At this point there is absolutely zero reason for a new hire to believe he can’t upgrade at XJT as fast or faster than any other regional. The limiting factor at all regionals is 1000 hrs 121 time.


Just a side note about the 1k 121 time. Captain part 135 and 91K time count as well.

 

That is a great point. If the trend continues, we could see this type of candidate get pulled into upgrade training very early in his or her career.

 

You'll get one more upgrade slot from me. I was awarded captain on the last bit, buuuuut I accepted an offer from a major. Definitely bittersweet for me. I get an upgrade right as I'm leaving.

 

Congrats on the offer!

 

Congrats!!

 

If you are taking EMP leave......they won’t figure it out. You’ll be taking up a CA spot for the next 6 months. I watched and saw SEVERAL people who had left get awarded CA spots after they were gone. And the company didn’t adjust their numbers to reflect the need.

 

Are they required to do that by the contract? In other words if the person decides to come back he or she gets the captain award. I would think their hands are tied in that scenario.

 

Yes it’s required by the contract. We are still on the books. Just listed as ULA on the bud packets

 

Congrats brother!! I punched out 8/1! Off to bigger and better things. 😁

 

Just as a data point and to provide some context for how quickly things can change.

Just about a year ago, upgrade times at Republic were nearly 3 years. They had been higher before that, similar to ExpressJet.

Over the last year, we've seen upgrade times steadily drop; the most recent award before the new bases were announced was 1 year 8 months, meaning on the line at 2 years.

After the base announcement last month, that dropped, essentially, to the 1000 hours. We had one guy get it at 12 months, but they had prior time. 8 vacancies went unfilled because we don't have enough upgrade-eligible pilots.

Things change very quickly when growth starts happening. I know y'all are still at a net negative for 2019 hiring, but so is Republic, and we've just been given 30 additional aircraft. Hiring can't happen fast enough at either place.

Especially for the people who have been around a while and been abused, it's hard not to react based on emotions rather than logic. But resist that. Look at the data. Upgrades will continue to drop precipitously.