At the possible expense of creating another "which regional should I choose" thread, I would welcome insight into whether to pursue a specific aircraft for a semi-unique situation.

Background:
I have approximately 1150tt and 450pic (P3 and C12 time) but I'm not current. I retire from active duty in a few months. Given my age, 40, the goal is to try to get to a LCC as soon as possible in order to maximize "area under the curve" in terms of pay over my career. The pay thread with some of the LCC guys chiming in was enlightening since I assumed that LCC guys weren't making as much as they are (or can). If I get lucky and land the big guys, great but it's fine if I don't. I am not tied to any specific location or base and plan to fly hard, even max out annual hours if possible. QOL, dare I say, is secondary to getting time accumulated. I have no issue leaving work at work (never have) so I'd say my capacity for b.s. is above average. Reserve, I'll sit that joker no problem as long as I can get hours.

Question:
Do I go to one of the shops where I can fly 700+ hours per year but maybe not in the E175 with the idea of landing at any LCC?
or....
Do I pursue the E175 through a regional and shoot for JetBlue?

All opinions are welcome. Facts, timelines, progressions would be amazing. People are undoubtedly going to disagree on which path is best so I'd just ask for pros/cons with whatever idea you may have.

 

Damn, I thought the P3 guys flew alot more than that. How many years did you serve?

It's surprising to me how little military guys fly nowadays. I always thought most got several thousand hours during their service.

Thanks for your service BTW. Good luck in your future.

 

Don’t chase an airframe. It is unlikely that JetBlue or anyone else is going to care if you get a 170/190 type rating rather than one for the 145. They’ve got to put you through their training program anyway.

Whichever aircraft gives you the best opportunity to get on the line, get hours, and (if you haven’t already been picked up by a LCC. or better), upgrade and get more TPIC is the best one.

In the interim, apply for a type rating for the Lockheed-188. Every type rating on your ticket is helpful.

https://registry.faa.gov/TypeRatings/

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/61.73

 

Excargodog

 

Classmate of mine was non current. Did 6 months in 145 and then went mainline.....

 

Classmate of mine was non current. Did 6 months in 145 and then went mainline..... 145 will generally get you to class and line this time quicker

 

Airframe at the end of it's life (well past actually) was the main reason. Because of that, most guys get pushed to non flying follow on tours, myself included. I missed the P8 by a few years as well. Oh well and in the rearview now. Great experience and I'd do it again.

I appreciate it, thank you.

 

[MENTION=78912]Excargodog[/MENTION] great points, thanks.

 

Don’t chase aircraft, chase pay/QOL.

QOL is very important because with QOL you can work to manipulate your schedule to get/have the time off to do important things like go to job fairs, meetings with Chief pilots, hang out with buddies who are at the places you want to work who can push internally for you. Also, having more time away from work allows you to do volunteer work etc. to beef up your application.

Flying your butt off is great when you’re low on the hours like you currently are but you’re only going to be low on hours for a relatively short period of time and the extra points on your application aren’t going to come by spending your time flying.

Some folks say that applying to the majors is a full time job. Flight hours accumulation is only one part of it.

 

By the time you get to JetBlue the E195’s will be gone. Go for QOL, aka no commute...