Originally Posted by
slumav505
never, ever, ever, ever chase a fast upgrade. More often than not it doesn't pan out and the only people who upgrade fast are the ones who are already there. chase somewhere you can survive as an FO for a while. (RAH was 18 months when I got hired, still an FO. Finally just seeing light at the end of the tunnel.)
Being able to "fill classes" is a relative term. Class sizes are arbitrary. Are they able to keep up with attrition is more relevant. In order to upgrade they have to be able to replace everyone that's leaving. Also, are people leaving? If people aren't leaving you maybe run into an issue with upgrade as well.
I agree with this statement. And a quick upgrade is the goal for most of us. If you say you're not chasing an upgrade by switching regionals I say you're in a little bit of denial or don't want to admit it on here. You're not going to sit at dying regional (Endeavor) just for the heck of it. You switch to get the chance to upgrade, to get better quality of life. You get better quality of life when you move up the list and then eventually become captain. The only way that happens is when there's a lot of movement and...wait for it...upgrades.
Most everyone wants a quick upgrade and will do what is needed to get it. It's evident with people continuing to apply at Mesa, Compass and PSA. They're all upgrading like crazy and adding planes/pilots.
Picking a regional to go to that will allow good quality of life and your ability to pay your bills is key for a lot of FOs right now as well.
XJ was upgrading at 18 months when I got hired there and I ended up sitting at the bottom of the FO list for 6 years with no opportunities to upgrade, ever. So it's impossible to know when you will upgrade but I say do everything you can to get that PIC time and get out. If I don't get PIC time I have a lower chance of getting out quickly.