satch

1940. TT, 1189.2 PIC, 990.9 CC ... all turbine.
Former Naval Aviator.
Commercial MEL, SEL, Instrument, and CFII by virtue of MCN and MCI.
Planning to ATP-CTP and sit for ATP-MEL here shortly.

Here's the catch ... haven't flown a plane in a few years. 23 to be exact, and no that's not a type-o.

So now what?

I've talked to a few contemporaries and advice is ... ahem ... varied, to say the least. Throwing open the doors to see if there can be some sort of consensus on how to proceed.

Any shot at Majors/LCC/Cargo direct?
Regionals direct?
Get type'd in something (i.e. A320/75) and THEN regionals?
Bug smashers? Caution: turbine snob alert - I've never flown anything with pistons and I find that proposition unappealing.

Thanks in advance!

Otterbox

Get get a CFI and start knocking rust off those instrument skills. Get a BFR/IPC and you should be able to go a regional with minimal issues. Whatever company picks you up may not be your first choice but they’re taking a fairly decent chance on you. Once you complete a training program more doors should open for you.

Excargodog

Recently is an issue, but so is age. How many years you got until 65?

A quick instrument recurrency will get you set up for most of the regionals but what are your ultimate goals and how long do you have to achieve them?

Then the regional will give you your ATP-CTP and a type rating, if only in an RJ. That plus six-seven months (~500 hrs) of flying for a regional will give you 500 hours of 121 time which would make you competitive for lower tier cargo and MAYBE LCC although it'll probably take you 1000 hours of 121 time (and maybe even an upgrade to captain) to make you a shoo-in at an LCC or competitive for upper tier majors/fedex/UPS.

So you might want to select a regional (and an airframe) where you will accumulate hours QUICKLY, not one that will take eight months to get you through training and then a year or two on reserve.

Which again all depends upon how much time you got left to play this game.

satch

Excargodog - yep, concur. 9 years, 6 months to play with, give or take.

From what I gather, getting the ATP-CTP and ATP written out of the way on "my time" makes getting an earlier class date a possibility (true?).

The goal at this point is to get back into the cockpit in a meaningful way rather than to achieve any particular milestone. My kids have all graduated college with no debt and are successful. Their Dad was (mostly) at home and not (ever) furloughed. Mostly doing this for me and not the money.

Otterbox - Succinct and good advice I think ... feels right. Echos and combines input from a couple of the peers into a plan of action, so thank you.

Excargodog

Sure, get the written. But the regional will schedule you for ATP-CTP ON THEIR DIME BEFORE YOUR INDOC. It's unlikely it will make a difference in your class date - not impossible but unlikely.

If you want to get back to seeing the world after that, you can probably do some ACMI work after 500 hours at a regional.