Can professional pilots with 1,500 hours go straight for the major airlines?

N918KT

N918KT

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I think I know the stepping stones for an aspiring professional pilot going to the major airlines, but correct me if I am wrong. Their first gig would most likely be working as a CFI, then accumulate 1,500 hours and an ATP to work for a regional for a couple of years (or many years) until being hired by the major airlines.

But can pilots with 1,500 hours skip the regional airlines and try to get hired by the major airlines directly?

What about professional pilot graduates of aviation colleges? Once they accumulate 1,000 hours or 1,250 hours and a Restricted ATP could they skip the regionals and work straight for the majors?
 
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There is no rule saying otherwise. However the major will require x-amount of turbine PIC or something else that will rule you out. Like previous 121 experience.
 
I think that's possible. Just when your working as a CFI you need to do a lot of the teaching in a twin, preferably even twin-turbine.
 
You can apply for the majors at anytime you want, whether or not you get a job with the majors at 1500 hrs, technically it is possible, but depends on a lot of other factors.
 
If you come out of a pilot mill,with twin and turbine time,and a college degree.you might have a chance.
 
I mean yeah I think technically it is possible to go to the majors as soon as you get an ATP at 1,500 hours or R-ATP at 1,000 or 1,250 hours. But so many pilots go to the regionals right after getting some flight time as a CFI. But why?

Is it the fact that the major airlines require more flight hours than the regionals or the mandated minimum hours and also more experience in different types of flying conditions?
 
N918KT said:
I mean yeah I think technically it is possible to go to the majors as soon as you get an ATP at 1,500 hours or R-ATP at 1,000 or 1,250 hours. But so many pilots go to the regionals right after getting some flight time as a CFI. But why?

Is it the fact that the major airlines require more flight hours than the regionals or the mandated minimum hours and also more experience in different types of flying conditions?
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The majors get hundreds of applications for each position offered, say 100 to 1. There is more to the equation than just a license and hours.

Since they have so many applications for few positions they can be very selective. The chance of a fresh ATP/1500 hour pilot without turbine experience is slim to none.

Not saying it can't happen, would be a real fluke if it did.
 
RotorAndWing said:
The majors get hundreds of applications for each position offered, say 100 to 1. There is more to the equation than just a license and hours.

Since they have so many applications for few positions they can be very selective. The chance of a fresh ATP/1500 hour pilot without turbine experience is slim to none.

Not saying it can't happen, would be a real fluke if it did.
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What about aviation colleges? Would they offer more connections to the majors and give professional pilot graduates an edge in getting a job, than a person out of a pilot mill with no connections?
 
N918KT said:
What about aviation colleges? Would they offer more connections to the majors and give professional pilot graduates an edge in getting a job, than a person out of a pilot mill with no connections?
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As far as I know, I don't believe any major airline offers a "go to this college and we'll hire you with a fresh ATP/1500 hours".
 
But there's a huuuuuge pilot shortage, remember?

:loco:;)
 
As many others have said, sure it's technically possible, but highly unlikely. I have several CFI buddies from my old job that have a couple thousand hours with multi-turbine time, and the majors wave them off repeatedly. If you really wanna get into the airlines, a regional is your best bet; They want time-builders. As a comparison to those aforementioned CFIs, I just got on with a regional with less than 400TT, no CFI, no turbine, and very little multi. A nice little plus is that you'll have lot's of support, both from pilots and the company, for helping you obtain your ATP. (And BTW, I feel pretty comfortable saying my 4-year Pro Pilot B.S. helped, but not mandatory...)
 
Play lotto. Better odds than being hired by the majors with 1500 hours and a pigskin.
 
RotorAndWing said:
The majors get hundreds of applications for each position offered, say 100 to 1. There is more to the equation than just a license and hours.

Since they have so many applications for few positions they can be very selective. The chance of a fresh ATP/1500 hour pilot without turbine experience is slim to none.

Not saying it can't happen, would be a real fluke if it did.
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ONLY if you are flying in the military
 
I would think the majors would prefer one of the many regional captains looking to move up over some Embry Riddle whiz kid with 1,200 hrs???
 
ONLY if
your in the military
your anything other than Caucasian
your a woman
your all of the above with an accident/violation record

seriously EEOC and military pilots are running the tables right now. Once they run out ..the average well qualified regional CA will start getting hired in sizable numbers again.
 
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What's so hard about typing you're these days? Too time consuming to finger that extra character key on the iPad? Far from just you, Taters.
 
Knowing people with far more qualifications who have recently applied to major airlines without too much obvious success makes me think that that the answer is "probably not".
 
Getting a call from a major with 1,500hrs and no prior 121/121PIC/mil/Turbine experience? Doubtful doesn't begin to describe the odds of getting a call.


Think of those thousands of regional captains flying around. They are almost all more qualified than a pilot with 1,500 hrs.

If your dad is the director of ops? Sure you'll probably get an interview. Other than that.....
 
1500 hours of military fighter pilot time? Yes, it happens -- 1500 hours there is a lot of sorties. 1500 hours flying as an instructor in 172's and charter in Aztecs? No.
 
Rex Kramer said:
Getting a call from a major with 1,500hrs and no prior 121/121PIC/mil/Turbine experience? Doubtful doesn't begin to describe the odds of getting a call.


Think of those thousands of regional captains flying around. They are almost all more qualified than a pilot with 1,500 hrs.

If your dad is the director of ops? Sure you'll probably get an interview. Other than that.....
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Yeah, and if you're dad is in the training department you can also be 777 Sim instructor !!!
 
Ron Levy said:
1500 hours of military fighter pilot time? Yes, it happens -- 1500 hours there is a lot of sorties. 1500 hours flying as an instructor in 172's and charter in Aztecs? No.
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I would put FAR more credence in a 1500 hour Military Multi-Crew pilot than ANY fighter pilot. I want someone that already understands crew concepts.
 
RotorAndWing said:
Yep. The single pilot military guys have a difficult time assimilating to the crew concept of flying.
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I guess that would depend on the person. I thought it was interesting when if flew the MC-12. Didn't seem difficult to me, take what you are used to doing and do half as much. ;)
 
Art VanDelay said:
I would put FAR more credence in a 1500 hour Military Multi-Crew pilot than ANY fighter pilot. I want someone that already understands crew concepts.
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I've seen airline hiring information indicating they take fewer fighter hours because the flights are shorter and the hours are more intense than droning in a C-141. YMMV. But given the military active duty commitments these days, even fighter pilots will have a lot more than 1500 hours upon release from active duty compared to the 5-6 year commitments years ago. Only those few going straight into the Guard would be available with 1500 hours.
 
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