If you meet the mins...

WillNotFly4Food

Well-Known Member
As per the Comair site:

General Pilot Positions

Comair is currently accepting resumes from qualified candidates.

Our minimum qualifications are:

Commercial Pilot Certificate with a Multi-engine airplane & Instrument Rating
ATP Preferred - ATP Written Required
Current First Class Medical Certificate
FCC Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit
Valid Passport
High School Graduate, College Degree Preferred
Minimum Age - 21
Legally authorized to work in the U.S.A.
1200 Total Flight Hours
200 Multi-Engine Hours
 
Down one more forum.
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When will the minimums for regionals go back down to 500-700 tt?

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They won't be that low for in the forseeable future. I would be satisfied if the regionals were hiring 1500hr pilots actively.

Hiring right now still seems very anemic, and there are still lots of guys in the 1500-2000hr range bumping around without getting a shot at a regional.
 
I was stationed at North Island (Coronado) on board the USS Ranger (CV-61) and have traveled that bridge many times. I always read the San Diego paper online and happened to see this picture a few weeks ago. The plane is a replica of one the Lindy flew and it was landing at San Diego's Lindhberg (sp?) Field in celebration of their 75th anniversary (I think). Anyhow, that is a long story about how I came about the picture.
 
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When will the minimums for regionals go back down to 500-700 tt?

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At the risk of offending about everyone....hopefully never.

In my opinion, +/-300 hours after obtaining your Commercial ticket is WAY too soon to jump into airline service. Not too long ago, commuters hired into non-pressurized 19-30 seat turboprops with 2000-3000 hours. Hiring 500 hour guys into an RJ blows my mind.

I am aware that "back in the good 'ol days," people were hired into the majors with very low time. The part of that equation that is overlooked, is that they spent 10+ years sideways at the engineer panel.
 
No Offense taken. Just curious as to what you think would be a good number. Would it depend on how the hours were obtained? I am just curious to what others see as a "good" number. Can I surmise by your username that you fly professionally? If so, how many hours did you have when hired to your first passenger carrying position?
 
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Just curious as to what you think would be a good number. Would it depend on how the hours were obtained? I am just curious to what others see as a "good" number. Can How many hours did you have when hired to your first passenger carrying position?

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Very good questions!

I always thought 2-3000 hours was a good median. 1500 minimum. There are hundreds of variables. Such as previous military training, what part of the country you trained in (see next paragraph), did you instruct/in what, did you fly freight, have you had previous "crew" time vs. single pilot. Single pilot freight dogs are held in pretty high regard actually.

Guys who train in the southwest, or fly "the canyon," gain time but very little experience with IMC and high density airspace. You guys who train in S Florida....if you had TCASII, you'd be afraid to fly below 8000 feet between SSI and MIA
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(Indian territory as we call it....Senecas, Seminoles, Navajos, Cheyennes, Warriors, Archers, Arrows, etc.)
I had a friend who was let go once when the comapny upgraded from King Airs to Lears. They said he didn't have the insurance mins. He had about 1500 King Air time and a few hundred piston. The guy they kept had 3000 piston and a few hundred turbine. Go figure.

The numbers you requested:
1200- Freight dog
2400- Pax Charters
2450- First Jet (Part time)
3300- First Type rating
Mix in 1200 dual given
 
Airlines used to have a general minimum of 2500 TT with 500 ME.

When I hit that mark I was starting to be a safe, conservative pilot. Up until that time I think I was always willing to fly anything. I was more tempted to fly in an airplane that was in "less than perfect" condition because I needed the hours.

Not saying that should be the minimums anymore, that's just what it used to be.
 
It is very possible to be a safe, conservative pilot with less than 2500 hrs.

There are WAY too many variables for you to attach numbers to what someone should/can fly or not. Everybody is different. There is not quantitative way to measure a pilot, only qualitative.
 
That is more along the lines of what I was thinking. I am 34 and just finishing up my IFR training. I am probably too 'old' (if you can call it that) to work my way up to the majors, I don't know. I would be more than happy to fly for a regional carrier or possibly corporate/fractional, who knows. We will see how it goes.
 
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The numbers you requested:
1200- Freight dog
2400- Pax Charters
2450- First Jet (Part time)
3300- First Type rating
Mix in 1200 dual given

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These seem like pretty good numbers to me, although I have a long way to go to my first type rating.....
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I'll be qualifying for Freight Dog by the end of the year! Yipee!

Hey, how did you come up with 2450 for first jet? Where did those 50 hours come in? Or did you just look at your log book hehe...?
 
Now wait a minute, I am all for experience, and I would love to be a flight instructor for a couple of years before I go to the airlines, but how do European airlines train there ab initio students with 250 hours into the right seat of a 737 or A320, and do that safely? They have the same safety record as US airlines, correct?
 
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Now wait a minute, I am all for experience, and I would love to be a flight instructor for a couple of years before I go to the airlines, but how do European airlines train there ab initio students with 250 hours into the right seat of a 737 or A320, and do that safely? They have the same safety record as US airlines, correct?

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I'n no big fan of ab initio per se for the whole buy-a-job reason, but regards the experience subject, depending on the program, you could train someone with 250 hours and put them in the right seat of a 737. The military does it all the time with guys going into the right seat of C-130/141/17/5s etc. And even more, flying single-seat jets with the same time.

Just depends on the discipline and thoroughness of the training program.
 
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Now wait a minute, I am all for experience, and I would love to be a flight instructor for a couple of years before I go to the airlines, but how do European airlines train there ab initio students with 250 hours into the right seat of a 737 or A320, and do that safely? They have the same safety record as US airlines, correct?

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That's because they can't afford to train the pilots any more then 250 hours its to expensive. Just kidding.
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I read an article about BA. They actually do a nationwide testing. They get about a couple thousand applicants and widdle it down to about 20 or less. Than they are fully covered for training. They do their initals in the states and then they go to the airlines for all of their advanced training. The airline invests quite a bit into each student from what I understand. Unless you are able to go the military route, it sounded like a good deal. (But what was the old saying about things being to good to be true????)
 
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It is very possible to be a safe, conservative pilot with less than 2500 hrs.

There are WAY too many variables for you to attach numbers to what someone should/can fly or not. Everybody is different. There is not quantitative way to measure a pilot, only qualitative.

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Unfortunately, when an airline is shuffling through 10,000 resumes, they don't have time to analyze each one on merit.They have to set a benchmark. Sometimes it requires 2000 hours, others maybe an ATP.

It has never been a question of whether or not a person can be safe at 250 hours. There is just a much better chance that a person is safer at 2500 (or whatever). Experience is another factor, and there is just no possible way to gain enough experience in 250 hours. You military guys correct me, but a military pilot does get online in a short few hundred hours, but it also takes two years of intense training before you reach a squadron. At 250 hours, most people, including myself, don't know what is or isn't safe in a turbine at FL410.
 
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[. You military guys correct me, but a military pilot does get online in a short few hundred hours, but it also takes two years of intense training before you reach a squadron. At 250 hours, most people, including myself, don't know what is or isn't safe in a turbine at FL410.

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From UPT student to Mission Ready A-10 pilot is about 1.5 years and 280 hours. Agree, though, the training is intense, hence why I said it depends on the discipline and thoroughness of the training.
 
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