I doubt it killed it, but I suspect you’ll need to start back at the regionals again, or maybe the ACMIs. It will likely be very difficult to get into a major after leaving. And the same would likely be true for me if I ever needed to go back. A friend of mine who left the airlines to run his own accounting firm after Comair went under recently decided to return to flying, and he had to start at Envoy. I doubt he’ll need to be there that long, but getting straight to a major after leaving aviation for a period of time is a big lift.
In my case, it was barely a year off at the end of a decade of airline flying. My previous shop would have sent me to do one sim session, then straight back to CQ. (And I'd be ready for it. I'm ready for it now.)
That said, I was surprised to be invited to interview, as I figured it was at the outside edge of recency. I've now been informed that the team sending out interview invites doesn't take those things into account, which seems a bit ... off, to me.
It didn't kill it, but the longer you sit on the shelf, the less desirable you will become. You need to get a flying job, preferably turbine, and it might mean starting over at a regional.
The problem is that the regionals are pretty awful right now with regard to quality of life. (I do know that's nothing new) The thought of spending all my time commuting across the country to fly myself to a burned husk after ten years, for the -possible- opportunity to move on? That's a bit tough, I'm not going to lie. After seven weeks of out-of-base reserve sitting in random hotels in 2021, I was a complete zombie on the days I was home. The thought of doing that again from ground 0 is ... tough.
Also, judging from the post above (not this one that I am quoting), it sounds like you have a chip on your shoulder. You might just be venting on here, which is understandable, or maybe you need to ask yourself some tough questions.
I'm definitely venting. It's incredibly demoralizing getting rejected by a second major in a row when everybody you know is getting hired everywhere, even people who've barely touched a thrust lever. Believe me, I came into the game never expecting to move to a major, so it's not that I feel specifically entitled to the job—but if you look at the subject of this thread, and the discussion about how "desperate" airlines are to hire, it might be clear why it's so crushing.
My non-pilot friends are absolutely stunned that I didn't get hired. "But isn't there a huge pilot shortage right now?" "Have you tried flying private planes?" "You should go work for Delta." "Have you applied overseas?" "What about the military?"
Most of my pilot friends are all pretty shocked, too. "Have you tried <my shop>?" "Have you tried ACMI?" "You need to go back to a regional." ... and while the latter might be true, it's certainly demoralizing. I've been cheering people on for four years now as they move up, move on, and land their dream jobs. Watching flight attendants I work with put themselves through flight school, come back as pilots, and then move on to the majors.
From a mentoring and cheerleading point of view, it's been literally the most amazing thing, and I'm so happy to see good people go to good places.
But part of me is a bit gutted, I have to admit.
I have found it true in my life that when one door closes, another one opens. Either way, good luck.
I had thought, after Alaska said no, that this might be the door that opened. But it seems not.
Anyway, I don't want to make this stupid thread about me. I just wanted to drop in to say that they're apparently not that desperate yet.
