[ExpressJet Adam]

Hey Karl,

Great shape huh? I'm 45 and I THOUGHT I was in great shape till I today. Got my kids a new trampoline for Christmas and figured I'd give it a try, I was on it for about 15 mins, almost called 911, but enough about me.

So you're ready to live the dream, fantastic and you've come to the right place. Without question ATP can get you to the right seat of a Regional jet faster than anyone in the industry. 47 ain't old but let's face it, we ain't getting younger either so time is a factor. Will the ailrines hire you? Definitely, but (as I've often said) you need to be realistic about your goals.

The FAA changed the rules last year so you can now fly to 65, so you've got 17-18 good years left in you (not bad). What you've got in your favor is major things: first, second career guys (ie. older guys, no disrespect to the kids out there) are generally more focused and have a better work ethic. You've been out there, busted your butt, and this is something you really want and your going to work hard to do a great job. Second, you're probably a better investment. On the average it costs a Regional about $15-20K to train a new hire. Joe TwentyFourYearOld is going to jump ship faster than you can say Boeing. He has dreams of Tripple 7's crossing the Artic circle dancing in his head (not that we don't) and he'll be gone ASAP, He'll take a paycut, and a drastic reduction in quality of life, what ever it takes to make that dream a reality. The older newhire is probably much happier because he finally has a job he loves. And once he's made Capt, has a good schedule, and is making decent money, there's a much better chance he'll stick around a while, maybe for the rest of his career. Obviously a better return on those training costs, 17 yrs vs. 4 or 5. Cool?

So that's the deal, ATP just lowered it's prices, which is also very cool. Happy to answer whatever else you got. Fire away. Happy New Year.

Adam