Hello, I have a quick question. How long can you expect to stay at a regional airline before moving to a bigger one? According to ATP, United Airlines requires 1200 hours of PIC time, which means becoming a captain. So, roughly how long does it take from starting with the airline to reaching 1200 hours as a captain?
Jacob,
Many, many variables here. I have met individuals spending a year or two and moving on, where some wait much longer. In fact, one of my colleagues at Piedmont just left after a year and halfish to a Legacy, she just got awarded the B757/767. I think the general consensus is that you could expect a few years at a regional carrier prior to moving up. However, there have been many cases individuals jump ship to a LCC (i.e., Frontier, Spirit, Jetblue) and continue applying to the Legacies beating the flow.
As for the captain thing, there is more to it than just hours. Being a captain is more than just hours, it’s about responsibility, authority, safety-driven mindset, and many more characteristics. I know individuals who have thousands of hours as a FO, but don’t upgrade - why? Who knows (maybe they wouldn’t pass?). I’ll let Adam and Chris speak more heavily on the upgrading and captain side of things given their years of service as a captain.
Brady
Jacob,
United has no 1200hr PIC requirement. That’s strictly for their flow in the Aviate program. Regardless the fact is not everyone gets to go to the Majors. While the average time is 2-3yrs, bust a few too many checkrides, suffer an accident or incident, be a lousy employee or simply be an abrasive person and you could find yourself at a Regional far longer or even forever.
There are no guarantees in this industry despite the ads to the contrary.
Adam
Jacob,
The answer to this question depends on the hiring environment whilst you are building time at a regional (it also depends on what you consider a ‘bigger’ airline). Back in 2022-2023, hiring was at an all time high, and if you wanted to move to a competitor legacy/major, you could probably get a call in 1.5-2 years (around 6-900 hours+), providing you had little no checkride failures and a good background. Right now it is a little more competitive, I’d say it has gone back up to 2-3 years and 1000 hours or more, and maybe even needing turbine PIC/captain time. Remember there is metering from regionals to their respective legacy. For example, if you wanted to move from an AA wholly owned regional to AA mainline, it could require staying for the flow, which right now is anywhere from 5-7 years. As Brady said, you could leave to another airline to try and beat the flow as an outside hire, but there is obviously risk involved with moving just to get called earlier. The basic answer to your question is that it completely depends on the hiring environment. Right now I’d agree with 2-3 years, next year who knows, things can change quickly.
And to answer your question about how long to reach 1200 hours as a captain. It depends on the regional, but I’d say you can expect around 700 hours per year, maybe more if you get off reserve quick and pick up OT. 1200 PIC time would be around 2200 hours at your regional, so I’d guess around 3-4 years if all things work out. 5 years would be a good safe estimate.
Roscoe
Jacob,
I just flew with a guy that spent twenty years at XJT before coming to United, I have known others to spend two years and everything in between. It really depends on you, your qualifications, and the hiring environment at the time.
Chris
Like others have said it depends on a number of factors. I can only speak of my experiences at Skywest. For us they added a flow to United but you have to be accepted into that program and IF you are accepted then it’s a minimum of 1600 PIC before flowing to United. So depending on bases and how much flying you do it could be almost 4-5 years from starting as an FO to flowing but there are other factors as well.
I have also heard Delta wants about 1000 PIC now, which every situation is different for each person.
Also at Skywest it seems like staffing wise we are getting more caught up on the CRJ side to the point where they may stop forced captain upgrades at some point. Which would affect your timeline of getting to a major.
Very, very true. I know someone who got awarded the B757/767 recently as a new hire with Delta, with less than 500 hours at a regional. The industry changes so frequently, nothing is gauranteed.
Brady
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Yeah that is awesome that they got that!