VacancyBid

As noted above, the reason the regionals can be picky about FO's is they can barely keep captains ... they're all getting hired away.
The regionals all have TONS of lift parked

As soon as they can keep captains and LCA's there will be a goldrush for any pulse that meets mins to fill right seats for all the captains they suddenly have

Sliceback

They're looking for new hires who can upgrade quickly. Once they upgrade, if the majors don't grab them beforehand, they can hire a lower time guy to fly with him. Not enough replacement Captains among the senior FO ranks = less hiring in general and prehaps mores so among low time candidates.*

* - Post for the newbies that don't understand what part of the change in hiring is caused by.

121noob

Any insight on when this will be? Months? Years?

I'm in the mid 1500 hour range and all I hear is crickets. I've applied to every place reputable that I can, and even some that aren't.

tallpilot

In general airlines hire until they furlough. You'll know when the music stops because suddenly some airline dumps 1,000 pilots on the street.

Won't be this year unless there's some exogenous shock like a stock market crash, uncontained war, oil at $150+/barrel etc.

When that happens the regionals will fill their CA seats.

QRH Bingo

How desperate are you? I saw from another post you already have the ATP written complete; find a way to finish up the ATP cert and chances are good other opportunities will open up sooner.

121noob

I have already spent thousands of dollars to get my ATPCPT and to rent a plane to fly in circles because the day job isnt getting me many hours. I can't go broke to get a job.

AlikesitR

I’ve gone and read your posts elsewhere. You need to take a step back and realize the value of your time in the context of a regional airline hiring department. It does not matter your experience, you will be treated the same as everyone else in training. Until you hear the beeping of the sim coming off motion and the bridge coming down on your LOE, you are very expendable. Up to that point, it does not matter what you were flying. The CFI beating up the pattern or you slinging gear in a Citation, there is no difference. We are all numbers at the airlines, and highly expendable numbers before we pass initial training. The airlines, especially regionals, can just as quickly make a CFi an FO as they can you. At the end of the day, the minute you get on property, your background is irrelevant and will not at all dictate how you are treated and who you fly with. So there really isn’t a basis for feeling your time is worth more than that of a CFI, they’ll just as likely get through training as you, and dependent on how class seniority works, could be senior to you on day one.

I’ve seen you are worried about being considered a flight risk in the eyes of the airlines you’re applying to. For everyone’s context in helping you, what kind of citation were you flying? Was it a PIC type or an SIC type? Was it a single pilot plane that was being crewed?

To your credit, I think you are right in believing that quality of your time should be generating a bit more bites from airlines. Your logic isn’t wrong that turbine multi experience should help. I would highly suggest you do an app review with a good company because there may be something you are missing that we can’t see.

121noob

PIC type in the 500 series. What I am experiecing seems to be corroborated here and on other forums that the airlines aren't hiring anyone right now that isn't a DEC or cadet or already have 121 time. It's frusterating as hell.

VacancyBid

Sutton's Law: 1952 – The law is named after Willie Sutton (1901–1980), a bank robber renowned for escaping from prisons. Finally apprehended, Sutton was allegedly asked by a reporter ‘Why do you always rob banks?‘ to which he replied ‘Why, that’s where the money is.‘

If the regionals aren't biting ... go somewhere else. There's nothing that you can do to make a regional want you specifically.

Pulse and 1500 hiring hasn't generally been the norm. Historically, unappealing (for various reasons) jobs would occasionally hire guys with wet or damp commercials. Everyone else required FAR more than 1500, often with hundreds of hours of multi.

QRH Bingo

Frustrating, sure. But that's how it is. Are you bound by any contract with your current company?
You really only have a few options:
1) Wait it out
2) Pay for your ATP (and hope that works)
3) Get your CFI cert and go teach
4) Move on to a different company (like Ameriflight)