Hey guys! I was wondering how hard was it getting hired on with the regionals once you completed your hours? How many offers did you recieve once you hit the min for the regionals? How many job fairs did you have to attend before you got hired ? ATP markets the access you will have to recruiters, could you guys speak on this topic a little as well. Also, what is something a pilot can have on their resume outside of hours related that makes them more marketable?
Tre,
In today’s environment it is rather easy to get hired on at the regionals after completing your hours. The airlines are desperate for new pilots, so if you have the hours and a good track record you should be able to land several interviews and hopefully several job offers.
ATP has hiring alliances with several airlines, this is because the airlines know that ATP produces high quality applicants that tend to do rather well in airline training. Many times instructors interview with the airlines well before they reach the FAA minimums, the airlines often offer conditional job offers right then and there.
To bolster your resume any kind of community involvement, good college transcripts or letters of recommendation from your superiors would look great.
Chris
Tre,
I only interviewed at one Regional, ExpressJet. ATP asked where I wanted to go, I told them and sent them my resume. 10 days later I was invited to interview (no job fair or anything else). That was 13yrs ago when it was tough to get hired. These days there’s a pilot shortage and the Regionals are actively recruiting. Provided you do well (min checkride busts), have a clean record and things stay as they are you should have your choice of airline (at least at the Regional level).
As for resume builders education is always a positive. That and any other accomplishments, clubs, service etc. You never know what might strike a chord with a recruiter.
Adam
What are your views when choosing either regional airlines, cargo or corporate? Benefits of each?
Hello Tre,
I have a question about aviation career program. I’m on my last year of high school, I’m little confused about what should I do after I go to college and what should I take to prepare for aviation program? Thanks in advance.
Angel,
For me it’s pretty much a no-brainer. While there are some excellent cargo and corporate gigs out there, generally the better ones are going to have minimum requirements which will mirror the Majors. While there may be some decent jobs out there that will take a pilot at 1500hrs, they’re often turbo-prop cargo and/or small jet corporate. The top cargo operations (FedEx and UPS) and corporate jobs (Global Express and larger Gulfstream or Falcon jobs) are some of the most difficult to obtain. With only 1500hrs you could get hired by any number of Regional flying modern equipment, get paid pretty well and get great benefits for you and your family. As I said there are some great cargo and corporate jobs but they would be hard to find at that stage in your career.
Adam
Tre,
In regards to the Career Pilot Program the only thing I’d recommend is at some point you take an Intro flight to make sure flying is something you enjoy. Beyond that do well in school, get your degree (you can study and get a degree in virtually any field of study. The Majors want a degree but their less concerned with what it’s in) and then simply apply to the program. When accepted you need to secure financing and then obtain you FAA First Class Medical and you’re on your way.
Adam
Thanks for your rapid replies Chris and Adam. I am currently putting a navy aviator package together, but going to ATP is my backup plan and was just wondering how hard it would be to get on with a regional once I got to that point. I have about 10 flight hours and I’m in love with it. My co-signer for the loan would want to know my chances of getting a job and being able to comfortably make payments once the time comes so I had to inquire. One more question, some majors list their projected amount of retirements (on airlinepilotcentral.com), in the future, would it be wise to chose a regional that flows through to a major with a highm amount of projected mandatory retirements? The years with the highest projected amount of mandatory retirements would be around my 12 yr mark with a regional.
Tre,
Right now the regionals are in a hiring frezy because of the pilot shortage and that is showing no signs at all of slowing down. Instructors are interviewing well before they reach 1,500 hours. As long as the instructor presents well, has no criminal record and has a good record with the FAA, there seems to be no problem at all with getting hired at a regional.
I would not try to plan things too far out in regards to major airline retirements. So much can change in twelve years, United could be shrinking and JetBlue be on top, or vice-versa. It certainly doesn’t hurt to have that knowledge, but I would focus on finding the regional airline that fits you best. Things to consider include pay, quality of life, advancement to Captain, location of pilot bases, and yes, flow throughs to the majors.
Chris
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Thank you Chris for the valuable feedback and all you guys do for this site.
Anytime. Let us know what other questions you have.
Chris.
Tre,
As Chris said things can change in this industry virtually overnight. Flow-thrus are great but there are no guarantees and they can (and often are) cancelled in short notice. What you have to understand is the Regionals support the Majors. If the Major has a great need for pilots and they drain their respective Regional then the Regional can no longer support the Major due to a greater pilot shortage created by the Major. That can cause the Major to abandon the flow in order to protect their own interests. Fine the Regional that fits you best based on location, pay etc. Don’t try and predict the future, it can’t be done.
Adam
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Hey guys I am currently planning on going to atp in July and was wondering if the regionals will still be hiring rapidly 2-3 years down the road? I know there is no guarantee in this industry but does the hiring seem to be either slowing down or increasing? Thank you in advance for your response.
Adam,
As you said, there are no guarantees in the industry, but if the current trends continue, there is no sign of hiring slowing down anytime soon.
Chris
Adam,
Unless something unexpected happens, the pilot shortage is expected to continue for at least two decades. If you’d like proof, go to www.airlinepilotcentral.com, browse through some of the major airline profiles and look at the number of projected pilots expected to retire over the next 20+ years. You’ll notice that the peak will happen around 2020 and then it will slowly taper off.
Tory
Adam,
I’m going to play devil’s advocate here. What if the answer was no, that the Regionals won’t be hiring as aggressively and it will be more difficult challenging to get hired. Would you still want to go to ATP and try it would you do something else?
Adam