Continental Minimums

WAFlyBoy

Well-Known Member
I understand that Continental does not publish a turbine PIC requirement. Does anybody know if they are actually interviewing and hiring pilots without 121 PIC time? I know that "published" minimums are often a far cry from "competitive" minimums.
 
You have to be extremely well connected to get hired at Continental without 1000 hours of Turbine PIC from a 121 or 135 operator.

The normal is 1200-1500 TPIC.
 
It's a terribly bad idea. A few hundred people got hired by US Airways without 1000 turbine PIC in 99/00. When we were furloughed in 01/02 we suddenly realized that we were not qualified to go to work for the few companies that were still hiring.

Nothing makes you feel like you've wasted your life more than having 8000+TT and realizing you're only qualified to go sit right-seat in an RJ with classmates who only have a few hundred hours.

Take it from a loser who has been there. Get the PIC turbine.
 
CAL is hiring Express guys with no connections and the mins.

CAL wants these guys for the exact reason Zap just detailed; they can't go anywhere. CAL gives everybody a full 737 PIC type rating, so a lot of guys were going to CAL with their 1,000 turbine PIC, spending 3 months online and bailing to Southwest.
 
What John said, They got burned in the beginning with people getting the 737 type and bailing.

You probably have the same chance with some TPIC but less than 1000 than someone with over 1000 TPIC.

John, As for the FOs, are you sure they were hired out of the blue, with out someone walking their stuff in or some recs from CAL pilots?
 
I've run into two that were able to get jobs without any help.

I've run into guys that can't get the job with help, 1,000 TPIC college degree and doing the chief pilots laundry.

CAL doesn't seem to have any standardization to their hiring practices.
 
I've run into two that were able to get jobs without any help.

I've run into guys that can't get the job with help, 1,000 TPIC college degree and doing the chief pilots laundry.

CAL doesn't seem to have any standardization to their hiring practices.

Hmmm, interesting.

Dad has a guy that has gobs (thousands of hours) of B-1900 TPIC that likes the living at home part of his job more than the chance at a major, that he'll walk his stuff in when he's ready to move on. The guy just doesn't want to commute. But if the way things are happening at his airline he very well could be commuting to EWR anyway. Personally CAL would be a fool not to hire him, but who freaking knows.
 
That guy is doing my six month proficiency check! We just finished the oral. On to the sim tomorrow...
 
Honestly, I wouldn't mind CAL. It's one of the few majors that won't be outsourcing flying to E170s. Q400s, on the other hand, are a different story. I guess when they wrote the scope clause they never figured TPs would go higher than 50 seats, so management found a way around that. One of the things I LIKE about CAL is the scope clause.

That being said, I've had my stuff in for months, meet the mins, update regularly, and haven't heard a word. I guess I'm not one of the lucky ones at this point.
 
Actually they've known about big turboprops for a long time. Continental Express (when it was still Continental Express) was flying ATR-72's.
 
I'll second what jtrain said.

I've heard often of ExpressJet guys getting on with CAL as high time FO's. Also as an ex-ExpressJet, now CAL captain put it, XJT guys fit in since they're trained in a very similar fashion as the CAL pilots. After all, CAL did write the XJT training standards.
 
Thank you for your interest in joining the Continental team. Continental anticipates continued growth and significant hiring through 2007 and beyond.
The following are the minimum qualifications to apply for a pilot position:
  • 1,500 hours fixed-wing total flight time
  • 1,000 hours fixed-wing PIC time, or 500 hours PIC time and 500 hours SIC time in a turbojet
  • 1,000 hours fixed-wing turbine time
  • 1,000 hours fixed-wing multi-engine time (civilian or military) or 1,000 hours single-engine military fighter jet time
  • A current ATP written exam
  • A current first class FAA medical
  • A current passport
  • A Bachelor's degree is highly desired
Was the question that CO had no pic req. or no 121 PIC req. Because I see 1000 hrs. fixed wing PIC time requirement!

http://www.continental.com/web/en-US/content/company/career/pilot.aspx
 
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