I'll try and not get too personal. (A man's got to hang on to his little secrets que!?)
As far as the airlines go, a few of the north european ones are a very good stepping stone. BA is supposedly still on top of the hitlist, and
Scandinavians are known to be a serious and cheerful bunch!
A have a few thousand hours as copilot on jets, and one thousand in command on a commuter. Total is six thousand plus.
Tajfa