I am looking for help finding the regional airline (or airlines) that have the best training program. In other threads, I have read to look for one that has a Advanced Qualification Program (AQP) for training. Does this make sense, or should I be looking for something else as well? Add to the mix I am a 50 year old pilot, and I have heard older pilots wash out of training more. Even though I have an ATP, would it be benificial to take a ATP-CTP course prior to regional training to get additional SIM time? Any advice to help an experienced but older pilot make the switch from 135 to 121 is appreciated.

Any airline which has AQP, and does not currently have a bad reputation should be fine.

I would not waste money on CTP. If you're really concerned, after you find out what plane you'll be on, you could buy some sim time on that type I suppose. Assuming it's not all booked up by the regionals. But if you already have an ATP, and have recently flown any jet, or any turbine 135 you should be fine.

I’m sure Rick can correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t it true that even with AQP, that the LOE (and maybe a few other rides) are still jeopardy events?

It seems many think wrongly that there is no jeopardy with AQP?

I think the biggest difference is that with AQP the check airman can take off his check airman hat and put on his instructor hat, and then put on his check airman hat back on again and give you a second/third chance.

Yes. There's a limit on how much training, and you have to be done within the allocated time frame

AQP is not necessarily a cake walk for noobs though. The jeopardy event is an LOE, and folks with no airline experience aren't any better at line flying than they are at hand-flown engine-out non-precision approaches. But you can get a rewind or two if needed.

For recurrent, AQP is much better than PC because you get evaluated on line flying, which is what you do on a daily basis.

On the hand-flown single engine approach, is one allowed to use the FD, or does it have to be completely raw data?

Usually with a flight director. But after a few weeks of sim training it's pretty easy. The monkey skills rarely get people, it's applying knowledge of limitations, memory items, IFR rules, speed/altitude constraints, etc.

Practice extra go-arounds if able. Many people bust trying to save a jacked up approach because they are afraid to GA when it wasn't in the script... but you can do that, and it's a free do-over.

If you have enough TIME to do another approach. That's the kicker. You can screw one, maybe two things up before you'll run over on time and not be able to complete the LOE.

This is true. But a GA will be much better than landing long, fast, or red screen. Most examiners would find an extra few minutes, typically reposition you to base leg or something if you had already demonstrated the GA task. If that was your first GA, then it would not add any extra time before you need to do a couple of those anyway.

The need to do a GA in the sim is almost always preceded by a Charley Foxtrot approach or setup. Use that "quiet time" before course intercept to review your setup, altitudes set, modes armed, configuration. If you're stable, configured, and armed at the vertical path intercept, it's pretty basic monkey skills to the rollout.