Want to come back
 

Hi all!

I flew for Eagle in the early 2000's and left when a captain that had been there for 14 years got displaced back to FO. Felt the outlook wasn't that great. I went to the FAA and have been there since. Got to watch my kids grow up and now that they are out of the house I'm curious about coming back to industry. When I left all that was required was a commercial so I need to get the ATP. I have 737ng, EMB and SAAB 340 ratings. I plan on trying to get with a school and instruct a bit to get back up to speed and then start applying.

How's the movement right now, I hear about people getting to the majors a lot quicker. Also I'm currently sititng at about 130K a year would that be easy to get back too or surpass in the next couple of years?

Thanks in advance to anyone who replies.

Where do you live? Try to find a major with a base close by and apply now, you might be surprised.

The movement in the industry is the polar opposite of the early 2000s. $130k would be easily attainable if not immediately then definitely by yr 2 at most majors:

https://www.airlinepilotcareers.com/major-airlines

If you get on with a major/legacy you’ll make more than your current job in your 2nd yr.

i would say, start working towards recency, because I believe we are at the middl/end of this big hiring wave.

good luck! We need experience pilots everywhere.

there’s no coming back from the dark side.

Thank you all for the replies. I live in FL in the Tampa area so I can get to Houston, DFW, Atlanta and most of the East coast pretty easily. I'm starting to go back through notes and books to get back up to speed and try to find a local school to work on some currency and proficency.

First step is getting the medical taken care of after the holidays and then getting back up to speed. Overall from what I've read on here I would hope I can be somewhere by this time next year.


Oh and its true there is no escaping the darkside, it sucks the soul outta ya >:)

With multiple types and thousands of hours of jet 121, your only hangup is currency/recency (and as you say ATP for most majors).

Currency is easy, for recency you'll need to check out major websites to see what they're looking for and also probably check out the forums to see what's really happening in the trenches. I don't know if CFI or part 91 ASEL GA recency will get you called by a legacy. In these crazy times it's certainly possible but you'll want to try to get some intel on that. You might need some recent turbine or piston 135 time.

Regionals would have you as a DEC in a heartbeat, and pay $200K-ish plus bonuses (you'll get pay longevity credit for typically ten years of your prior 121 experience). They'll also give you the ATP training in the process. DEC is pretty sporting if you're not current, whether that's a good idea depends on your self-assessment of your own flying/training ability. If you did the DEC process you could then apply to majors immediately with wet ink on the ATP, although legacies are metering hires from their own regionals. You could go back to an AA regional, and then apply to other legacies though, they're more than happy to poach from each other's regionals.

Figure out how much and what kind of recency you need for legacies, then decide if you're better off chasing that on your own (and paying for ATP), vs. going to a regional.

Last advice, find an airline where you can drive to work. Allegiant has bases in PIE which would be a really nice quality of life since they do mostly day trips. Breeze and Frontier have a TPA base as well. Avelo, JetBlue, Spirit, Southwest, and United all have MCO bases.

If that doesn't scare you then, what will? A captain of an airliner, lacking recency, (and not just recent recency, but a long time not having flown) as not only the PIC but also a mentor to a 1500 (recent) CFI, both figuring it out while flying into ORD on a cold, dark night. What could go wrong with this picture?

More than a few folks doing it, so it can be done.

I would advise caution, if you're not a strong pilot with a strong training record then not a good idea.

I agree and I have no interest in DEC. I’ve been looking more and more at trying to start off with a regional. From what I have found so far I think that would get me the ATP and recency I need. I’m a bit of an odd ball in that I’m not worried about how quick I can make left seat.

I remember a few FO’s at eagle that had high seniority and great QOL over going left seat. Getting to look out the window from 30k+ and making more than I am now at the agency will be enough to put a smile on my face.


Thanks again for the replies, you all have been very helpful.