Why is that?

 

So... Why the class of 22, less than half of what we were told, in January? Are there 2 new hire and 2 upgrade classes per month? Anyone?

 

I’m not so sure that the number of FO vacancies posted in the VSA is actually reflective of the individual class size. Just the vacancies in the system prior to new hires being placed in a domicile. The last VSA prior to the one put out yesterday showed 8 FO vacancies and 24 captain vacancies. 32 new people just showed up on the seniority list yesterday evening (8 FO vacancies + 24 upgrades = 32 new hires). Although, technically, the company has released two VSAs in November. If the company releases another VSA in December, that means that 36 pilots will have had the opportunity to be awarded upgrade in November VSAs. The upgrade comment isn’t related to your question, just some uplifting numbers!

On the other hand, this most recent VSA doesn’t close until December. Hopefully this isn’t the only one we will see for December. If the company does begin running two classes per month, I think it’s likely we may see two VSAs each month.

 

It’s 22 plus the 12 upgrades, so 34 in total. Not sure what size the class will be.

 

It's my understanding the CPO was putting out 50 new hires in DEC followed by 48 new hires per month to follow. The lastest vacancy shows 22 new hires which is less than half of the expectation they've communicated unless there's multiple new hire classes starting per month.

I'm thinking it's just this place continuing to "deliver" about 46%.

 

Did you even read the last two responses? It’s not 22 new hires. It’s 22 FO vacancies before pulling more FOs for upgrade. The class size may not be the 50 that is talked about, but the legacies aren’t even meeting their expected numbers. I don’t hold high hopes that Frontier will be able to either. Even so, the numbers we are now seeing is a refreshing change from the stagnation we’ve had.

 

Thanks, no I hadn't seen your response.

 

No worries. Didn’t mean to come across like an ***. The lack of movement is frustrating for all of us, but I truly believe the stagnation is coming to an end. My only worry is staffing levels when PBS gets implemented. I hope that doesn’t lead to a long hiring break for “staffing readjustment”. I’m keeping fingers crossed that it has already been accounted for.

 

Oh God!!! The sky is falling! Everything is wrong! Everyone Run!

Oh wait, nevermind. They never post a vacancy before the people have even been hired! The December class hasn't been hired yet... you know... cuz it's still November. They usually post a vacancy about a week or two after a newhire class begins.

I'm just messing with you V1.

 

I believe (maybe optimistically so) that our growth will basically mask the effects of PBS staffing levels. If an airline was stagnant or reducing/furloughing when it switched to PBS you would definitely feel it. I suspect our staffing per plane really isn't going to change by a whole lot but since we will be growing during the transition I don't think we will really feel it.

Also, I believe that the stagnation we have experienced during much of 2019 was due to both; high average pilot credit and the company doing adjustments for PBS.