Hello, Captains. I had a few questions regarding building hours to become a pilot for the airlines. I’m currently a student at ATP and I know ATP offers its students to become instructors which I greatly appreciate but I would love to gain hours by working for Mokulele Airlines, Wiggins Airways, Tradewind, or Ameriflight even if it means the pay is lower. I wanted to know how hard is it to get to work for these companies and if anyone else at ATP instead of becoming a CFI chose this route and has any recommendations. My final goal is to become a pilot for United Airlines because when I was in university I was a part-time ground crew for them and I’m very familiar with United. Therefore, which is the best way in your opinion for the path I’m trying to reach?
Note:
Thank you so much for your help guys I genuinely appreciate it
Kasra,
Search around the forum a bit and I’m sure you’ll find some fellow aviators that have taken the charter route of building time. I have a few colleagues from ATP who are at Tradewind, PlaneSense, etc., who have enjoyed their time there, two of which are presently flying there today.
If you’re interested in United Airlines, I recommend checking out United Aviate, as it is their ‘pathway’ to United, you meet one of their criterion for applying:
You ask which is the best route; however, that may be different for everyone. Note the common way to build time is through flight instruction, which is what 90% of pilots do. There are some that do various P91 gigs and P135 operations.
Brady
Kasra,
Keep in mind most Part 91/135 will not hire you until you have 500+ hrs. That will most likely mean some flight instructing is in your future as you’ll complete the program with approx 250.
Adam
Kasra,
While you do finish the program with around 250 hours and CMEL/MEI certificates, you won’t be competitive for those types of jobs right away. With the influx in pilot training, there is no lack of 250 hour pilots who don’t want to instruct. In my opinion, it would take around 500-750 total hours to be competitive for those jobs, but keep in mind there aren’t that many out there. I would strongly consider instructing initially so that you can gain experience/hours. And hey, you might actually enjoy instructing and stick it out for the full 1500. Instructing is probably the quickest way to build time and keep your skills sharp!
Roscoe