Any one hired at the majors under 23?

[Citationkid]

Weird question, but it came up at another forum. I was just wondering if any one has been hired at a major airline under 23.

 

[jetexas]

I think AA hired some that were around 21-22 back in '98-'99 when Cecil Ewell was CP.

 

[mobie]

under 23

Was hired at 22 at the real Piedmont (now USAirways) back in the dark ages in 1965. Mobie

 

[U-I pilot]

met a few pilots here hired prior.....
actually heard a story from some guys of a 23 or 24 yr old 747 capt......they said they won lots of beer betting people on trips that he was the capt.

 

[SWA/FO]

youngest guy in my newhire class at SWA was 24.

 

[Floyd94]

youngest guy in my newhire class at SWA was 24.

WOW! What was his story??

 

[steveg]

I started at a major at 23.

 

[WhiteCloud]

met a few pilots here hired prior.....
actually heard a story from some guys of a 23 or 24 yr old 747 capt......they said they won lots of beer betting people on trips that he was the capt.

There was a thing in AOPA pilot about that guy. Here how I recall the article......He started out with a freight hauler in DC8's that was contracting freight for UPS. When UPS started their own airline the seniority list of the freight hauler (name?) became the top of the UPS seniority list. I believe he was a 747 Captain at 24 or 25. It wasn't like the guy went from CFI to 747 though. He did all the same stuff we do/did and made some good (lucky?) choices along the way.

 

[ILStoMinimums]

There was a thing in AOPA pilot about that guy. Here how I recall the article......He started out with a freight hauler in DC8's that was contracting freight for UPS. When UPS started their own airline the seniority list of the freight hauler (name?) became the top of the UPS seniority list. I believe he was a 747 Captain at 24 or 25. It wasn't like the guy went from CFI to 747 though. He did all the same stuff we do/did and made some good (lucky?) choices along the way.

UNBELIEVABLE!! He's probably got 30 years under his belt and has a few more years to go?

 

[Heavy_D_Driver]

Close

The guy at UPS became a 747 Captain at age 28 and for a while he was the youngest 747 captain in the world. He however is not at the top of the seniority list at UPS. He was in the right place at the right time when his former company was aquired by UPS.

 

[AirBoard]

BA starts them young in the cadet program. I believe the youngest 744 CA is 33 right now. Average upgrade to 777/744 CA is early 40's. But then again things are a little different over there.

I've resided to just make the most money comensurate with QOL. If/when things pick up again the average age is going to go up with the odd lucky one still in a college program right now.

 

[de727ups]

IPX

"When UPS started their own airline the seniority list of the freight hauler (name?)"

Internation Parcel Express....IPX

 

[usav8r]

In my Piedmont class in 1989, we had one guy who was 22, and I have a friend hired at AA in 1989 with no college and only 22 years old. He'll be #1 there for 4 years! The right place at the right time!

 

[skirt]

Re: Close

The guy at UPS became a 747 Captain at age 28 and for a while he was the youngest 747 captain in the world. He however is not at the top of the seniority list at UPS. He was in the right place at the right time when his former company was aquired by UPS.

Yes, this is a true story. I met the fellow just after he checked out as 747 Captain at a barbeque sometime in the early 90's. Seems to me he was younger than 28, but it could be that he just looked younger than 28. Nobody would believe he was a Captain, so he had to keep hauling out his license showing the type rating. Still, folks didn't believe it, because he looked SO young.

Many years before both he and I had done some flying out of a flying club in the SF Bay Area, and we both showed up at a "reunion" barbeque. I recall we were about the same age, but I was a 727 engineer and he was a 747 Captain.

Skirt

 

[satpak77]

whats the deal

Don't understand what is so provocative about young guys being captains young.

There are 26 year old "kids" flying F-16's, single pilot, with missiles on them, fighting in war, taking AA fire. You have a few 29 year olds flying for the Thunderbirds.

Don't understand why its so mind-boggling that a 26 year old is captain of a Boeing/Airbus/MD-XX and responsible for flying from San Diego to Atlanta, in the worlds best ATC environment, with the best maintained airplanes in the world.

Yes, from a seniority/pay/gee-he-is-rich discussion, its cool to talk about.

However, I have never had a trim tab or a ATC controller or FMS message ask me my age

Alot of the "it takes gray hair" to fly a 747 stuff comes from Kit Darby inspired mentality and other nonsense

my .02 cents

 

[JJJ]

It's just not that common to have a young captain in the civilian world. It takes more than a few years to get the ratings and time and seniority to make captain, where in the military there is no flight time requirement, and if you are flying a single seat fighter, you are basically an "off the street captain".

 

[satpak77]

thats cool, nah man I know what you mean.

A long time ago some knucklehead told me at the FBO "yeah, I am XXXX youngest captain" and I said "who gives a sh1t, you really think that impresses people?"

it floors me that some people still think that way

Chuck Yeager broker the sound barrier when he was 24

we all wish we were #1 on the DAL seniority list, all by age 22, but reality is different.

I mean, how old do you have to be to drive a farm tractor?

 

[WhiteCloud]

Re: whats the deal

Don't understand what is so provocative about young guys being captains young.

I haven't picked up on any disagreement with younger pilots as Captains from this thread. Generally it takes a lot of years to get to the Captain's seat on a big jet in the US and this person is an unusual case. I can admit to a little jealousy though.

 

[skirt]

When I met this young 747 Captain, I never thought to myself "he's too young to be a capable Captain." In fact, just the opposite, he struck me as a sharp guy. I just thought WOW, he is so young to have made it up a seniority list.

Skirt

 

[AlbieF15]

...and I feel sorry for him because its obvious he didn't get to go be a fighter pilot BEFORE it was "pitot heat, window seat, what' to eat?"... and "...hey, whoa there captain, that was THIRTY FIVE degrees of bank..."