Since I couldn't stand living paycheck to paycheck I left the regionals and have been out since 2010. Got a couple of real jobs away from flying and now am looking at the possibility of returning, although I will not go back to the regionals. Sitting at 3500 hours with no ATP although I can go get that on my own. I started flying again this weekend and it was like riding a bike. Even approaches are like it was three years ago.

What are the chances I might be able to come back? I have friends at the majors that are cheering for me and want me back but I want to know if there are others here who took long breaks or left the misery of the regionals to return to the majors.

Anyone?

You're not going to get hired by the majors unless you have family or close personal friend in management.

There are ten thousand regional pilots who have thousands of hours of TPIC and are 121 current. 80% of them have apps in at the majors. If they run out of them, there almost as many regional FO's, essentially all of whom have an ATP by now and are also current.

If you want to avoid regionals, you're going to have to break into corporate. You might be able to do that piecemeal with some freelance CFI work to fill gaps, build recency, and network.

The ATP would be a good idea.

As far as corporate opprtunities, I'm fairly deep in the business and don't have good news:

No ATP
No corporate experience
No recent experience

1 and 3 knocks you out of the majors and all three will knock you out of corporates. It's a tough market as stated above.

You need to fix the ATP and recent experience with jet time, not CFI time. Networking is NOT handing out resumes; you need to get a known and good reputation; be known by hiring officials (those who can make hiring decisions) and to make your networking help be seen as valuable. Valuable means do favors, be seen as reliable, offer something of value by those that can hire you.

GF

I planned on doing this the right way, building time back up, instructing...maybe, but I do have access to a few jets and could get some time. I'm not expecting to jump right back in line. I have a lot of friends in the industry from the 4 years I spent in the regionals. I will have to ask who knows who and if they can lend a hand. I really appreciate the comments and advice. I'm just wondering how desperate the airlines are going to get by this time next year.

The other big question is when the dollar is no longer the world's reserve currency. When that happens what will happen to the airlines? That could happen sooner than we expect.

Major airlines will never be desperate.............

Exactly. Stop believing these lies. The majors will have MORE than enough pilots for all eternity.

+1...............

How do you return to the majors if you were never there?

How do you know that the OTHERS he speaks of didn't quit the regionals at some point and then when they came back to flying, had the qualifications for, and hit the hiring window just right, to get on with a major?

I don't know that, don't care about that, and it's irrelevant.

One can't return to something unless one has already been there. One can't return to the majors unless one has already been at the majors.

If one moves to the majors, one isn't returning to them, if one hasn't previously worked for them.