Originally Posted by
Hovernut
SFB 80 Upgrades in class now are from 12/13 & 1/14 new-hire classes; so, just a little over 2 years. HOWEVER...there are a ton of local FOs that will upgrade ahead of you. Barring significant base growth, I foresee SFB upgrade times not being too favorable. SFB will be the last East Coast Base to transition to Airbus, and it is currently one of the senior AB bases. That, & the fact those fellas are now bearing the brunt of TDY's, SFB AB CA isn't that desirable a position for a Jr guy, even IF he could hold it. We'll all transition once the 80s are gone.
If you want to live in Orlando, plan on being in the right seat of the AB or 80 for some time...you're on the back-side of the wave, sorry to say. You could always upgrade to the "homeless base," but they're getting the screws put to them with hotel points evaporating, & rental cars & rental gas being highly scrutinized by desk jockeys in LAS that haven't a clue about the hardships of roadie life!! 😡
Thanks a lot for the info. For anyone interested, I got a slot for a phone interview a week after I applied and haven't done a meet-and-greet. I have 3,000TT and am just shy of the 1,500 ME time for Frontier. I was contemplating wether I should continue to try to get on with Allegiant or just end up commuting with my regional since I have a line, go to a job fair and wait for Spirit or hopefully Frontier. My wife is pregnant and we are hoping to move to Orlando so we can have family support.
I think the fact that I'm at the end of the hiring wave, along with SFB not being junior may have changed by mind about applying. I was at the end of the hiring wave at XJT and even with their work rules, it has been difficult going down in seniority and being on reserve for nearly 2 years. I don't think I could handle several months of forced TDY.