Avg. reg upgrade= 3.8 years
Why does every CFI out there think a 2 year or less upgrade at the regionals is the norm and almost a constitutional right?? I hope it works out for you but since you asked, I will give you a dose of reality. Partly out of curiousity myself, I took data from airlinepilotcentral.com and figured the average upgrade times for the regional industry as a whole, based on the number of pilots flying at the jet regionals. I came up with an average upgrade time of 3.8 years....that's right, almost FOUR years. 53% of pilots were flying at an airline with less than a three year upgrade and only 23% were at an airline with less than a two year upgrade. Those at less than two years were primarily at Chautauqua and Skywest where upgrades will be getting longer, especially at Skywest. It's simple mathematics...they have 2,500 pilots so the bigger they get, the longer it will take. It's short right now because many FO's have the seniority but don't have the hours to upgrade...that will change in the next two years so for someone getting hired today I would say it's too late.
Comair is a wild card...it looks bad there now but coming out of bankruptcy they could be (emphasize COULD BE) poised for significant growth and with 1,500 pilots, that's a much smaller mountain to climb than SKywest. Than again Delta could shrink them. I know it makes it tough to make a decision...welcome to the airline biz!
The bottom line is that regional airlines have taken over so many mainline flights and gotten so big, pilots will have to spend more time at the regionals than they have in the years past. Again, it's simply a numbers game. Sure there will be those that happen to be in the right place at the right time but very few planned it that way. My advice...pick an airline based on QOL and located in the place you want to be in the long run.
Why does every CFI out there think a 2 year or less upgrade at the regionals is the norm and almost a constitutional right?? I hope it works out for you but since you asked, I will give you a dose of reality. Partly out of curiousity myself, I took data from airlinepilotcentral.com and figured the average upgrade times for the regional industry as a whole, based on the number of pilots flying at the jet regionals. I came up with an average upgrade time of 3.8 years....that's right, almost FOUR years. 53% of pilots were flying at an airline with less than a three year upgrade and only 23% were at an airline with less than a two year upgrade. Those at less than two years were primarily at Chautauqua and Skywest where upgrades will be getting longer, especially at Skywest. It's simple mathematics...they have 2,500 pilots so the bigger they get, the longer it will take. It's short right now because many FO's have the seniority but don't have the hours to upgrade...that will change in the next two years so for someone getting hired today I would say it's too late.
Comair is a wild card...it looks bad there now but coming out of bankruptcy they could be (emphasize COULD BE) poised for significant growth and with 1,500 pilots, that's a much smaller mountain to climb than SKywest. Than again Delta could shrink them. I know it makes it tough to make a decision...welcome to the airline biz!
The bottom line is that regional airlines have taken over so many mainline flights and gotten so big, pilots will have to spend more time at the regionals than they have in the years past. Again, it's simply a numbers game. Sure there will be those that happen to be in the right place at the right time but very few planned it that way. My advice...pick an airline based on QOL and located in the place you want to be in the long run.
