Originally Posted by
JungleBus
You're a little on the far side of cynical, SkyHigh. By your estimation anybody who stays at a good regional like Horizon till retirement has failed. Mind you, our senior CRJ drivers are pulling down $120k/year. Unlike other regionals, we're not an RFP away from extinction. For someone who wants to live in the PNW and not commute, Horizon makes a lot of sense.
Now, I agree that a lot of people who had plans of going to the majors ended up as lifers at QX, so I guess you could say it was a "career killer" for them so far as stopping their advancement in aviation. I wonder, though, whether it was the long upgrade that did it, or simply their priorities changing as they passed into new stages of their life.
For me, going to a major is still a priority. After 3.5 yrs at Horizon, I'm looking at 3 to 4 yrs more before upgrade, and that's pretty incompatible with my goals. That's why I'm making the jump to Compass next week. That said, I really enjoyed my time at Horizon and wouldn't change it even though it slowed down my career a bit.
I hope you are young enough to absorb the lost 3.5 years at QX. I wasn't and didn't survive a similar situation. Horizon Air ended my career dreams.
To the rest of you let that be a lesson. Horizon Air is the end of the line for most and not a rung in the ladder. If you accept a position there you had better start house hunting and put down roots because you will most likely be there for the rest of your career.
I personally never wanted to work at QX or any regional for that matter. A senior captain at Alaska Airlines prodded me into going there. He told me that "
if I wanted to work for Alaska Airlines it was what I had better do".
Lesson number two: Sitting major airline captains are the last to know what it takes to get hired at their own company or any other airline. The guy to ask for advice about how to get hired at a major airline is the one who got hired last.
SkyHigh