Many thanks. I understand the fact that 5/6th’s of the QX fleet today is turboprops, although I get very mixed inputs on how much turboprop vs turbofan really matters toward getting picked up by a major or legacy (especially considering the challenging flying that QX does with the Q400’s). Does SWA only count turbofan (NOT turboprop) time toward the 1000 TPIC in their application process?
QX staffing was an issue in the recent past (cancelled a bunch of flights), but now resolved (actually a surplus of E175 crews as I understand it). Near as I can see, the E175 flying originally intended for QX but now being shifted to OO is fallout from the strategic decision by Alaska Air Group to delay E175 deliveries for financial reasons to pretty up the books post-merger with VX (with that flying done by OO-owned E175’s instead). Is there more to the story?
Originally Posted by
rickair7777
They have no formal flow, AS has shifted much new flying to OO, upgrade has historically been long, and they have a lot a turboprops (although they are growing jets, that has not gone as well as planned).
QX is good if you're hell-bent on living in one of their bases, and not in a big hurry to upgrade and move (but SWA really likes TPIC).