Hours and Flight Instructing

[EricS-FL-1208]

Hey Jerry. First of all thank you for replying to my introduction. I'm curious about hour requirements for the airlines and hours I will have after completing training with ATP. I've read through a lot of other posts and spoke to an admissions officer and from what I understand, to get hired at a regional airline, I need something like 500 hours of total flight time and 100 hours of ME time. Is this correct? If I graduate from ATP I'll have over 250 hours total and over 100 ME PIC time. So to make up the difference in total hours I will for sure have to flight instruct for a period of time, right? If so what's that like and did you spend time as a CFI? How long does it usually take to get the hours needed to get hired by a regional airline? Whats the pay like and what do I need to do to make sure I get hired with ATP as a CFI? Sorry if that's a lot all at once :-). I'll leave it at that for right now. Thanks for your help Jerry.

[Comair Jerry]

Hour requirements for an airline job change on industry demand. Right now, with the downturn in the economy and airlines cutting jobs, I would put your minimum total time requirement closer to 1000 hours of total time and 200 hours of multi-engine time. The more hours the more competitive you will look to a recruiter at the regional level. All this could change of course as I've seen guys get hired from ATP with as low as a commercial pilot certificate and a multi-engine rating (No minimum hour requirements). Either way, I recommend you spend some time as a CFI. What you learn in your first 100 hours as a flight instructor will make you a well-rounded candidate. I still flight instruct 2-3 times a week in a bonanza A-36 for a middle-aged mom. She's getting her instrument rating and I'm charging $40.00 an hour. You can make money as a flight instructor, and you can also make some decent money in the airlines. If you choose the airline route, You can expect to not break 60k a year for a good while. Once you reach the major airline level, the salaries are a little more substantial. Your first year as an airline pilot will net you an average of about 20 grand, and that's if you're at a regional airline that pays well such as: Horizon, Comair, PSA. Not all regionals pay as well as those. Check out Airlinepilotcentral.com for more information on pay scales. I thoroughly enjoy flight instructing. I find giving flight instruction both educational and rewarding. I spent about a year flight instructing before I went to Comair Airlines.
If you plan on flight instructing in order to build flight time, I would definitely keep ATP in mind. Training can be tough and flight instructor standardization is very regimented, but if you make it through, ATP is the best place to work. The pay for flight instructors is more than you'll make in your first year as an airline pilot. If you want to get hired by ATP, just make sure you stick to your training schedule, show up on time always, follow the rules, and always have a smile on your face.

[Comair Jerry]

Hey Eric! Happy January! Where ya been? Have you started training yet?? It's been a while since I've heard from you and I was curious as to your progress. Get back to me when you have a chance. See ya!