To put another way.

 

That's a tough one. Do you feel you could stay at your current gig til retirement? Or would you be happier at a Spirit/etc airline? Assuming the legacies never called. They probably will, and may anyway, but you first have to ask yourself if you could be happy if you somehow got stuck at the stepping stone. If not, maybe waiting it out is the better choice. If so, it might be worth considering making the jump.

 

That's a great way of putting it Gloopy. Good food for thought. Thank you

 

I'd keep that tidbit to yourself. Spirit is a bit sensitive towards those looking at spirit as a stepping stone or 121 currency builder.

About half of the new hire classes at Spirit are non-121 pilots. So a 135-only background isn't a disqualifier.

 

Good to know. Thank you

 

I remember a light bulb being burned out on this enormous Spirit sign in Detroit on night. It read..."Fly Spit"!

 

We had a bunch of lightbulbs burn out in our signs on the west coast. For years they said "Fly Alaska!" They've finally been replacing the burnt out bulbs though.

 

You presume you'd get hired at Spirit quickly if your intention is to build 121 time for a legacy carrier. If you need 121 time to advance your career and you need it now, perhaps look for a jet regional with a base where you live?

Timing is everything and for someone with your qualifications, 121 jet SIC is mostly all the same. You could be in class on a CRJ or E Jet within a month. Spirit or JetBlue or Southwest could take much longer to get hired and that defeats the point of using them as a stepping stone.

 

The more I think about it I don't think I was being very accurate with my statement. I understand Spirit to be a very nice place to work. I would imagine that I'd be happier there then where I am now. If they would have me, I would build 121 time, and therefore would be more marketable. However, when ever I go to work for a company I'm always respectful of the investment they have made in me and I always consider that investment when planning future moves. With that said, I'd imagine most the people at Spirit are happy they are more marketable with their 121 time. As would I.

 

Thanks for your input. Every bit of constructive input helps with my decision. I've struggled with the thought of going to work for a regional for a while now. I currently feel that I could be happy at Spirit for the indefinite future, if the dream job never called. However, I don't think I could say the same for a local regional. Unless the upgrade times drop down. Which I'm watching.
With that said, I'm only thinking Spirit because I feel that is as high up the "ladder" as I can realistically reach. I understand they hire competent 135 pilots regularly. Some years ago they hired someone from my department (no 121). Also, by the third year I'd be making what I make now.

I didn't think of Spirit as being in the same league as South West and Jet Blue. I know they are all low cost carriers but I thought SW and JB where harder to get on with.

I'm probably clogging up the thread and getting in the way of all the real airline pilots celebrating their victory. Thanks for all the info. If anyone else has some more feel free to PM me.
Sincerely, Southernpilot