Hello,
I am getting close to completing my hours at ATP and moving on to the next phase of my career.
I have been accepted into skywest for the E175 but have recently been offered an opportunity to apply for suncountry flying B737.
My question was would one make a difference down the line when applying to one of the major airlines?
Congrats, Masanori! It’s good to have options.
I would say generally speaking that yes, a 737 type would be seen as more attractive to a major than an E175 type. That said, depending on how the hiring standards at the majors change over the years you may still need to have some PIC experience regardless of having a 737 type.
Tory
Masanori,
This is one of those questions I can promise you’ll get 100 different opinions on. I’ve been on hiring boards and honestly I don’t think it’ll make a bit of a difference. If it were me I’d what YOU consider to be the better position (pay, base, airplane, bennies, destinations, etc) and go with that one.
Adam
Masanori,
I personally would chose Sun Country. But take a look at pay rates, bases, retirement plans, upgrade times, etc and see which one looks best to you.
Chris
Masanori,
Generally speaking a 737 type is more valuable to have than a E175, but there is so much more to this decision. Is there any extra training cost that will be required prior to entering Sun Country training? Typically there is extra training required to bridge the gap of experience from a Cessna to a 737/Airbus. How far out are the class dates? You don’t want to sit for months missing the hiring wave regardless of where you end up. What are upgrade times looking like? Eventually PIC time may be less of a requirement for majors but for now, it’s still important. If you don’t upgrade for 4 years when your buddies at regionals upgrade in 2, that could set you back. Just things to consider…
-Hannah
Sun country is considered a major airline correct?it’s not part of the big 3 obviously, but it is consider a major correct?
Sun Country is more of a “national airline”. While some could argue that they are a major because they sell their own tickets and operate under their own name, their relatively small size makes them a national carrier. Still a great place to start a career though.
Thank you. I see that they have a lot less pilots then other airlines. But there pay seems to be closer to smaller majors, then a regional airline pay.
I know airlines are hiring like crazy now, but how did you get a job offer with Sun Country at ATP mins. Did you have an internal recommendation?
Anthony,
Due to ATPs decades of successfully training pilots for the airlines they’ve been able to create some incredible opportunities you won’t have access to elsewhere.
https://atpflightschool.com/airlines/sun-country-airlines-alliance.html
Adam