Delta Flow-Up

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Why would anyone want a 1000 hour military pilot over a 6000 hour guy with 121 experience in Avros, Saabs, and CRJs, maybe even the E175 if he moved over to Compass?

Let me start by saying the military screens their pilots pretty stringently and if a person has made the cut there, they likely are in the top 10 to 20% of the pool.

At the legacy carriers it is more likely that the person doing the hiring has a military background and folks like best what they know best and are most comfortable with. Also the military candidates are more likely to have impressive records since the military often has projects their pilots are involved in, not to mention all the officer and leadership training they get. Also, it is nearly impossible to get FAA violations in the military, so flying 4 legs a day, 90 hours a month, for five years gives civilians much more opportunity to get in trouble while waiting for the business cycle to open the doors at major carriers.

I'm civillian and think experience means a lot. But, now having flown with a group that is 90%+ military pilots, I completely understand the bias.

Not to worry though, if you are a civillian. In last year's Air Force Academy class only something like 16 got flight spots. Most of the need for "pilots" are in the UAV programs, which isn't "flight" time.

Military aviation is so scaled back now that there just are not many military pilots available in the job market. Look at Delta's 2007 hiring... it was probably 50/50.

 

[flyboyike]

Military aviation is so scaled back now that there just are not many military pilots available in the job market. Look at Delta's 2007 hiring... it was probably 50/50.

I think that's a key point. The supply of military pilots has been dwindling for a while now and will only continue to dwindle, from the looks of it.