Skyone

I'm going to be a real downer here. As I have done some very limited recruiting, I would be somewhat skeptical at someone who had already resigned from a major 121 carrier in 2007. Would you do that to me in the future? But then again, what do you have to lose waiting for a FEDex, DAL, UAL, SWA or other major. Doubtfull you will resign your current gig for a "wait". But would certainly do the application process and see what bites. No harm there other than who you list as Personal Rec's. Your road is easier to get into the 121 game from corp. flying than the other way around.

gloopy

I don't think there is a recruiter anywhere in the industry, anywhere in the world, that would hold it against someone to resign their number when they were furloughed from USAir for almost a decade and their brief recall chance came with no bypass rights, things were still touch and go at the airline in question and they had a relatively good/stable gig at that time.

Non event. Guaranteed.

ZapBrannigan

Just want to thank everyone for the thoughtful additions to this thread. I have to admit that I almost just deleted it as soon as I hit "post". I figured, this is my decision and nobody else can make it. I'm glad I didn't delete it because I think some good points were made here that will be helpful if/when the time comes.

Skyone

Say what you will, but with thousands of applications pending, the perfect candidate can be found. In some ways , I agree with you, but knowing recruiters as I do, there are always prejudices out there....right or wrong. Just as there are prejudices towards airline types in the Corp. world. Right or wrong, reality bites sometimes.

gloopy

True about the prejudices, but like I said, I really can't see anyone holding it against resigning from USAir after they furloughed you for a decade and called you back to the bottom of the list at one of the worst pay/work rules of the majors, with no bypass rights and you resigned because you had a good job. It sounds like the OP has a pretty solid work history with a long period at his current employer. No one is going to label him a job hopper.

HercDriver130

Do it..... but live in base.....but you already knew that.

aa73

It's like playing the lotto amigo, you won't win if you don't play. Give it a shot and realize that you will ride a huge wave of retirements plus a positive outlook on legacy/major airline growth now that all consolidation has pretty much happened.

Network like your life depended on it. Here's a story... I wanted to get out of the regionals as fast as I could, so when I read that AA's VP of Flight back then (Cecil Ewell) welcomed folks who went out of their way to get creative, I dialed his office # at 6am and he actually answered. (Talk about tongue-tied...) Met him personally and we discussed my strong desire to get on with AA. Mind you, I was a 26yr old Jetstream 41 F/O with no ATP and no PIC Turbine, and yet that personal contact was enough to secure an interview. I was qualified in the total time sense (2800TT) but it was that networking that got me through the rest of it. It's still true to this day, (although I don't know if our current VP of Flight will have Cecil's method of hiring) but you get the picture - get yourself noticed!

Again, I (and most others who have responded) am basing this on the fact that your current position is not where you want to be and you are unable to find a better corporate position. Now, if you manage to land that dream corporate job that pays north of 100K and doesn't fly weekends/holidays with 20 days off (yes, the exist!), then I'm sure you'll probably re-consider your options.

Sliceback

"How would a 40+ year old corporate pilot (light/midsize jet) who hasn't flown 121 for 10+ years look when compared with a 25 year old RJ Captain, or military pilot?"

IMO you'd do just fine *IF* you have turbine PIC time. 500/1000?

As far as the answer to "why did you not accept the recall at US?" -
1. junior
2. economic uncertainity (market collapsed)
3. US just out of BK
4. uncertanity/unrest of AW/US seniority list


Getting hired today will hopefully be a different story. At AA it will probably be a 10 yr upgrade (+/-)(junior bases) and w/b CA 3-5 yrs later. That would leave you with 15 yrs as Captain and maybe 10 yrs as w/b Captain if you get hired at the start of the hiring cycle.

Retirement data is out there. Do some analysis on where the curve is in your favor.

Good luck.

Sink r8

Every time I was involved with corporate flying, I learned to hate that part of the industry more and more. So, I can't really be objective in helping you make a choice. However I have a couple comments about the part 121 side of the house.

We're all on the cusp of some extraordinary hiring. There are questions about getting enough qualified pilots, or even enough people that want to become qualified. In reality, anyone who right now is anywhere near an airplane in any kind of flying capacity, has a pretty good shot at a major airline job in the not-too-distant future. The real question isn't whether you might or might not be cooked recruited by a major; the question actually is what is your seniority going to be? Where will you fit in the hiring bubble? As you've already discovered. Being hired near the end of a hiring push is bad.

Therefore, if I were you, and my decision was to try for a major, I would start with the premise that the clock is ticking. Second, I would take it as a given that I am definitely going to be a viable candidate. I would anticipate that requirements are going to shift, and they're going to shift quickly. Today's absolute minimums will become tomorrow's pipe dream. At some point I will become the most qualified candidate around. Therefore, the real challenge will be to be completely prepared BEFORE that point and be hired as soon as the environment shifts towards me. I wouldn't want to be the guy that waits until he's absolutely certain that he is competitive, before he puts his stuff in. At that point, he will have lost hundreds, even thousands, of seniority numbers.

So my advice is not to sell yourself short. I suppose it's always possible that you might be able to secure an interview in front of someone who feels you are not quite qualified enough. Maybe someone isn't going to like your PIC numbers. The good news is this: there will be many airlines hiring in your future. If one interview doesn't work out, move onto the next.

Good luck to you!

ZapBrannigan

Thank you. I have my application current in airlineapps so should be good with UAL and DAL. I interviewed with SWA 2 years ago, but was turned down. (I'm typed in the 737 with around 1500 hours in it) I regret that I wasn't better prepared for that interview, but that Oakland commute would be getting a little bit old by now. ;-)

Part of the issue with waiting for other airlines to call or using one as a stepping stone is that it is unfair to my family. My wife has been through a lot with this profession. We met in 1998 when I was laid off from AirTran. So she was with me when I was a commuter pilot, got hired by a major, got furloughed by a major, got hired by a commuter, got furloughed by a commuter, got hired by another commuter, quit to go to corporate, moved to the middle of nowhere...

Now we have a 7 year old boy and she is being very supportive. She says that if I'm not happy where I am (and don't get me wrong, it's a good job - but i'm a bit of a square peg in a round hole here) then she would support another move. But she wants to make sure that we don't move every few years and I can understand her trepidation. She learned very quickly that aviation is an unforgiving profession.

I'm 99% sure that I am going to take the position IF it is offered. I just wanted to make sure there wasn't something that I was forgetting or not considering.

As far as times, a little over 10,000 TT, 1500 PIC turbine, training Captain (which means less than nothing at a part 91 operator), FAA safety team representative, four year degree... that's about it.

Thanks again everyone.