Sort of. The problem is that the QX pilot group is so senior that even if a captain leaves, the person that upgrades to take that spot is on 12th year pay anyway. That's not far off from the top of the pay-scale. Now if they hire a new FO to replace the upgrade... after the first year, that FO isn't too far from the top of the FO scale. The amount of turnover this place would have to have in order to see some cost savings from the pay-scale standpoint is staggering.

Not to mention that if Alaska hires a QX person, they've basically created the costs of up to three training events, instead of only one if they hired someone outside of AAG.