I was scrolling through the internet today and I found an ad for this:

Skip the Regional Jet Go Direct to the A320 & B737
ATP is your airline career solution. Complete pilot training in seven months, then go directly to the Airbus and Boeing flight deck as a First Officer at 1,500 hours. Fast track your career, skip the regional jet and enjoy higher pay, career stability, and quality of life. Exclusive partnerships allow you to skip flying small regional planes and earn higher pay earlier in your career.

They're saying Sun country, Frontier, and avelo are taking recruits.
https://atpflightschool.com/land/direct ... IGEALw_wcB

I thought you had to start off at the regionals to get some tome before being able to go up the totem pole.

Cardude2 wrote:

I thought you had to start off at the regionals to get some tome before being able to go up the totem pole.

Didn’t have to that was the convention when the market allowed it. Market forces change this, on another thread they have DL dropping the college degree entry requirements.

zeke wrote:

Cardude2 wrote:

I thought you had to start off at the regionals to get some tome before being able to go up the totem pole.

Didn’t have to that was the convention when the market allowed it. Market forces change this, on another thread they have DL dropping the college degree entry requirements.

ah thanks

Cardude2 wrote:

ah thanks

I think it is wise to take what flying schools advertise with healthy scepticism unless it is backed up by information independently advertised by the employers.

Go read the website and once past the sales snow job, you’ll see “gain experience” meaning get 1,500 hours and an ATP after being a CFI.

And, one doesn’t have to go to the regionals, there’s many paths to travel.

Cardude2 wrote:

I was scrolling through the internet today and I found an ad for this:

Skip the Regional Jet Go Direct to the A320 & B737
ATP is your airline career solution. Complete pilot training in seven months, then go directly to the Airbus and Boeing flight deck as a First Officer at 1,500 hours. Fast track your career, skip the regional jet and enjoy higher pay, career stability, and quality of life. Exclusive partnerships allow you to skip flying small regional planes and earn higher pay earlier in your career.

They're saying Sun country, Frontier, and avelo are taking recruits.
https://atpflightschool.com/land/direct ... IGEALw_wcB

I thought you had to start off at the regionals to get some tome before being able to go up the totem pole.

Outside the US, it isn't really uncommon to go direct to an A320 or 737. I also know plenty of people who went direct from light pistons in flight school to a widebody.

As GalaxyFlyer says, there are many paths. Military being yet another.

GalaxyFlyer wrote:

Go read the website and once past the sales snow job, you’ll see “gain experience” meaning get 1,500 hours and an ATP after being a CFI.

And, one doesn’t have to go to the regionals, there’s many paths to travel.

Yeah, this is isn't really anything special, bit of a marketing gimmick. Plus, not trying to start a semantics war, but there are different interpretations of "major" airline, some would argue Avelo, F9 and Sun Country aren't exactly the majors. Also to Starlionblue's point, there are many FO's in other parts of the world flying 320's and 737's with far fewer then 1,500 hours. The US has a different approach to training pilots.

Ultimately, ATP's MO is for students to pay handsomely (twice what they could part 61, if done shrewdly) to get 250 hours and their commercial/multi/CFI/CFII and then work for ATP as instructors to hit their 1250/1500.

What they're really advertising is that these ULCCs/hybrid cargo/passenger carriers are not getting enough flow from regionals anymore and will now hire ATP qualified people off the street. Since they'll type you in a mainline narrow body, there is an additional appeal for folks who want to get hired by one of the Big 6 (UA/AA/DL/AS/WN/HA).

Heck what exactly do major airlines want from any pilot before they can join? Enough PIC turbojet time? And what’s the lowest average experience a major FO has?

CarlosSi wrote:

Heck what exactly do major airlines want from any pilot before they can join? Enough PIC turbojet time? And what’s the lowest average experience a major FO has?

There is no "exactly" and it varies widely. Some major airlines will take you with a CPL and multi rating plus a few hundred hours and put you directly onto a "mainline" jet. Others require 5000 hours. It very much depends on what their needs are and who they can find at the time.

If you can't find people, you simply lower the requirements.

CarlosSi wrote:

Heck what exactly do major airlines want from any pilot before they can join? Enough PIC turbojet time? And what’s the lowest average experience a major FO has?

It's not really "requirements" as it is making you competitive. The big 4 plus FX and 5N are gonna take the creamer of the crop. And that usually entails some regional flying or military, and if they're lucky, the likes of Avelo, F9, Suncountry, et Al.

Soon the ULCCs will be replacing the regionals as the choice of stepping stone to get to the legacies…. If you are a new pilot with 1500hrs and fresh wet ATP had a choice between going to a regional airline flying a 76 seat regional jet or a ULCC to fly 319/320/321s which one would you pick before moving on to DL/UA/AA/HA/FDX/UPS?

Woodreau wrote:

Soon the ULCCs will be replacing the regionals as the choice of stepping stone to get to the legacies…. If you are a new pilot with 1500hrs and fresh wet ATP had a choice between going to a regional airline flying a 76 seat regional jet or a ULCC to fly 319/320/321s which one would you pick before moving on to DL/UA/AA/HA/FDX/UPS?

Hmm true but maybe they’d go after a lot of those regional/military pilots with already plenty of experience than fresh new 1500 . It won’t completely replace regionals as a stepping stone, but it may take a chunk.

I know my relatives always talk about how those Viva Aerobus pilots always look so young.

Woodreau wrote:

Soon the ULCCs will be replacing the regionals as the choice of stepping stone to get to the legacies…. If you are a new pilot with 1500hrs and fresh wet ATP had a choice between going to a regional airline flying a 76 seat regional jet or a ULCC to fly 319/320/321s which one would you pick before moving on to DL/UA/AA/HA/FDX/UPS?

That already happened in Europe in the early 2000’s. The result was that many experienced TP/RJ guys were stuck with regionals, while guys fresh out of flying schools went directly to the 737/320…