I’m curious to when to apply to the regional airlines? Which requirements should be met before applying and which can still be in the process of being met under 61.159 / 61.160 ? For reference, I’m currently at 1200 total hours, 100 night hours, 300+ cross country hours, over 250 PIC hours. But I only have 9 Multi Engine hours. I have my AMEL commercial cert, but have not completed the 25 required hours before indoc. I am going to start flying the multi next week and finish getting my multi engine hours before getting my 1500 hours. Should I apply to the regionals now or wait till I time build the 25 multi engine hours before applying?
The airlines will ask if you meet ALL the ATP requirements. If you don’t then you really shouldn’t apply until you do.
That said I would contact the recruiting dept of all the Regionals you’re interested in and see what they say. Their job is to get pilots and they can best advise you as to what their specific airline prefers.
I’d highly recommend at least getting 25 hours, most will require the minimum 25, as Chris mentioned, things are tightening up, multi time will become valuable. Most airlines will put you through their training because you can receive the additional 25 hours through approved full-flight simulator devices.
The other avenue you have is reaching out to recruitment departments and checking websites, to see what their specific hiring requirements are.