Expert: Malcolm Dickinson - 2/28/2006

Question
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Followup To
How much do first year co-pilots make in the regional airlines and freight?
Question -
Is it true that you need 250 hours to fly commerically and 1000 hours to fly for regional airlines? I have about 12 hours private. I am pursing aviation as a career.
Answer -
If you have a private pilot certificate already, then you must have more than 12 hours.

If you have, or are working on, a private pilot certificate, then you should have a copy of the FARs (Federal Aviation Regulations) part 61 and 91. If you look in part 61 at paragraph 61.129, you'll see the requirements for a commercial rating:

"a person who applies for a commercial pilot certificate must log at least 250 hours of flight time as a pilot that consists of at least:
(1) 100 hours in powered aircraft, of which 50 hours must be in airplanes.
(2) 100 hours of pilot-in-command flight time, which includes at least—
(i) 50 hours in airplanes; and
(ii) 50 hours in cross-country flight
(3) 20 hours of training on the areas of operation listed in §61.127(b)(2) of this part that includes at least—
(ii) 10 hours of training in an airplane that has a retractable landing gear, flaps, and controllable pitch propellers;
(iii) One cross-country flight of at least 2 hours, consisting of a total straight-line distance of more than 100 nautical miles from the original point of departure;
(iv) One cross-country flight of at least 2 hours at night, consisting of a total straight-line distance of more than 100 nautical miles from the original point of departure; and
(v) 3 hours in preparation for the practical test within the 60-day period preceding the date of the test.
(i) One cross-country flight of not less than 300 nautical miles total distance with landings at a minimum of three points, one of which is a straight-line distance of at least 250 nautical miles from the original departure point.

etc.

As far as the regional airlines, I think they will normally hire someone only once he has 1,500 accident-free hours, with at least 250 in multiengine airplanes.

Here is a summary of what you need to do, to become an airline pilot. I hope it is helpful.

The first step is to get your private certificate
then your instrument rating
then build up 250 hours of time (try to split the time with friends so you don't have to pay for all of it yourself)
then get your commercial pilot certificate (you must be 18)
then go right on to earn your certified flight instructor (CFI) certificate
then start instructing at a local flight school... build up as many hours as you can. You won't make much money, but you'll be logging flight time without having to pay for it!
Once you have 500 hours, get your multiengine rating and start talking to local air taxi services and/or freight haulers about flying for them. You need to log multiengine time.  Some pilots find the only way to get the multiengine time they need is to become a multiengine flight instructor (CFI-MEI) and teach multiengine lessons.
Once you have 1000 hours, and at least 250 of multiengine time, apply to the regional airlines

Once you have 1,500 hours, you then take the test for your Airline Transport Pilot certificate, and you can approach the regional airlines asking for a job!

Good luck -

Malcolm  

Answer
You should try another expert with your question about starting salaries.  My information is from about 10 years ago, when I recall that co-pilots started at $17,000 per year. It must be higher than that now, but it still won't be much, since those jobs are so much wanted by all new pilots.