BlueJuiced

Ive been spending the past few weeks researching the best and most viable routes to take to quickly get in with a major. For staters, I have my Student Pilots License, a Third Class Med, and about 10 hours in a 172. I am going to get my First Class here in a few weeks but in the meantime I have been looking at avenues to quickly get my ratings and hours. My eyes were ALWAYS set on ATP and their programs however after doing some serious research into it, I have heard that most find it a disaster. While it does the job of getting you your ratings and probably your hours, I have heard it is very dependant on who your CFIs are and where you go (which sounds like every flight school.) On top of that, supposedly you need to be studying 24/7 and will try to be forced into doing check rides even if youre not ready. While the name of the game is time, I dont want to risk checkride failures and potentially getting kicked out if I cant pass enough students as a CFI. And if I am spending 100k, I obviously want to find a good program that has a bit more positivity around it. So with that being said, what do you all feel is the best way to get to the Majors in a pretty quick time frame. I have heard lots of people say the local mom and pops however I dont have the 50-60k lying around to fund things upfront and would need to finance. I am also considering the collegiate route but I feel like that adds a few more years than I would have hoped to wait for. I am currently looking at Skywarrior Aviation at KPNS and it seems like a good deal but I wanted to hear from others who may have been in my shoes and eventually found what suited them. TIA!

QRH Bingo

Fast, Cheap, or Good. As with much in life, you can only have 2 of these, never all 3. Flight Training is about balance. Don’t be in such a rush. Figuring out how to pay for it is usually the biggest hurdle.

MLCCPilot

They gut you your ratings if you pass and aren't drummed out, they also have a high washout rate due to that compressed schedule. I don't know your exact situation but if you have to take loans you can try to find a smaller 61/141 school in your area, someone with a dozen or so planes should be a good mix of affordability and still be able to assist you with loans for school. If you can relocate there are a number of schools like CAE, Sling, Aeroguard with better reputations that are still reasonably quick (about 12 months) and can even qualify for Sallie Mae loans.

Myfingershurt

That…was…hilarious. Thank you.

BlueJuiced

Thank you for your input everyone! All of it is duly noted.

BlueJuiced

Its 50/50 for me. Delta is near and dear to my heart. They have gone out of their way to help me in years past and I have always flown with them so it was always my end goal. Starting out though it always varied. The route I was thinking of is CFI somewhere for a bit then once I hit 1500 (or a bit more) try to go to NK. From there, ride out NK for a few years then move on to DL. Not too sure how good of a plan it is with seniority in mind but both these airlines had keystone moments in my life and I wanted to go to both. Obviously if Delta came calling first, I would take it in a heart beat but I know its unrealistic.

rickair7777

Those are not good reasons to choose an airline over other airlines.

Just because you had good experiences as a pax doesn't guarantee the same as an employee, although there may be some correlation in some cases. I guess if it matters to you that your employer has a quality product, that might be a legit factor... nothing wrong with pride in your work, although your part of the product is safety and most US majors are about a wash on that. Pilots don't influence the pax experience aspect very much.

You'd be better off talking to pilots who work for various airlines and get their take... especially somewhat junior pilots.

BlueJuiced

Very good point. I will keep that in mind and try and reach out to some people. Thanks again!

MidwestExpress

IF you can get the financing figured out, go mom and pop. Will cost less and likely better foundation for your career. I've seen some jokes of pilots come from ATP... people who are apparently flight instructors but can't land/zero confidence/no experience outside of ATP bubble whatsover.... scary honestly. That said, I've met good pilots form ATP as well. But they forked over 90k for what I paid 50k.

Get creative with your financing. There are loans available for part 61 flight school but require someone with good credit and income to co sign. Ask relatives, family friends, be your own advocate. If you serious about it, they will know it. You can pay your loan off in two years after hired by regionals easy.

mjt2147

Love your name! I grew up in Wisconsin and remember Midwest Express. For those that don't, it was really something. Actually I was spoiled because my first experiences flying were on Midwest Express so I thought that is just how flying was with every carrier.

A question for this thread: I see a lot of threads in the forums about not having enough PIC time in type, not having the right type ratings, not enough turbine time, etc. Those who are close to me who are pilots (I have close friends and family who are wide body Capts at Fedex, A320 FO at Jetblue, a PIC at Cirrus Aviation, a 717 FO at Delta) say that if you get to 1500, you'll be able to get hired at a regional, maybe a longshot to go straight to a major. This seems conflicting? I don't know exactly how it is going to play out for me, not sure where I'm going to want to be in a year or two when I am consistently racking up hours. Definitely not ruling out regional/major though, if they are a possibility. Can anyone shed any light on this apparent conflict of information?