Saltlife85

Yes.. 10+ year upgrade, at least. With our CURRENT planned deliveries and staffing model. That could easily go up, probably not down. I can't remember we what news source it was, but our CEO stated in a interview a few months ago that we would be looking to return the 319's when the lease is up. So the deliveries of newer 320's and 321's could be offset by returning leased aircraft. If your looking for a quick upgrade, look elsewhere. But that goes for all the airlines. At least the big 3 and JB SWA have a lot of growth and stronger financials. And the big 3 have a TON of retirements over the next 10 years and great contracts, work rules, and pay.

Yes, we did just put in a order for 10 A321's... Arriving on property in Q1 of 2017. But that could change tomorrow, kind of like the order that we cancelled in 2012 when we were on the brink. Anyone looking to come here needs to know what there getting into. You will be in the right seat for a LONG time, and probably on reserve for a couple years or more.

On top of that the scheduling and reserve work rules here are horrible. Reserve is miserable if your a commuter... Yea I know it sucks everywhere. But we have "work rules" that the company can change at a whim. The scheduling and planning department is staffed with a bunch of ex regional managers. You will not be able to drop, swap, trade, pick up, etc etc. there's a LOT of QOL issues here. We are one of the lowest paid Airbus drivers out there when you compare W2's.. Except for frontier and Allegiant. If you live in base its obviously a lot better, but again that goes for all the airlines.

Not all bad though.. The crews here are great and I generally have fun when I come to work.. But that's only because I have the privilege of flying with a great group of pilots and FA's. We do have fun here and the planes, layovers, and most hotels are great. Once you hold a line you'll average around 14-15 days off. I often get 16-18 days off. We have devoted investors and strong brand recognition and so far we've stuck through it all and kept the lights on. And with ALPA on property we have begun the (long) process of working toward a industry standard contract, or hopefully better. But we all know that's a long road. Our union reps our awesome and I have faith that they will fight hard for us.

Sorry for the rant.. To all those applying good luck and wish you the best. If you decide to come here you'll enjoy the crews and the bus. But for now this place is just a good stepping stone for other endeavors.. For now.

OCCP

Unless some huge order is announced, which I doubt will happen, upgrade will steadily increase. It's about 5.5 years right now but with roughly 5 planes per year coming online it's only going to rise. This is probably why quite a few fo's have their stuff out. The time to get on here was 2010 or prior. Now with that said, if you don't mind swinging gear for a long time it's not a bad place to hang your hat, especially if you live in one of our bases. It's really a unique airline and most people take a lot of pride in that. But with every other airline offering more of everything, VX is becoming less desirable from oal pilots I talk to.

PotatoChip

@Saltlife and OCCP,
I appreciate the rant and information. I expected it was long, perhaps 7-8 years, but not 10+. That puts a huge dent in the desire to go to a carrier with sub par FO wages, regardless of how cool the airplanes and folks are. VX is more appealing than JB due to the EWR possibility, which is much closer and MUCH cheaper to get to than JFK. Thy said, not at the expense of almost no movement.
But who knows? Mergers, contracts, etc... It's all a crapshoot. Just a matter if I want to stay put or try and make a leap.

OCCP

Why not try and make a leap to UAL? They have a ewr base and what will soon be a 4 year upgrade.

PotatoChip

Well, that would certainly be ideal. I'm just using the shotgun method of job hunting...

OCCP

That's what I did too.

PotatoChip

Just trying to figure out if could be happy at VX or if I should just stay where I'm at. And I like the product VX provides about 100x more than UA... And the crews... But who am I kidding? I'd be happy to join the ranks of any of them. Do you hear that HR stalker types?

ShyGuy

With 57 planes in the fleet and 46 more total orders to go with an end state of 103 planes, not including potential returning of the 319s, I'd say we've already hired our last Captain. Unless more planes are ordered, newhires today will be relying on retirements to upgrade once all the planes are in. Meanwhile the FO list is growing and good schedules can be had. It's a good place but be realistic about it as a FO. I'm almost 4 years here and just half way up the FO list. Upgrade 5.5 years is for the guys hired in 2010. I'm probably looking at 7-9 yrs. 2016 hires upgrading? Easily 10+ years.

All this of course barring any mergers.

atooraya

PROTIP:

At the end of the day, you're in the cockpit and don't get to enjoy the product unless you are nonrevving, which you can do at any airline you go to.

At the end of the day, you are a professional pilot who has career expectations. Find an airline that meets your expectations and pays you what you deserve and gives you the QOL you want.

NextFlightHome

...and the one that will call you for an interview. A lot of people on here make it sound as though you just apply and magically you'll have a job.