Originally Posted by
CaptSwift
Why wouldn't a new hire in a jet be able to upgrade quicker than 15 years? The experience on the 175 places that new hire jet FO ahead in line than a "un-seatlocked" Q FO for upgrade? What else am I missing other than the slow attrition of the captains? I don't know the demographic of them, and if we'll see a higher retire rate/attrition rate as the rest of the industry is really starting to see.
90% of our captains are here for life, that may change as things get worse here but for now it is what it is. Our only attrition is from junior captains leaving and FOs leaving for other airlines. We're only getting 13 jets next year so only the very top % of senior captains will get to fly them. Horizon is an incredibly senior airline, we're taking guys with 30+ years walking around.
Jet FOs won't upgrade before Q400 FOs, that's not how the seat lock works. The 4 year seat lock prevents a q400 FO from bidding 175 FO and vice versa, but you're always able to upgrade when your seniority allows it. Since you won't have the seniority to be a jet captain your only choice will be to upgrade in the Q.
However, not only do we have a 4 year seat lock, but there's also a sub item in the contract that says if an FO bids FO on a different plane, they will be locked in that seat for an additional 2 years before being allowed to upgrade.
This makes the effective seat lock 6 years at horizon if you try to switch planes as an FO.