Originally Posted by
Mercury624
Since the start of 2019 25% of new hires are Airbus, 75% Boeing. They're holding 16-person classes that alternate between all Boeing or a 50/50 split. I assume that it's because the output of the Airbus training program right now can only handle 8 pilots bi-weekly, but who knows?
I think they said that plan takes them through the current new-hire window which stops around mid-march, after which there will be the first vacancy bid between the types. From there things will readjust accordingly.
Personally, so long as the basing worked for you, I think getting some Airbus time would be interesting (why not?) since Alaska has aligned itself with Boeing for such a long time and will likely do so going forward (absent a merger with another airline). Alaska might also find having Airbuses beneficial when negotiating new purchases with Boeing as well - Ryanair is playing that game in Europe and using an aquired fleet of Airbuses as a bargaining chip.
Any talk about how long the Airbuses might remain? If you get trained on them, how long would you likely be flying them?