Hi everyone! Long time reader first time poster. I'm a student at a college with many regional airlines visiting campus to recruit pilots. Every recruiter I talk to has the ability to make their airline sound like paradise, with crazy benefits and amazing company culture. They promise quick upgrade times, industry leading bonuses, and flow to a major. How do I know when to trust these recruiters, as I feel they are just feeding me blatant lies and not giving the whole picture.
Thanks!

 

The only three with actual no interview flow to a major are Envoy, PSA & PDT. All owned by AAG, the same parent company that owns American Airlines. Once hired at any of the three, you’re done interviewing and will just go to American when your seniority will hold the inter-company transfer (called flow).

The rest offer guaranteed interviews. Some offer the preferential hiring after working a few years, a few offer the mainline interview as part of the regional hiring process. If you are accepted by the mainline at the regional interview then you get “preferential hiring” which is still not a guarantee.

Honestly, the pilot shortage is just kicking into high gear starting this year. You should be able to get hired through the front door of a major or good LCC or good ACMI long before you’d actually flow to AA with their flow program. Flow is a nice backup policy if you want to be lazy and just wait. Otherwise, after you have 1000 part 121 and upgrade... keep the resume updated, keep attending job fairs, keep doing some volunteer work, become a check airman, keep networking your nuts off and apply.

 

Best information about regionals come from APC, look no further


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I've been hearing about this rumor for awhile. Is it really happening this time?

 

TSA , COMPASS, GoJet Airlines = 1 interview, seniority based flow to Frontier now. Frontier will not hire pilots from those airlines outside their flow thru program with Trans States Holding Company. 2-years minimum on property (can flow even as FO upon final review of Pilots record at the airline only by Frontier) (for the record AAG does the same for Envoy, PSA, PDT) still no additional interview with Frontier.

Someone from TransStateHoldings company can correct me if I’m wrong, information above is what pilots from the property have told me.

AAG is not the only one using a One Interview only career, no test, seniority based flow.


Edited to Add:

The marketing for TSA-Frontier flow on the websites now says: “Guaranteed Flow.” AAG (PSA, PDT, envoy) do not even make those statements anymore which is telling of itself!

Think about that! AA stopped that “Guaranteed Flow” Many years ago with Eagle.

 

Well I can tell you straight up that the PDT recruiters will sell some nonsense like a 4-5 year flow for a NH.

Lies.

 

...frontier is not a major per se

 

It's a major. Certainly not a top tier one, but their last contract was a substantial improvement.

And it is a place where you can make $110K a year as a second year FO while buffing your resume to attract a job offer from where you really want to be. And if you never get the call, you'll be making $250k a year or better when you eventually retire. Can't say that about many regionals....

 

In general, one can tell when recruiters are lying since their mouth is moving...

 

It's not so much that they lie, it's just that they don't tell you the whole truth.

For instance recruiters will tell you PSA has a 5-6 year flow, because pilots on property for that long are currently flowing. Due to growth though a current new hire is looking at closer to a decade to flow because the pilot group is so much bigger than it used to be.

So it's just learning to read between the lines and do your research on your own.