I am 46 yrs old. I was flying for a regional up until 9/11. I wasnt even there a year and started in the SAAB and then onto the RJ. I have approx 150 hrs in SAAB and 100 in RJ.
When 9/11 happened I lost my seat and was told to return to for SAAB training. I was buying my first house and my wife wanted to get pregnant and a pay cut was not in our plans. I decided to take a leave of absence and never went back. I could do almost anything and make twice what I was making. The future in the airlines was uncertain and unstable. I've been a general contractor for the past 11 yrs and make decent money but not thinking I want to be swinging a hammer into my 50's and 60's.
I started thinking about flying again and what opportunities there are out there?
I submitted some resumes and for the most part got the thanks but no thanks response, I'm thinking its due to my not being current. I just went and got my 1st class med, did a BFR and IPC.
I may have an opportunity to interview with the following:
Cape Air
Planesense
Expressjet
Would working for any of these airlines make me more attractive to a major? Am I too old? I was thinking of a 4-5 yr plan then apply to majors. Would they even consider hiring a 50 yr old?
Cape Air is single pilot multi IFR,(135) in my opinion prob the toughest flying.
Planesense is PC-12 (single engine)
Expressjet is Expressjet (jets 121)
Would making a career with any of these pay off?
If I am fortunate enough to get my foot in the door with any of these which would be the best choice?
Do major airlines hire guys right from light twins like Cape Air flys?
Just trying to give this thing one last shot.
Thx for all feedback.

 

Absolutely. Bear in mind I am going based on what I read here on these boards.

From what I read on these boards, you do have a chance but not huge one just yet. The pilot shortage does not exist yet and there would have to be considerable change before you would see more opportunities there. It is and probably always going to be highly competitive at majors.

USBLS Pilots

These are 135 firms of course and not the best background for majors, but one might get you current and a job at a decent regional. I doubt I would take that detour if I were you.

Excellent choice. There are others also- Skywest is not hiring but they are a quality firm, then maybe followed by Republic.

That is a very debatable question, most would say not, but as we know quite a few regional captains are trapped at regionals and plan to sweat it out. I have a captain pal at XJT who says he makes pretty good money. He works hard picking up a lot of extra flying.

 

You may need more than just currency, most (but maybe not all) regionals will want some recent experience as well (100-200 last 12 months or something like that)

Glass/jet time will be better than prop time. That wasn't necessarily true in the past, but that seems to be the way things are headed now.

Yes, no problem getting hired. The question is will you progress fast enough to get out of the low-seniority dues-paying phase in time to enjoy QOL. It might work out if can get on with a major which is going to experience high turnover...but a lot of that is going to occur in the next five years so you'll miss out on some of the opportunity. The best time to be applying to majors since 1999 is RIGHT NOW.

IMO, no. But people do it sometimes. I would not consider any regional to be stable in the long-run...the business model is going to evolve rapidly (or implode) in the near future.

Several factors to consider (location, upgrade time), but XJT is most likely the safest bet.

Single-engine TPIC time will not get you hired at a major...unless it's in a fighter.

Absolutely not, unless they had quality turbine time from a previous gig.