How long should I expect to fly before making it into the regionals

[mmmike]

Hello, I was just wondering how long will it take for someone to make it into one of the regional airlines. For the sake of the post I just started my CFI job and want to go to the regionals. How long will it take (ex. 2 years) from personal experience or others. Thank you

[Conflicting Traffic]

Hello, I was just wondering how long will it take for someone to make it into one of the regional airlines. For the sake of the post I just started my CFI job and want to go to the regionals. How long will it take (ex. 2 years) from personal experience or others. Thank you

If you're qualified to be a CFI, then pre-COVID you would have been able to go to the regionals almost immediately (assuming you have a MIFR/IATRA, of course). Nowadays it will depend on how fast the recovery is. Best case, maybe a year or so. Most likely case, I would guess maybe three to fours years. Worst case, you don't want to know.

[valleyboy]

First, if you are presently employed and working as a CFI consider yourself very lucky.

To your question, who can tell but the number of 5 years to clear the pilots on furlough has been batted around. So new hires will be after that. Many factors can change this but the level 1 carriers and feeders are cutting low yield roots, which means a reduction in crews and aircraft. It will take time for them to even consider marginal routes and logically these routes will be serviced by smaller carriers. Who knows if the level one guys will entertain code share.

Bottom line, who knows when but the reset could change the whole canadian approach to the commuter world. I can see more independents out there like Porter.

[altiplano]

Furloughs have to be rehired, Mainline carriers have to start hiring again to create the movement up, you might get lucky but more likely all the people that during this time are building more relevant experience than you will get looked at earlier in the process.

Get a bit of PIC and go get a job on a King Air or Metro... get a path to an upgrade on one of those and your path to a 705 machine will be shorter.

[ayseven]

Take this for what you paid for it, from a guy who did NOT make it anywhere... well, I worked when I had to. Listen to Altiplano (for once). HIs advice is right on the money here. PIC, PIC, PIC, the more turbine the better.

Having said that, I am not sure a lot of big 705 guys will be necessarily attractive to many companies, since those people are guaranteed to go back to the biggies once recalls are on the way. I know of a guy who was in Asia flying, who has not flown in a year and a half, who is just biding his time, and not chasing the "up north" charter jobs (been there, done that, for them). I would wager a lot are like that, so the pool of experienced, reliable, proven pilots is not as large as some might think.

In your shoes, I would be tempted to just stay where I was, keep your wits about you, and stop worrying about "maybe". Timing is everything, and if you go away to some far away place, for fun times with chips and pop, etc, you can be out of the loop on the happenings at the regionals down in civilisiation. A bird in the hand, as they say. You are in an airplane, and that is basically what any employer is going to see as MOST important.

[Outlaw58]

In your shoes, I would be tempted to just stay where I was, keep your wits about you, and stop worrying about "maybe".

Bingo

58

[redlaser]

In a year or more all ATPL pilots will be dead from the coronavirus, A boing 747 aircraft will be selling for 100 bucks, so you can own your own. But seriously, the coronavirus will be around for several years. Your best bet is that you buy an aircraft and get your required hours for a ATPL and Instrument rating.

[digits_]

Timing is everything, and if you go away to some far away place, for fun times with chips and pop, etc, you can be out of the loop on the happenings at the regionals down in civilisiation. A bird in the hand, as they say. You are in an airplane, and that is basically what any employer is going to see as MOST important.

That's just silly. Working up North will not get you out of the loop for hiring at regionals. Regionals are big enough that vacancies are advertised. You're not chasing unadvertised hush cush posh corporate jobs that you only hear about because your friend's friend told you about it when he bumped into you at the airport.

Any regional will prefer turbine PIC time over FI time. They might also like someone with both more than someone who only has one. Since the OP already has FI time, getting some turbine time will only help him. No negative career effects whatsoever. Except that he might hate the job if he's stuck up north for 5 years, but then again some people seem to go crazy instructing for 5 years as well.

[mmmike]

Hello, I was just wondering how long will it take for someone to make it into one of the regional airlines. For the sake of the post I just started my CFI job and want to go to the regionals. How long will it take (ex. 2 years) from personal experience or others. Thank you

If you're qualified to be a CFI, then pre-COVID you would have been able to go to the regionals almost immediately (assuming you have a MIFR/IATRA, of course). Nowadays it will depend on how fast the recovery is. Best case, maybe a year or so. Most likely case, I would guess maybe three to fours years. Worst case, you don't want to know.

What about pre covid, how many years do u have to work before getting hired to regionals.

[mmmike]

What about pre covid? How many years did u have to work before getting a job as getting into regionals.

[ToolShed]

4 to get to a Tier 3 regional.

[altiplano]

10 years to get to a Dash 8 not too long ago.

[rudder]

Neither Jazz nor Encore nor Porter will be looking at OTS hiring sooner than 2023.

There are other 705 regional carriers that are hiring and will be hiring. Right candidate. Right place. Right time.

Single engine piston flight instructing time used to be good enough to get you hired (circa 2019). It isn’t anymore. Maybe in 2024?

Go get time that counts and time that will make you a better pilot. Time in the circuit and time in the ‘practice area’ won’t do that.

[altiplano]

Neither Jazz nor Encore nor Porter will be looking at OTS hiring sooner than 2023.

There are other 705 regional carriers that are hiring and will be hiring. Right candidate. Right place. Right time.

Single engine piston flight instructing time used to be good enough to get you hired (circa 2019). It isn’t anymore. Maybe in 2024?

Go get time that counts and time that will make you a better pilot. Time in the circuit and time in the ‘practice area’ won’t do that.

Good advice!

Go get a King Air or Metro job. Go get real world flying experience. Jobs will be more competitive to get than this generation up and coming have seen... Instructing only and people without command time or an ATPL won't be in the mix.

[fish4life]

When you see CFI so you mean you have your class 1 instructor rating or are you confusing it with American CFI?

[RockSalty]

What about pre covid? How many years did u have to work before getting a job as getting into regionals.

I instructed for about a year before getting an in person interview with one of the regionals a couple of months before covid hit

[simply_no_one]

Best idea is to stick with your CFI job until you have enough to qualify as a medivac FO. Then go get a job flying a King Air and upgrade on that. By the time two years goes by you hit over 2000 hours, ATPL and have some solid real world experience under your belt the regionals will likely be hiring. Now is a good time to pad your experience as best as you can because once hiring opens up, I imagine competition will be fierce. I foresee Jazz/Encore being back to the 1500, ATPL and 500 MPIC requirement like they were a few years ago.

[Roar]

Don’t get discouraged for a two-three year wait nowadays.
It is still incredibly quick, I can remember the day when to get a left seat Navajo job a guy needed 5000hrs, King Air and regional jobs were 7000-8000 hrs and a corporate jet forget it that might as well be the space shuttle.

[Ash Ketchum]

Took me 2 years. These days probably 4-5 ish.

[‘Bob’]

You don’t have to wait at all.

You can do all major city pairs on the regionals in about 3 or four legs.