Originally Posted by
NomNomNom
I'm an Army Rotary Wing pilot that's about to retire with all my fixed wing certifications in the next few months, and I have a few questions I'm hoping you guys can answer.
I currently live in Seattle, QOL and progression out of the regionals are my main consideration areas when considering regional airlines.
If you were to pick today, would you still pick Horizon or would you consider another airline? Wholly owned with a flow and a bonus?
Would you pick the Q400 or E175 and why?
What flight benefits do you get as a new FO with Horizon, and are you actually able to use them? I've read that the flights are so booked up with Horizon and Alaska that it's hard to get on a flight being on standby.
What's the QOL like while on trips? (Hotels, time between flights, etc.)
I have used the search function and hoping for some productive feedback to help me out. I never thought it would be this hard to pick a regional and any information from people already doing the daily grind will help immensely.
Got a wife/kids? Willing to commute? Do you want to upgrade fast or be comfortable? The words QOL and Progression don't really mesh well together. Take for instance Piedmont: fairly quick upgrade, flow to AA, positive growth etc. However you would be commuting to Philly and doing horrible 4 day trips with min days off. What's it worth to you?
If you have zero 121 time, you're gonna need to build 1000 hours which takes an average 1.5 years no matter where you go (can only legally fly 1k max in a year anyway, most people average somewhere between 600-800). The only two regionals with SEA bases are Skywest and Horizon. If you go to skywest you can enjoy the 175 right off the bat, however if you want to upgrade your @ss is going to Detroit and god only knows how long it will take to get back west. Might want to find out the seniority on the SEA/PDX captains at skywest.
If you choose Horizon, you can also enjoy the 175 right off the bat, and if you choose to upgrade on the Q400 you can get seattle quickly. Our new junior captains are getting PDX/SEA assignments before they even finish captain OE.
We have a competitive bonus (for the dash at least) but we don't have flow yet. Will we get it? Hard to say. We just got a new VP of flight ops and if he is smart he will push for a flow through, but as of now no.
If I was a new hire I would pick the E175 and tell them if they want to throw in me in the dash I'll just go somewhere else. The trips/QOL/pay is way better on the jet and will continue to improve as we take more deliveries and the route network gets established. Horizon will also be a very different place 1.5 years from now and there's always the possibility of a jet upgrade.
If I was a lateral looking at Horizon for potentially a quick upgrade I'd consider the dash to get some experience in it first before taking the plunge.
The october bid results will be published on the 30th at 9am and I'm willing to bet the Q400 goes down to 1k 121 hours for upgrade.
Non-revving with your family on Alaska is the same as every other regional: it sucks. If it's just you and your wife it's not bad, but if you got several kids in tow they are gonna complicate things.
I am not a recruiter at Qx and if you read my post history in this thread you will see some real talk from me and the boys over the last few years. You really need to do extensive research before you commit to an airline because it's the little things that will make or break your experience.
To everyone reading this: Don't worry about appearing annoying by asking a lot of super technical questions. I'll answer them to the best of my ability in here or through PMs and I won't BS you.