Hey guys, hope things are going well!
After sitting through a couple of regional airline presentations at my training center, I’ve noticed they talk about all these opportunities and programs you can get into besides the regular FO or Capt positions. Things like becoming a check airman, working with flight safety, working as an instructor for the airline, or even with HR helping with recruiting at ATP and other flight schools. They say that it’s a good way to set yourself apart from all the other candidates applying at the majors. I do realize it’s very competitive to get into the majors if it’s not just a seniority based flow-through from the regional. But I wanted to ask you guys how much do the majors really care about these sort of “extracurriculars” and how much of it just boils down to flight time.
Also, I know that ATP also has a similar position open, called Flight Standards Checkride Coordinator and it’s only a 6 week program for folks with at least a commercial license in the program. Do you guys think this is also something worth looking into, despite how easy it apparently is to get into a regional? I keep hearing regionals don’t have a particularly high bar in terms of hiring (given you can pass a background check and no checkride busts) but I don’t know how much of that to really trust.
Apologies for the lengthy post and thank you!
Cheers!
