Out of curiosity, what is a rough range of experience that the majors are currently looking at for hiring new pilots.
Currently, I have 2700 hours total time. 1300 for turbine time. 1300 pic but only 28 which is pic turbine so far.
Out of Atp flight school, I worked for a 135 operator in Alaska for a few years. I am presently working for a 121 operator for the past 2 years.
I have a 4 year degree, have worked as an instructor/checkairman for the 135 operator, and currently serving as a ground instructor in addition to flying the line for the 121 operator.
The range varies incredibly broadly. I have seen pilots anywhere from just a few thousand hours, to having over ten thousand hours. If I were to make a very unscientific average, I would say 4,500 seems to be it, but usually with a good chunk of that being PIC jet time.
It looks like you are well on your way, but might have some distance to go. That being said, it never hurts to apply, I would recommend doing so.
I can’t speak for all of the major airlines, but I’m in Alaska new hire training right now. There are 19 of us. On Friday, one of the Sim Instructors gave a presentation on CRM. He put up a slide from where we all had come from and I was blown away. I haven’t had a chance to hear everyone’s story yet, but we certainly have a diverse group of pilots in our class. I didn’t even recognize some of the companies listed and neither did the Instructor. Our class is made up of just about every background that you can think of. Regional, cargo, corporate, some mentioned they also had prior military experience.
It’s never too early to apply. If you do decide to submit applications, depending on the airline, if you have the ability to update your application, update it monthly at a minimum to show that you are still interested.
I agree with Chris and more is always better, but I’d start applying aa soon as you hit 3,000. Pilots spend WAYYYYY too much time thinking they know what’s going on in HR/recruitment and unless you are you don’t. You have no idea how many applications they received in a given month or how many slots they need to fill. If you’re low there’s absolutely zero risk and when you get your shot the airline will appreciate you’ve been trying for a while. The flip side is the stars could align, the wind could be blowing in the right direction and for whatever reason they didn’t get many applications that week and they dig a little deeper and grab yours.
I’m all about risk vs reward and there’s zero risk with the possibility of great reward and that’s my kind of bet.
Matthew,
If I were you, I would get all your apps up to date and submitted and just see what happens. I’ve spoken to so many low time captains that did and were shocked when they got calls for interviews already. It can’t hurt… just keep coming back and updating as often as you can.
-Hannah
Your input is greatly appreciated. I have started applications for most of the major companies and have kept my times up to date. I have just been holding off on hitting that submit button haha. I will double check I did everything correctly and submit them this week.