a pay cut, but market forces worked in his favor.

Some regionals are prioritizing CA over FO for training slots, IOE, etc so that might another reason to do DEC.

Mesa will hire them in a second. Good pay. No hooks. No training contract. Come get current. Build some time. Move on.

Most of the regionals have starting pay in line with legacies now. Have her go to one and get current and go from there.

thanks for the very helpful post! That’s very promising news! I’ll let her know what you said. Cheers.

thanks for the info! That’s a great idea. Cheers.

thank you sir! I appreciate the info.

I came back. I hadn’t flown in 6 plus years and came back in 2014 in my late 40s. Legacy for 1 year (furloughed). and a bunch of 121 and 6 types. I got a medical and hit send on airline apps and had 3 regional interview calls in the next few days. Went to Compass for less than 9
months including new hire training and got a new type rating. I’m an A320 CA now at an ULCC and might move on for my last 10 years . I’m single / divorced with no kids. So it is a lot easier in that aspect. I’ll make close to 300 K this year including DC .

What about 10 years plus?
 

I’m in the same boat, but when I retire from the AF in 2024 it’ll be 11 years since I last flew in 2013. I’ve got ~3000 hours (C-17) and plan to get back up to speed with a civilian flight instructor in the next few months. My plan is to try to do an internship with somebody like NetJets or WheelsUp in the last six months of active duty, to get ATP and some hours, but haven’t contacted them yet to see if they’re interested. Would that be an ok way to get recency? Any hope of getting picked up by a legacy carrier right away after retirement? I’m having a heck of a time determining how much the pilot shortage balances out my ten years out of the cockpit.

10+ years non current? You probably don’t want to go to a legacy directly without some sort of re constituting your aviation baseline. Not that you aren’t capable, but you’ll be better off in a training program that’s used to working with someone with limited experience and getting them upto speed on 121 ops and flying a jet etc. some of it will come back as you go through ATP-CTP and a type rating course. Lots will come back during your first couple hundred hours on the line and regionals are more accustomed to individuals who don’t always fit into a dozen sim footprint and 25hrs of OE.