Ep. 404: Airline Interviews | Going to the Regionals 

Thanks man. Many of us are grateful for all your valued insight input. You are a legend!

Absolutely loved the information that you gave! And these was definitely some of my concerns. Thanks...

Congrats!!! I hope you still have time to do a video or two. I have learned a great deal from you. Best of luck to you.

Although I’m interested in being a flight attendant and not a pilot, I found this video pretty helpful. I’ve heard pretty good things about PSA and a recruiter is supposed to come to a FA career training class I’m attending. Hope to catch you in the sky one day. Thanks again.

Very helpful, thank you. I've just accepted my first interview invitation.

Thanks Jon, that was very good briefing.

Spectacular brother very in depth and well spoken!!!

Thank you so much for the helpful info. I have three interviews lined up. Great information!!

thank you, this video made me feel better. I have an interview coming up, not going to lie, I'm really nervous.

Awesome video. Thank you!

Thats was a good information thanks man

Great advice thanks!

have 2 airline interviews this week. Soaking up all the info. . . Great info

Great video!

Thanks for posting this. When I started watching your private video 3 years ago I had no idea I’d even move past private. Now I’m trying to get enough hours to apply to the regionals or a part 135. All of your videos are informative and very clear. It was fun to see you flying out of KVNC. I trained at KPGD. If you have any advice on how to get hours in SWFlorida please reach out to me. Thanks again for all your help along my journey.

This is great thank you!

Outstanding Sir!!! Thanks

really nice ... full of information

Thanka man that helped alot

Need another revisit on this video with the current times we in 2021

Great vid!

Thank you so much for your video

I just got hired as a flight attendant for Endeavor, hope to see you on a flight one day!

Thanks a lot!

Since they are offering a contract that is good for 6 months, at how many hours can you start interviewing with regionals? Say I'm at a part 141 school as a CFII, with 1000 hours. Can I start applying then? Or do you really need the full 1500 hours before you can go apply and interview? Trying to avoid paying ATP an extra 40K for the privilege of interviewing early.

Thanks for sharing the info. The biggest question I have revolves around work-hours and work days. I'm a single dad, I have a good support system but what would a work-week look like? Is regional flying friendly to family life? I live in the Los Angeles area, I would imagine finding a base in one of the many large airports to be reasonably realistic. That should resolve the 'commute' issue at least. -cheers

Just passed my assessment and have my first interview for Delta propel pilot program in November, I'm very excited! This video was a great insight of some of what to expect, thank you! Do you have any recommendations for taking the mmpi-2 exam?

Hey John. Quick question, I have my private now and want to get into the airlines. Will they interview at that level and push through the ratings or do I need the hours before applying?

Do you have a video about after getting hired and getting a class date/CJO? I can’t find anything about what happens next?

Does it apply to RTP pilots? I'm getting ready for envoy RTP program so I'm scouting for every bit of information I can get on getting hired.

i think the website is down at the moment it is saying in small text in the top left of the screen "Disallowed Key Characters." when I go to airline pilot central. ill check again in a few days.

11:01 With respect, I think this comment is naive and broad brushed. Yes, some 121 carriers will hire those qualified on paper. However, the training department is left to disqualify those. That's incredibly unfortunate for the instructors and candidates. My airline did not hire everyone, one of which was a USAF pilot, in my interview group. We still lost one of four during training and the class behind mine lost one of two. I also highly recommend studying Jepp' charts and plates. I would not have passed the technical part of the interview if I would not have. Overall, the video was good. Thanks for the effort for those looking to the 121 world.

really great and informative video. quick question does the airline pilot central website work with UK airlines as well or is it just US?

Thank you very much for the detailed and helpful info!! Do you have any specific information or know of any resources in the CANADIAN aviation industry? Similar demand for pilots as the US? Thanks!!

Hmm, can you just relocate? Relocating can be expensive and time consuming though.

Hey man, I’ve watched your channel for years along my training. I’m ready to apply for regionals, but I’ve lost my log book.

Airline Pilot Central doesn't keep their profiles updated reliably. The pay scale for my company is 7 years out of date. Most of them are kept up, but you never know.

Hi Mr i just want to star thanking you for that the heads up . I m a pilot i have 1200 hr as pic total here in argentina but i m a Us citizent that thing that i stop flying 3 year ago becase a realy close friend that use to fly with me got killed in a baron 58 and i stoped flying not becase i was afraid or anything like that. simple because that afected me emotionaly. now do you think that i have a chance to get hire over there?thanks my friend..keep the blue side up

Most are paying 80,000 plus these days and still having trouble hiring. Pilots are getting a 100k sign on bonus for PSA now too

This is by far one of the best vid's i've seen regarding this. I'm on the fence of a career change. 13 years total USAF. 5 of those as a maintainer on C-17's, and coming up on 8 years as a KC-10 Flight Engineer. due to some medical stuff that's potentially goign to remove me from the USAF (worldwide Deployment related), I've talked to an AME and can still easily maintain a Class 1 (currently under a military class 3), I'm tempted to take my medical discharge pay and use my GI bill to grab an associates with PPL/CPL. that'll leave me with ~250 hours flight time, plus from what I've read I can transfer 500 hours from my FE time, and the R-ATP with an associates is 1250 vs 1500. so immediately upon graduating i'll have 750 toward my ATP, with only ~500 to go. My biggest obstacle really though is finding my exit from the USAF enlistment, and maintaining a decent living wage for my family while undergoing training and taking those initial pre-airline jobs to obtain hours. full military retirement isn't really an option and puts me way behind the curve if i decide to stay in another 7 years, where in 7 years I could have several years already flying for an airline.

Hi Jon. Thanks for sharing this experience with us. Now, one year after your video been posted I have a question for you. I'm 43 and will start my training at ATP within a month. Do you believe in two years I will have a chance to get hired? Thanks in advance. Regards Wendell

Quick question, what are the academic requirements for regional airline? College, University etc. I have two associate degrees and was worrying about everything I read online require a bachelors. Thanks!

The last time I tried airlineapps.com it was a janky mess that I wouldn't trust with my personal info. Heck, they don't even let you see a summary of your profile/application before the point of no return. SkyWest is non-union, the only non-union 121 in the USA, (last I checked) so good luck when times get tight. (Unions aren't perfect by any measure, but I'd rather have one than not)

I hope your airline career is going well. I just viewed your video, and wanted to write to tell you that it was very helpful. May I contact you if I have additional questions? What's the best way to do so? Thanks again for the video.

I wonder how many or what percentage of USA regional pilots are living in shared kinds of housing environments. That's how the documentary from PBS called "Flying Cheap" made it out.. of course they also made out as if it's unfair if all passengers somehow don't know that their regional carrier is technically separate from the major carrier. Yet it always says on the ticket "operated by"..

Did you get an offer from all regionals that you applied for?

Hello, You get hired as a FO?. How long you are an FO before you can apply for Captain? Also, do they train you for captain?

What's your opinion on logbooks? Paper or electronic??

What advice do you have for a brand new pilot to get up to the 1500 hours? I'm just 1000% short.

When they interview when they offer you the job is it only for a pilot or is it a flight attendant as well?

What are the regional requirements for college degree? If the degree check box on airline apps is not checked, do they even bother to look at the rest of your resume?

fly8ma.com, I have a question. I'm helping a friend of mine research becoming a pilot. He had a problem in 2013 when he was 20 years old where he received a resisting arrest (class A misdemeanor), completed deferred adjudication with community service, then the charge was dismissed. He also had it sealed from his record so it shouldn't show up on a background check. Government agencies will have access to this information, however. He is now 25. What are the chances of being hired at a regional airline and then after a few years moving on to the major airlines? He doesn't want to move forward with flight training if he cannot move forward to a major or corporate job. What are your thoughts? Thanks for your input!

2023 everything changed now. To many inexperienced FO applicants and nobody hiring now. 😊

Are you allowed to say what airline you picked?

What’s crazy is how they are paying 80-100k to start.

"people making a living wage at these airlines" you forgot about Island Air XD

Any guesses How long the hiring will be so liberal?

Is there anything that I can do now as a 13 year old to help me become a pilot

"They just want a warm body in the seat" :-)

how many hours where you competitive to the regionals and how many did you have when picked up?? lastly if you dont mind sharing a rough estimate of the salary offer in a PM if not comfortable?

I thought you gave up flying regional and returned to being an instructor.

Envoy is the best airline to do, pay is very close to the top, programs are the best (cadet program) benefits are the best, the only thing is that crj’s are getting faded out which sucks because reserve lists will get longer and longer, especially on the 175.

Can I be an airline pilot if I start flight training in my 43 ?

Wow! What a lack of integrity to no show a class date! The airline has to do a tremendous amount of work to get an applicant in the door! If you don’t have enough honor to be truthful to a company, know that HR folks go to a lot of conferences together and get to know each other. You may be shooting yourself in the foot with your bad decision. I also don’t agree with the idea of picking a class date then wanting to change if (for anything other than an emergency). Again, the airline has done a lot of work to add you into their ranks. Show them the respect you’d like to receive.

I was winged in 1986 by the Army at Fort Rucker, big airlines were not interested in hiring Rotary Wing Pilots. My fellow Army Aviators with heavy RW time in the reserves with me, could only be hired by the Crap Box Regional Airlines. Some guys made only $12,500 per year, & guys at Mesa said was a good weight loss program. Regional's seemed to very competitive with the Army at abusing their Pilots. I witness to a lot of regional horror stories, my regular Army Troop CDR & XO had to take a day off to chill after hearing on how one of their buddies was treated at a bankrupt regional. The Army paid better than a regional but with a whole different kind of suck. But most of your Army Aviation career is deployed in a tent with broke dick aircraft, Crappy base housing, stupid non-flying additional duties, Crappy assignments supposedly to help your career, Commanders trying to kill you, Major Command decisions by Non-Pilot Generals . Aviation Warrant Officers will always be assigned at Company/Troop level and Commissioned Officer pilots will barely fly and serve in miserable staff job's hoping for a command. I went back college and got degree, and went corporate & hated it, got married to beautiful women and we own a business, retired from USAR and never got called up for the Gulf wars. I remember after 9/11 when major airline pilots took major pay cuts and had very unhappy wives who disliked lifestyle changes. I was in MAG-41 at NAS Dallas TX, before the transferring to the Army for flight school when Braniff folded, My old USMCR Squadron CDR was out job as SR. Capt at Braniff. He was lucky at his age to be hired by Piedmont starting at the bottom. My advice for flight training get the military to pay for it & do not take student loans.

I’m going to be eligible for a R-ATP at 1,000hrs through my school... but until then, what’s the best route for air time without doing CFI

I'm starting my time-building phase of my career; sitting at 650hrs working as a CFI. How "sustainable" do you think this hiring environment will be over the next few years? My concern is getting too hyped up with this pilot shortage, building my time, but when I reach near minimums, they stop hiring for whatever reason. I understand that aviation is cyclical and events such as economic recessions, terrorist attacks, etc. can't be predicted accurate. But do you think, as it stands right now, that the hiring boom will still be going on once I reach near ATP mins in the near future?

Good to know that the regionals are hiring every person that walks through the door just to have warm bodies to fill pilot seats!! If a regional carrier is my only option to get me there, then I’ll just drive.

Wear a suit and tie, and sunglasses on your forehead

Hope SkyWest did not pick you.