Dare I say, I think 1000 turbine PIC or better will be competitive when hiring picks up again.

I somewhat disagree, the 1000TPIC might be the bare minimum to get looked at, but with the amount of furloughed and laid-off pilots on the street with thousands of hours of TPIC time, it'll be some time before airline will take guys with just a 1000TPIC or less or even none.

How many times have you heard a guy say "I would only leave for UPS, FedEx, or SWA"? How many are those three going to really hire in the future?

True, but I think it is going to be quite some time before these airlines start hiring again. For one, some of them still have pilots in a hiring pool.

Lots of pilots were getting called or hired by the majors in 2007 with less than 1000 turbine PIC despite everyone right after 9/11 saying that it would be ultra competitive.

Yup, but a lot of those folks are also furloughed now. I know a few guys that went to Spirit with no TPIC time.

Right, you will have that initial glut of pilots with far over 1000 PIC, but then you will have guys right at the mins that have rec letters. You also have airlines that like to have a "mix" of experience in every class. It is also important to be aware that often a buddy can not be of help to you at his airline unless you at least have the airlines published minimums and that is one argument against the "1000 PIC won't help you crowd".

Again, I do think it will be competitive, but not as daunting as people think. If you want to be a Delta pilot someday and are currently an FO at a regional, not every single RJ captain with turbine PIC time is in line in front of you.

Thanks!
 

First of all, thankyou to all the of the pilot community for answering the question.

I was given a chance to fly for both and I have chosen Key Lime. I am not a "pay for play" candidate. I got hired Navajo and figure I'll be there 3-5 years (hopefully just 3). By then hopefully things will turn around.

My goals are to fly for a home basing type op like Atlas, ATI, Polar, Net Jets some day.

Airport terminals make me sick these days, and I believe the Colgan FO will have as much of a chance to get furloughed as he does to upgrade in the next 3 years. I know a lot of people that have turned their nose at Key Lime and then have gone on to try and fly for Colgan. I have trouble understanding their rational besides safety perhaps. Colgan seems to have bases that are unaffordable unless you live in a dorm like place or you are faced to commute.

Anyways, I value all of your input. Thanks to all.

Personally I think choosing Key Lime over Colgan is a poor choice.... but if you think that is whats best for you then best of luck!

Truer words have never been spoken. While I can't say I threw in the towel I was down to my last option when I got furloughed. There were LOTS of flying jobs I turned down because I valued my certificates (and my life).

Best of luck with Key Lime, please please please don't fall into the freight dog culture of getting the cargo on the ground and on time at all costs. I know a few friends who have gone from conservative to downright dangerous after a few years of exposure to fly-by-night cargo operations. It's easier to get that mindset than you may think.

"Personally I think choosing Key Lime over Colgan is a poor choice."

Personally, I think it's a great choice....

The chance for turbine PIC experience will come much sooner and you don't have to deal with a bottom feeder regional (no disrespect meant to bottom feeder regional pilots). I was on the UPS ramp at DEN a while back and Key Lime owns the feeder flying. I could see the QOL and pay as a Metro PIC being a much better deal than going the regional new hire route. It's all an individual choice. We had guys leave UPS in 1990 for America West cause they didn't really want to fly freight.

I know Key Lime has a bad rep on the net. I'd say check it out for oneself before one makes the call. Don't listen to us hosers that post on the interweb.

But by all means, good luck and let us know how it turns out, in any case.

Great choice. Colgan is a gamble, you could be furloughed or worse be a 5 year FO stuck somewhere in the northeast. You know what you're going to get at Key Lime, good pay and stability. Both places offer prop TPIC but Colgan is a one way street to other airlines, while Key Lime offers both major and pt135 opportunities down the road. Especially the fractionals like NJ they give priority to pilots from places like Key Lime.

You make a very valid point.... and now I will offer my perspective.... Colgan has 30 new airframes coming onto the property in the next three years with options for another 10... with those new airframes is the need for approximately 11 pilots per airframe. That would equate to 440 pilots if all airframes come on property. I think the industry will recover even if it is slow... when it does recover there will be a loud vacuum sound as pilots leave... the opportunity to upgrade is there (much like Key Lime). You could fly a metro and get the PIC time (don't get me wrong... I love the Metro to death.... my first turbine airframe) or you could wait a little longer and get the PIC time along with glass/FMS/121 crew environment experience.
Just my two cents.... not worth much obviously.... just my take.

And for everyone's benefit.... Colgan has only furloughed once right after 9/11 and recalled everyone with a couple of months.

Good luck. No idea if you made the right choice. I've heard bad things about Key Lime but it's all just random snippets of bad info that a friend heard from a friend. Never really gotten any solid info about the bad stuff. Everybody's heard the bad about Colgan and any other regional for that matter. Hope it works out for you but prepare yourself for disappointment. So far that's all this career has gotten me.

Safety's a pretty important part of this whole flying profession though, wouldn't you agree???

Good luck and fly safe...