We’ve heard it said and read it posted in aviation forums that “no” airline hires pilots who possess a type rating with zero time in type. This is a false statement. We all know that Southwest Airlines hires type rated pilots without time in type and that Spirit Airlines has publically said that they prefer a PIC type for initial applicants. Whether you or I agree with this hiring practice is not the issue. The fact is that it is happening both in the USA and all around the world. Airlines all over the place have adopted this standard practice.
Although most airlines have not drawn a “line in the sand” by stating a type rating is mandatory many have made it a point to offer preferential interviewing and hiring to those who are typed. If you owned an airline wouldn’t you want to mitigate your training risk by doing the same thing?
Years ago I was offered an interview with South West Airlines which would have required me to obtain a b737 type rating paid for out of my own pocket. At the time I rejected the idea and turned down the opportunity. It scares me now to look back at how much money I lost over the years which have passed by not jumping at opportunity. I can only imagine how senior I would be by now and how much better my quality of life would have been. What an OOOOPS.
AeroStar’s students are and have been very successful getting jobs and this is a fact. For obvious legal reasons I cannot post any of our customer’s names here however I can give you names of a few of the airlines who have hired our graduates (in no particular order). These are; Jetblue, Spirit, Lan Airways, TACA, Copa, Avionca, Philippine Airlines, Vietnam Airlines, VietJet Airlines, Nile Air, Jeju Air, Qatar Airways, Nas Air, Saudia, e.t.c.
