How long will regional hiring continue?

[Crash Pad]

Well I had just started at United when 9/11 happened and whamo I was on the street... Took unemployment for a while then tried to get a job. Couldn't pay anyone to hire me.

Sound familiar. We are one downturn away from zero hiring and zero growth. How long can this bull run? Next downturn will KO at least one of the big boys.

Not to many airlines hire during a recession.

 

[norskman2]

Well I had just started at United when 9/11 happened and whamo I was on the street... Took unemployment for a while then tried to get a job. Couldn't pay anyone to hire me.

Sound familiar. We are one downturn away from zero hiring and zero growth. How long can this bull run? Next downturn will KO at least one of the big boys.

Not to many airlines hire during a recession.

Almost like clockwork, the airline industry has had a major downturn every decade - the early 60s, early 70s, early 80s, early 90s, early 2000s. You can't predict in advance what it's going to be -- a recession, an Arab oil embargo, a Mideast war.

Everything is cyclical - the airline industry, the economy, the stock market. Projections for air travel growth mean squat. The good times won't last forever. It's all a crapshoot.

 

[Mike man]

...as will UPS.

Didn't they just close the hiring window?

 

[Flybet3]

how much do you make as a dispatcher? you could go to any number of regionals and upgrade within 1-2 years and be making 70K or more.

hiring will be brisk for quite some time, I'd guess.

Ok, first thing you're gonna have to do bud is not listen to comments like these that tell you that you need to go somewhere where you are going to upgrade fast! Why? I'll tell you why....
#1 Upgrade today might be 2 years, it might be 8 years by friday.
#2 You have such low time that if you got on at a regional within the next couple of months you might not have enough time OR ESPECIALLY experience to upgrade.
#3 Just because you've been an FO for a few years does not mean that you will upgrade. You might get the Upgrade slot, and begin training, but who's to say that you wont bust your checkride. Yes Yes Yes, I know you can fly and by that time you SHOULD be familiar with how things are done at the company. But, I've know guys that have been FO's for 7 years then they do their CAPT checkride and fail.
Could they fly? Hell yeah! Great pilots, but for some reason they were just having a bad day.

Everyone keeps trying to play the "Quick upgrade, get 1000PICJet and On to a Major" Game, when clearly times have change and you need to go somewhere where you wont have to commute, pay is liveable while you're in the right seat, and where at some point if everything goes smoothly you will upgrade. Dont do what some people do and try to rush their careers. That's why so many training places (Gulfstream, Jet University, ETC.) keep getting rich, b/c people keep trying to get ahead by buying their "experience". I can tell you know, no money will replace experience.

 

[Flybet3]

One possibility, with the current pilot shortage some 135 charter operators may be hiring low time pilots, likely with better pay/QOL than the regionals.

Better Pay Yeah, surely. But QOL in the 135 world is Non existent. Unless you're flying scheduled cargo, but Caravan time, Beech 99 and Shorts time can only get you so far sometimes. Unless you get a gravy job flying a King air, which most of them want 135 currency or a type. You might get lucky.

 

[igneousy2]

Actually the 135 airlines during hiring booms have higher minimums than a lot of 121 carriers. That's because most 135 jobs are PIC jobs which require 1200 hours total. There are not as many 135 VFR jobs - if you can find one - it's 500 hours. Pilot's are already getting on by merely graduating from approved programs (i.e. UND, FSI, ERAU).

This is only the begginning of the hiring boom. The hurt on the regionals for pilots is only begginning. During the last hiring boom EVERYBODY was hiring and a lot were hiring in EXCESS of 100 per month. We are not even close to seeing those kinds of hiring numbers yet.

Hurry up and get your time - the way to not get furloughed is to be on the front of the wave. It's not too late, but the pilots hired on the back end have usually ended up as mere furlough protection for the guys hired on the front.

Good luck.

 

[bgaviator]

thanks for all the advice....If I can come to grips with taking the huge initial paycut, I may do it

 

[RP170]

thanks for all the advice....If I can come to grips with taking the huge initial paycut, I may do it

I thought you were holding out for Skybus?

 

[bgaviator]

I don't ever remember saying I was holding out for anyone....I would need to be flying commercially for awhile before I'd have enough hours for SX anyways.

 

[RP170]

I don't ever remember saying I was holding out for anyone....I would need to be flying commercially for awhile before I'd have enough hours for SX anyways.

Is that where you are dispatching at?