Thanks for your replies guys. I know of quite a few people (friends of family members) who are qualified pilots who have had difficulties getting a job and have had to resort to instructing. Another is a senior first officer at Cathay who has held the position for ages and still rarely has a go at actually flying and is still waiting to become a caption. Do any know what the career prospects are with the airlines at the moment. I notice that all the regionals require 1500 hrs minimum experience. As this is the absolute minimum do most who get jobs with the airlines have quite a bit more experiece?