Originally Posted by
MooneyGuy128
Went down to only 10 anticipated lines in GEG for next month and 25 or so FO’s. Agree that it really isn’t any fun watching the new hires on the jet get a line, nice trips that actually equate to some block time and some leftover first class meals while many Q FO’s can’t hold a line after a year. It really is slow going if you are trying to build time to upgrade.
And the real question I believe is do they have base changes in store for the Q? Can’t imagine it makes much sense to staff 30 airplanes from 5 bases.....
I'm Portland-based. The bid packet includes a lot of Boise, Spokane, and Medford overnights. Your comment made me curious, so I did a little more digging. Here's the numbers:
- About one third of the Portland trips include at least one overnight in BOI, GEG, or MFR.
- 17 in Boise.
- 46 in Spokane (!).
- 21 in Medford.
Some of the pairings have more than one overnight in those bases.
My personal opinion: The Q400 will be around for a while, but I'm not sure about some of our bases. The company's original justification for opening Boise, Medford, and Spokane was to "make the trips more efficient" (management speak for saving money on hotels and per diem).
Maybe someone could take a look at the pairings out of Seattle and see if they have a large number of layovers in Boise, Spokane, and Medford. I know that some of the jet crews are overnighting in Spokane and Boise.