rickair7777

Neither of those sounds fun.

Slats Extend

Little do you know...

NYC Pilot

Total BS... pilots from Emirates and Qatar are getting hired at all the Major US airlines. United and Delta have hired dozens.

Slats Extend

A swing and a miss...

aviator35

Whoever I talked to about this situation, they said that 2500 hours is not competitive for the majors.


I don't even know how many hours do I need to be considered as a good candidate?


Besides, when I check the requirements of the most airliners, they require to have PIC hours (Southwest etc.)? I am not logging PIC hours as a first officer right now. Only way looks like to go for the regional then upgrade to the captain position and then apply for the majors.


But If I follow the path to the ME, even tough I have 5000-6000 all-jet flying hours, I won't have any PIC hours. will it cause any problem?


The last thing I want to mention about is part 121 hours. Without those hours, will it be difficult to be considered as a first officer? Will international flying experience help me to compensate not having 121-hours if I choose path to ME.

Blackhawk

I'd venture to guess that nearly if not all had to do time with US 121 carriers first.

Slats Extend

Bingo! Or were furloughed here during the lost decade.

Slats Extend

I think you can answer your own question. What do you think looks better to a recruiter at a part 121 Major?


A) A person with 4,000 total time flying part 121 regional multi legs per day dealing with weather, passenger issues etc or,


B) A person that has 4,000 hrs droning along in a widebody as an IRO or relief pilot?


Who is more competitive?


We are talking strictly a civilian career path.

pony172

FWIW, crash padded with a new hire who came from FlyDubai. Two of my recent FO's just got hired from Emirates. All three of them came back to US to fly. They all came back despite the fact they had not been hired anywhere. They were smart enough to save up some cash to bail out of the ME at a time of their choosing. One guy was a 737 Captain, he said great experience, but 10 years ago not a lot of choices in US. So he went to ME. He much preferred Fly Dubai rather than going to EK. Next guy was an A340 FO who was selected for Upgrade. They sent him to work in the main office for a month until class started. He got so fed up he called his wife after a few weeks and told her to pack their *******. He quit and took his sovereign fund home with him. The last guy is the best. He was an A380 captain, yes Captain! I asked him what he made, $150K!!! Now that is tax free and he had decent place to live with four kids. But he paid out the as* for schools. He also had not had a pay raise in quite a while. Dubai is one of the most expensive cities in the world and with a family the inflation steadily eroded any money he made. He makes more as a second year FO here, albeit with taxes involved. His benefits here more than make up for the difference, as well as his ability to move up to far greater payscales. The EK guys were sick of the tattle tale airline culture and being treated as highly paid infidels. They also said the schedules, crew rest rules, etc would eventually kill them had they not left. At the time they went it was a viable job that has gone down the crapper. Bottom Line: convert your license to a Comm/multi with instrument. This is a no brainer.

rickair7777

Five+ years ago ME3 expat pilots were DEFINITELY not getting hired at the big-six/legacy. I knew multiple guys back then who had to quit the ME3, and return to the states before they could get any nibbles.

But that isn't the case any more. There were several returning expats in my new-hire class, not all of them had TPIC, and not all of them had previous US 121 time. I think the majors can't turn away qualified pilots based on which airline they work for (and I've always thought it would be good to hire from your competitors anyway).

Be aware that last I heard the cargo airlines are still bound by an antiquated legal requirement for their USPS contracts that requires their pilots to have had physical residency in the US for the previous five years. Not PO box, not getting your mail at mom's house, but actually live here (exemption for overseas mil/USG duty). That prevents expats from working for some of the cargo airlines.