ATP/CTP + ATP practical advice
 

Hey all, I'm retiring from the military in about 9 mos with 3,000 TT but low on FW time only 500 of King Air and already have my commercial instrument ASEL/AMEL. I'd like to keep my coin in my pocket and not go out on my own for my ATP-CTP and ATP practical ride. I was thinking of going to Skywest for them to pay for those schools and get some 121 time started. From what I understand it seems that since Skywest isn't a WO of AA or DL, that will help me getting to my destination which is AA or DL.

Please let me know what you all think or if there are alternatives that I'm not aware. Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Could you get hired at somewhere that pays ~ $6,500 more per year than SkyWest? Something like Frontier or Allegiant as an example? Honest question, as I don’t know what’s competitive. But what I do know, you should bypass the regionals, if you can.

Even if you pay $10K, I feel like it would be money well spent to get a good job until Delta calls.

Thanks for the input. You said “good job”. Are the regionals that painful? I’m really trying to wrap my head around this because it’s said pretty often.

Hey man! Former military as well. Pay for you ATP/CTP course and go straight to mainline. I know United needs 1,000 total turbine. What I would do, is use your current experience to find a suitable corporate job to get you to 1,000 turbine if you don’t have it already and then as soon as you have the minimums go to a major. Good luck! Feel free to PM if you want.


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Hey, I am military as well, with about the same amount of time until separation. Not sure what your timeline is or how flexible it is but maybe ask around about the global express type rating for the military.

Wheels up does a skill bridge that covers your ATP. Look into it.

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iAero has a rotor transition program and I ran into someone with 750 hrs TT that got hired into their program. All he needed to show up with was the ATP written, so he paid for the CTP course on his own and iAeo got him his ATP. I don't know how their QOL is or if their business model suites you, but you would end up with an ATP + 737 Type that would likely take you anywhere you wanna go.

Yeah, I tried to get with them and was pretty much told better luck later. Unrestricted ATP, course complete, nearly 3k rotor hours. I wish anyone out there better luck than I. Someone I didn't get an offer from them but did from the 3 other airlines I didn't think I stood a chance with. Weird how things work out.

Also, based on their lead recruiter, they already have "over 250 fully qualified applicants" so that might mean you better come correct with everything already covered or they won't bother with you.

In my opinion, go to Skywest/Mesa/Republic. You’ll get a free ATP and check the 121 box. You won’t be there long and should be getting calls from AA/DAL. I wouldn’t accept the bonus if it were me, that way you won’t be on the hook to pay anything back if you get hired elsewhere before 24 months.

Also apply to Frontier/Spirit/Breeze (Breeze only if you live in or near a base). I wouldn’t take the bonus from F9, the other two don’t have a bonus.

Your low FW time tells me you won’t be competitive for a legacy just yet. But a few months at a regional or LCC and you would be. Regionals/LCC pay about the same as legacies over the first 2 years, so it doesn’t really matter

You have a lot of options. As mentioned you could try to use skill bridge to intern with wheels up and get an ATP while flying for them for the last 6 months before retirement.

If you have your GI bill and aren’t going to use it otherwise, you can do CTP with Delta and get the VA to pay for it. Delta does not require ATP practical completed, only written.


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