Question about getting hired
 

Quick question about who is hiring. I have 5000+ TT with about 3500Multi and 250+ TPIC. I'm looking for suggestions on which regional that might be interested. I am in need of jet time and FMS experience. I'm hoping this will not be long term and I want to avoid any training contract issuses should a job offer become available.
Thanks

Jet time isn't a big deal. Get the Turbine PIC time. Turbo-prop is just as good as Jet time. We've had many guys get on with JetBlue, Southwest, Virgin, AirTran ect with nothing more than "Q" and Saab time.

Just looking to move on from where I am.

Skywest is hiring, don't need an internal recommendation to get called. If you show up to one of the open houses you should get scheduled for an interview right away.

Where are you at now?

Pretty much all regionals are hiring right now, and they all have their upsides and downfalls.

Upside? I have NEVER heard of any upside for a Regional! Can you list one? :-)

Comfy seats, from what I hear.

All the free water and soda you can drink while working.

You're overqualified for the regionals. And at some point you'll have like 9000 hours with 4000 RJ SIC time if you do go to one. If you get on with a regional I'd fly a prop and get that pic.

Maybe he has a grandma FA fettish! If so, he'll never want to leave!

Yea, you’re over qualified for regionals. With your time, get that TPIC ASAP! That's all the matters for you.

Plus, here’s a dirty little secret that you're bumping up against on the back end... There's a "happy" time range, between 4000 to 6000 hours. After that, there is a consensus that thinks, "ok, dude has 9,000 hours. Why does he want to come here and fly an E190 outta Philly and make south of 50G's for the first three years?" I was incredulous when I heard that one.

It's happened to many of us in the generation tho, you are desperate to log that time, have your head down and fly those bids, and then you wake up one morning to reconcile your log book again after a few months and one day you are sitting on some high flight time. For most of us, the last 3-4 years should have been in the right seat of a narrow body with "________" Airlines. But here we are.

Is "high time" a deal breaker, no, but there is that sweet spot, and anything other than that starts to become a liability. You think I’m splitting hairs? Try sorting through six thousand qualified, ready to go pilots, all who exceed the times by a mile, and half who drink beers with so and so at XYZ airlines, then you'll see the microscopic hairs that get split between candidates.

So it's all beyond your control, get into the left seat of something with a couple turbines. Quickly.

Curious, where have you been flying to find 5000+ in your log book, only 250 TPIC and you're looking at a regional? Lots of corp/135?

Oh, and upside to regionals? It's not flight instructing, you push a button and coffee shows up in your hand, sweet! :) That's all I got.

The water, soda, and coffee at the regionals were a definite plus! The seats were more comfortable and recline nicely, but the biggest upside I would have to say is hard days off. Junior manning doesn't count since you can refuse or not answer your phone.

Also the jumpseat privileges were a huge upside... too bad you can't afford anything once you get to your destination =)

To the OP, you stated you don't want a contract, since you don't plan to be there long, which makes me think that this is to fill some international contract carrier requirement, or maybe an Emirates/Etihad type requirement. My only advice with that is to plan for the worst, and hope for the best... go to a regional where if things don't work out as planned, you are alright being stuck there for the next 5 years.

So that means apply by looking at which bases are close to where you live (even though bases come and go). Or just pick Skywest since we all know that they will absorb any growth in the regional industry.