Originally Posted by
saturn
I dont think he was saying Compass upgrades were ever < 1 year. Its about 1.5 years at the moment with the latest award and dropping. What he is saying is that with 8 upgrades a week as planned, those who get CA classes this summer/fall may be here 1 year, possibly a little under a year. New hires shouldn't expect that for themselves.
Everyone here seems to plan on retroactive information. Mesa new hires won't be 1 year upgrades, neither will Compass. Skywest new hires wont be 7 year upgrades, probably will be a 4 year upgrade. Everything is cyclical, and depends on the era you were hired into a pilot group. Don't look too much into hire dates of the most JR captain, thats what the upgrade time was back when that guy was hired, not for you. Oh and one more thing, everything will look completely different by 2016.
This!!! I have been preaching this from my soap box for a while now.
To further add to it: airline recruiters, management, flight schools, and to much effect current FOs want to do their best to make that "sweet spot" seem so much bigger than it really is.
Generally if there is a fast upgrade somewhere, you have already missed the boat.
Like the guy above said: I'd look more for stability and a good contract.
I doubt SKW will be a 7 year upgrade.
Envoy won't either...not advocating them but it is a good example l, and being that I work here, I can expand: Envoy is currently a 7-8 year upgrade. 2015 is a shrinking year for us, but 2016 will experience a bit of growth from our bottom in 2015. We are losing more pilots to an automatic mainline AA flow than anyone else(compare our 20, soon to be more, per month minimum to PSAs 4). Envoy did not hire from 2008-2010. We also did not hire from late 2011 until 2013. By 2017, the upgrade at Envoy could easily be below 4 years, and it will likely drop from there. A new hire today would flow in 5 years, assuming the flow continues as it has.
Chasing a fast upgrade works for some, not for all. If I were you, I'd choose SKW.