Pay sucks at the regionals too

 

Go King Air.

There's more to life than slaving away with a dysfunctional regional airline, a pilot union cartel that drains your bank account and offers nothing, and scheduling who is constantly looking to screw you.

 

[QUOTE=rickair7777;1668454]The king air is not going to get you to a major airline. It's slightly possible that you could knock out 1000TPIC in the king air, then go to a regional for some 121 glass jet time and get hired at a major without upgrading.

IMO the more reliable path would be to just go to a regional, take the first upgrade and try for check airman as soon as they let you.


Don't listen to this guy... He is a lifer CRJ captain who will never progress in this industry anymore than he has now. Take the King AIR job, have fun, build time and upgrade you will be more qualified in a few years doing that than most regional guys out there. 121 is the easiest flying you will do in your life... Enjoy the challenge of 135

 

Just out of curiosity; if a company's mins are 1500/100, and I have 1500/75, will they even consider me?

 

What's the outfit in Stuart?

 

This guy is 29 years old....not 21. "Go have fun" I feel is bad advice. You only have a fixed amount of years to be an airline pilot. Why can't he have fun being single and able to use CASS to travel wherever he wants? I'm sure the pay on a 135 KA in south florida is no better and may even be worse than year one regional. Every 135 operator down there is going to tell you "you'll upgrade quick", and are also known for shady practices with maintenance and pay. I flew down there for 4 years.

Also keep in mind that KA90 is not loggable from the right seat except in a few cases. It may be allowed at this operator since it is 135 but make sure you check.

With growth, flows, and other attrition compass should move lightning fast. Leading to good QoL, and pay. Every year you aren't at an airline trying to move to a major is a year you miss on the top end of the payscale.


I never told him to go to PSA. Way to bring up a totally unrelated subject though just to get a shot in. I voted no. Grow up.

Are you really advocating this guy go to Envoy?

 

Small, relatively new biz jet management company. Just got their 135 for the KA. I'll leave it at that.

 

The business decision would dictate 121. I speculate there are more 10 year 135 guys who would jump over to 121 at year 10 if they could, than 10 year 121 guys wanting to go to what a 10 year 135 guy has obtained. Of course there are exceptions. As far as “enjoying life” goes you would have to look back at the past ten years of your life and decide what you have been doing. Have you been busting balls or playing and piddling?

 

If you take the 135 gig, stay on them about the upgrade, even after 6 months. 500 hours (1000 is better) of PIC turbine is a good box to check for other jobs. Sure, there are legacy airlines in which there is no official PIC turbine requirement. However, you'll be more competitive.

As for which one, I'll just say that 135 time will make you a better and well-rounded pilot in the long run. Also, having 135 or a corporate background will make you more competitive for more interim flying jobs when you get furloughed from an airline. After you get your 135 PIC turbine time, go to some regional to check the glass/121 box and you'll be golden. Barbie jets and the transition to glass will be easy after flying a King Air around.

After the newness and honeymoon phase is over (strangely, this seems to happen when you see your first pay-stub), regional flying will suck the life out of you and it will be challenging for you to stay optimistic about your airline career track.

Either way, good luck.

 

Thanks for the responses. It has taken a lot of time and dedication to get to this point in my career. As much as I want to be that well rounded pilot, I can hear the clock ticking to get the airline thing going. I realize that it's gonna be tough at a regional which is why I wanna start sooner rather than later. Putting in my dues flying a King Air only to turn around and have to do it again at a regional sounds like more trouble than it's worth.

Does anyone think I'm hampered by having only 75multi vs. the 100multi some regionals require? That would also factor into my decision.