Boeing or Airbus type?
 

I have some VA education funding that is about to run out. I am considering getting a large jet type rating. I was thinking of either the 737 or a Airbus. Which would be most marketable?

I do not want to get into a which is better, this isn't a "Boeing or I am not going" sort of conversation. Its purely which would make more sense given the current climate?

Honestly I’m not sure it matters anymore. If the VA is funding it do the aircraft you see your future self in. If your dream is to work for SWA obviously go 73. I don’t think any American carriers require a type rating anymore

Have you thought about a seaplane rating or other rating like that? As the other response indicated, I'm not sure the type rating does much anymore when you don't get associated flight time logged in the airframe, but I guess it also can't hurt.

I already have a seaplane rating. I have every rating available in both helicopter and fixed wing including all the instructor ratings as well. I had considered learning to fly a blimp but the only way you can do that is through an employer and commit to a training contract. But I specifically want something that will further my career.

I just want to add on another type rating and since a major is most likely my next stop (god help us all) doing a boeing or airbi makes the most sense.

Why not get a corporate jet type rating? It shows potential 121 employers that you can pass a type rating course. It also (should there be some snag in your career progression) gives you something to fall back on, going to a corporate or 135 operator. It's true that many corporate/135 operators will type rate their ideal candidate, but it's also true that having the right type rating will make you more marketable to corporate/135 operators. Its been over 5 years since I've been in the corporate world, but I imagine a G550, G650, Falcon 7x, Global Express type rating would be good places to start.

if one is going to peruse a corporate type rating, take a job with a 135 operator that will pay for the type rating.

Find better things to spend your on. There’s no reason to pay for a type rating on the Airbus or Boeing.

I considered that too. But there are SOOO many to choose from. A type rating is a type rating though. If you can pass one you likely can pass all of them. So I assume for the purposes of corporate marketability any of my types will work for that purpose should I want to go to the corp world. And if I am going to commit to a 135 without a union I am going to want them to have skin in the game. A 737 is one of the most recognizable ratings in the world. If one has any of the larger passenger jets they likely can pass any of the biz jets too. Plus I get to go to one of the more demanding types without the pressure of line training. For me its just another type rating. No pressure of a loss of job if I don't pass for some inexplicable reason.

This is pretty much it. I already have all the college I am going to want (though a degree in physics or astronomy would be cool but I don't have enough funds available). I looked at redoing my EMT certs and even becoming a dive instructor but I need to be in a specific type of course for this to be valid for VA purposes. And the likelyhood of me taking an EMT job is pretty close to zero. I'd be a dive instructor when I decide to retire but I live in the desert. So adding another type makes the most sense. Plus its really the taxpayers money and I don't want to waste it on something I might never use. They paid for my military flight training and they paid for some of my civilian flight training so I think it would be appropriate that I use that money for something in the line of work I already do.

No, it really doesn't, see the bottom.

If one is going to peruse a Airbus/73 type, find a Legacy/major/LCC/ULCC that will pay for it.

No, it really doesn't.

Do you have a masters? If so, get ANOTHER ONE, in anything. Just make sure to get a 4.0 in the program. It's more "marketable" than a type on a NB aircraft.

Just so we got this straight; You have all these ratings, you have all the college you want/need, and you're a military trained pilot looking for a type rating to make yourself more "marketable" for a major as your next stop?

Airbus, the big 3 have them plus all the ULCC’s. I don’t really know how much it helps a resume these days but as a small plus it would make your new hire check ride a little easier since it would just be considered a PC and not a type ride. If WN is not your goal a 73 type with no time in type could be a negative in a non WN interview. It was the only type ever required to purchase to get hired back in the day and non WN recruiters could still be thinking that you might pull a training hit n run on them. Probably not these days anymore since the type isnt required but just some food for thought.

Yet the standard he'd have to fly the ride to would be THE SAME. Just no pink slip hanging in the wind if it goes bad. Which the potential is doing it on your own.

Maybe I wasn't clear in my original post. I have some VA education funding that is about to run out. I only have so much, roughly 20K and less than a year to use it. There is not enough time or money for me to go back to school for 2-4 years for another degree. I can only use it for a very short list of options. A type rating is one of those that I am allowed to use it for and makes the most sense. There are other certifications I could go get but none that align with my current employment or the time frame I have available or that would make me more marketable to another aviation employer. A aviation employer would not be interested in EMT, diving certs, gun smithing or farrier service.

You can't use it for an online?

If it's burning a hole in your pocket and you have NOTHING else you want, it "makes sense". Sorry to break it to you, it's not really going to make you marketable for a major. You said you were military trained, do you have a currency issue? In that case, going to a regional and getting a type on (insert RJ here) and some time in the plane is more marketable than a type.

You'd be surprised. Get one of those certs, then do volunteer work in the field of those certs. That makes more sense than getting a type.

Sigh.....I appreciate the suggestions but clearly we are having a communication issue here. I have already trained as an EMT, I would have to go back for my certification test, which is a couple of hundred at the most. I spent years doing volunteer work in search and rescue and don't want to do that anymore. I am also already a dive master and volunteer diver for a couple of nature focused non profits. So no value in me going back to do either of those.

I am current so there is no currency issue. I am eventually going to end up at a major where I will fly either a Boeing or a Airbus. I have money that I can only use for specific purposes. One of those purposes is a new type rating. I could go for a Gulf Stream or some other biz jet but the likelihood of me using it is pretty low. The likelihood of me using a large passenger jet is pretty high. And I wouldn't have the stress of a employment related training event. So again a type rating seems to make the most sense. Otherwise I can let the time limit lapse and loose the remaining amount available.

Make sense?

Sure, makes sense.

But AGAIN, if you're military trained, and current, getting the type really isn't doing you any good, nor making you any more marketable. The airline is going to train you to fly the plane they WANT YOU TO FLY THE PLANE.

Buying it on your own subjects you to more of a failure (pink slip) than (insert airline's program here), whether AQP or not.

Is that communication getting through?

If it's all you can spend it on, then do it, it's YOUR (tax payer's) MONEY.

So you're saying if you had two candidates sitting in front of you. Both with the same background, training and hours. One has a type rating for the aircraft your company flies and one does not, you don't think the one WITH the type rating is a better hire?

Maybe if the calendar still read 2010... but it doesn’t.

Your thought process expired a decade ago. It’s 2020. Everything has changed.

But since you’re just not getting the hint, blow your entitlement on an Airbus type. WN will be flying them soon enough, and the 737 is at the end of the road anyways. And at least you’ll be comfortable.

I'd say go with the Boeing type. Take advantage of the opportunity to learn the FMC and MCP. I've flown both (75/76 and A320) for over 2,000 hours. Seems like there are more Boeings (73, 74, 75, 76, 777, 78, etc) with attainable flying at a fairly junior seniority. Let the airlines put you through the Airbus type if/when the opportunity presents itself.

Depends. Do they seem like a pretty humble, with it, up to date person I'd like to spend 4 days (or more) sitting next to? Or are they cocky, overconfident, ignorant, and not willing to listen/take advice from people that have a more recent knowledge/data base/experience with what's going on in the world? If the latter probably not.

It's been a long, long, long time since you've paid attention to airline interviews, performance base and targeted selection, hasn't it?

As to the bold, that's a huge improbability in this day and age, for the most part. Also, when an airline interviews candidates, they want to hire EVERY candidate that walks in the door. It's the candidates job to lose at that point. The type, or lack thereof went out the window as soon as the computer or human eyeballs screened/scored/selected them for interview. It doesn't become a Hunger Games competition once everyone shows up. If a pilot isn't hired, it's NOT because another pilot that day looked better on paper, its because the interviewers, and later a board made the determination that they weren't a good fit for the airline. NOT because their cert has less writing on it than another candidates.

I don't mean to be rude, but you're coming off pretty confident and secure that a major is your next stop. Gringo sums it up pretty well. But hey, you DON'T have to take our word for it. Nor anyone else's that's interviewed and secured multiple job offers in this most recent hiring wave. Best of luck in your endeavors/pursuits and spending that money on something useful.

Christ! the OP was just asking about which airplane would be better to get a type in. It's common for military members to have VA benefits they need to use or loose. Not everyone wants to go get a second or third degree, to be an airline pilot that would be completely unnecessary.

Not many people would want to pay for a type rating, but once again, he's not really paying for it. Yes a Gulfstream or Falcon type could be valuable in certain situations, but he doesn't have $90k to spend! He stated he has about $20.

I would say Airbus is the most "valuable" simply because as someone mentioned earlier, every major has them and are getting many more of them in the future. The airbus is a different bird, and already having the type would certainly give you an huge advantage in training if you were able to pick the Airbus. Training would be less stressful and it would essentially be a PC not a type ride, so you would be able to skip certain maneuvers on your first initial airline checkride.

DC-3 Type, hands down.... it won’t do anything directly for your you career progression, but it sure can make for some interesting stories (which could get you where you want). And, they’re just freaking badass!

Man, seriously you are reading WAY too much into this and making huge leaps of logic. And at this point O captain my captain we are WELL past rude since you've just decided to disparage me with your giant leaps of logic about my arrogance. Apparently I "DO" have to take your word for it, otherwise you apparently get all ****y that I didn't do exactly as you suggest. I have already made the decision to get a big passenger jet type rating. Using the money for something else is just not a viable option. I don't need another degree or certificate or anything else you suggested. I've studied Aerospace engineering, computer science and aviation science. I've got more than enough edumacation to check all those boxes on my airline apps application. You also have no idea what I fly currently. For all you know I could be a regional captain. The obvious next step for a regional captain is a major or have things change so much that a major isn't the next step for someone coming from the regionals. But you didn't ask me that. You just made a huge leap of logic that I am a part 91 CFI and never set foot in a 121 shop and therefore have no clue as to how the world according to John Carr works and according to John Carr his way is the only way no matter how out in left field and completely unrelated to the subject at hand.


As I said previously I want to get either a boeing or airbus type rating. Which one does the APC collective think is better. That's it. I even made a simple little poll with just two options. Wasn't looking for suggestions to take underwater basket weaving or learn sugar glider Animal husbandry. Literally just do I go boeing or airbus.


I was expecting comments like "hey given boeing's current mess with the Max avoid them and go Airbus" or "Hey given boeings current mess with the MAX its a great time to get a 73 type given the need for boeing pilots when all this mess works itself out and suddenly they need people type in the 73 because everyone went and got typed in Airbi".


But NO you had to turn this into a ****ing match, because I didn't bow down to your superior intellect about how I should go off and do something completely different and completely unrelated from the original question. And now other idiots have decided to pile on when all I wanted was a simple question Boeing or Airbus. That's all I asked, boeing or airbus. Hell I didn't even ask why.


Now go ahead and tell me how stupid I am for not taking your sage, humble and completely unrelated advice O great one in the sky. Or how I have no clue about airline hiring or how it was a decade ago. Go ahead I'll wait.......


(why does it seem like some of our members here are kids in their mothers basements pretending to be legacy captains?)

To everyone else who responded with great advice within the scope of the question (or at least in the same industry and solar system) I greatly appreciate the input. Sounds like Boeing is the way to go.

/close thread

Now that there is a awesome idea!

I’ll bet you’d be the only kid on your block to have a DC-3 type rating.

Wow.

You are so out of touch I don't even know where to start. At this point, maybe you should use the money to get a CDL, at least that is something that could be useful even as a pilot to have. You apparently not only don't understand how airline hiring works you aren't willing to listen to people who understand the process.

In part 121 operations you do the exact same training whether you have a type or not. The only difference is whether the final ride as to be with an APD, but most large airlines just schedule it like that regardless. There is absolutely NO added competitive edge anywhere but maybe southwest for a specific type rating, and as you apparently don't really care about southwest it doesn't really matter. For a large airline you aren't guaranteed to get awarded the aircraft you are typed in regardless.

If there is anyone acting like a child here, it is you. That post of yours is embarrassing.

As an aside, you asked which type was more "marketable." Your poll wasn't about which was a "cooler" aircraft, it was what would help you with your career. When you post an either or answer to a question that is more complicated than that, you'll get responses clarifying.

Do you have a masters? If so, get ANOTHER ONE, in anything. Just make sure to get a 4.0 in the program. It's more "marketable" than a type on a NB aircraft.
This is what's wrong with our current hiring environment, lots of qualified, great pilots out there, whom for one reason of another don't have a 4 year degree.

As a mil guy, I get it. These are my benefits, I earned them, and I will use every penny. Hell, I even got my CDL “just in case.”

Not sure where you are but I looked into the Harvard Extension Program for the MBA. Unfortunately I am now out of money (something like 9 weeks benefits left.) Still a piece of paper but a conversation starter and door opener. If not school- get a more valuable type. 73 and 320 are old tech and boring. If you have the funds get a G650 type or Global.

Here's something no one has offered yet...

Get one that has the easiest QOL while you're doing it.

Which one takes the shortest time to complete? (The most self-study at home means less time in the training facility.)

Which can you get in the city where you live? Or a city within driving distance, so you at least have a car while you're away?

Which has the cheapest hotels nearby if you have to pay your own lodging? (Or even family or friends you can crash with?)

Everything else being neutral, that's what I'd look at.

It would sure suck to have a bad day and fail a ride hurting your chances at a major. At least if you had a bad day at an airline they are already invested in you.

^ This.


There is also data that some new-hires struggle through training learning certain flows or procedures that are specific to the airline....even if they’re type rated on the same airplane. They start with the excuses after they start struggling....”well at my previous airline, we did it like this.” Before you know it they fail training.

Adding a recent type rating demonstrates trainability and determination.

A 737 PIC type is one of the cheapest you can get. My C680 type was $40K.

You’d have enough left for a DC-3 type.

I would have the same issue doing it through an employer. The difference here is I don't have the stress of a employment training event. This is just like going to get my private. And I don't have to deal with a 2x and you're unemployed. I can do this on my time off and take my time getting ready.

Either way I face the same challenge. The ONLY difference is that I am doing it on my own vers doing it through an employer. It's still the same check ride and I can focus on just learning the airplane rather than a specific airlines way of doing things. Then once I have the type it's just a matter of learning how to do it the way the airline wants me to. I'll already know all the systems and have passed the check ride making the employment training fairly simple.

Again, this is a leap of logic not even core to the question. One could argue, and I am, that one would face the same struggles through employer provided training. The difference is doing it on my own is easier with less to learn vers all the stuff crammed down your throat during indoc and flight training.

To suggest I would fail training "because" I didn't get my type through an airline paid program is the very definition of a red herring. Once I hire on with a employer I would still get the exact same training that any other candidate would get, I just hopefully already have the type. That makes airline specific training much easier once I get to that point.

Yeah, I am good with that. I don't have an issue spending a few weeks in a hotel. One of the facilities is a close drive from home. Not close enough for me to do the commute every day but close enough that I can just drive there and stay in a hotel. Plus I think my travel and hotel stay is covered under my VA benefits. All the training facilities I am looking at have the same timeline, or within a day or two of each other.

Airbus. There is a different philosophy in this plane and I’ve seen some new guys really struggle to get it. If you end up working for someone that flies them, indoc will just be a review. I agree that it probably won’t help you land the job, but training will be less stressful. Good luck wherever you end up.

Thanks, yeah the less stressful training is what I am looking for. Well that and the options. I looked up which have more in service and it was pretty much 50/50 between Airbus and Boeing. Based on my research there doesn't seem to be any benefit over one or the other as to which is more likely to find. I was hoping one manufacturer clearly had more in service and there would be more options for employers but it's literally right down the middle. So now it's figuring out which makes one better over the other.

You're not the first to say the Airbus is harder to learn so that might be the way to go (provided I don't go with the DC-3 option).

When you get to large airplanes in the airlines even aircraft limitations may be different. I fly 737s and commute regularly on another 737 operator. We don't even fly them like they are the same airframe. The procedures and limitations we use are that different. I'm not saying that getting a type somewhere else is going to make you untrainable, but you are very fast to discount what others have observed. You are doing a disservice to the person who tried to give advice by calling it a "red herring." The point people are trying to make is that it most likely won't really have any impact on how "easy" or "less stressful" airline training is. People who think that they don't need to worry about it because they already have the "type" seem to be the ones that get into trouble. The advantage you have will be things like FMS operation and overall operating philosophy, but they can be a hurdle if you lean on them too much.

I'd say that the A320 logic is the most intuitive and simple to learn Flight Control Panel. It's simply a push or pull system. I'd recommend learning the intricacies of the Boeing logic and then being able to easily adjust to Airbus if/when you're given the opportunity. Just my humble opinion.

Without actual time in the aircraft, either type rating will be meaningless, and could be an actual liability if you’re asked about it in a future interview....someone who has thousands of hours in it might ask you a simple question, and being unable to answer it would paint you in a negative light.