Thanks Arty, I agree, the more the better in a place like this. As long as the point isnt lost in the wordiness. And I likes to get wordy.

Heard from a friend hired today... According to him, 10 of 22 hired! New hire class that was planned for Oct has been moved to Nov so they can focus on typing existing FOs during the month long gap. And he starts Dec 7th.

 

As Sulk said above, no new hire class in Oct as the hiring dept needs to catch up. There is an Upgrade class in October, and it will be the last one for the year.

Upgrades will resume in January or February. Newhire classes will run continuously expect for October. Class sizes will be a little smaller until the summer of 2016. Training dept said expect classes of 16, and ramp up to full speed next summer.

There is a lul in aircraft growth between now and the middle or summer of 2016, but hiring now to be prepared for a fast growth in aircraft starting then. The current plan has 122 airplanes by 2021. Upgrade classes of 8 per month all year.

Orlando will grow to 19 airplanes and about 200 pilots. The first 321s will be based in Orlando.

The LAS base is far from a guarantee. At a minimum it is well over a year away. It could also become a flight attendant only base. Currently there is a lot of flying from LAS, but it is not particularly well scheduled for a domicile. The company says they would need to rewrite the schedule to make a Vegas base work, and right now it's not happening. They also said that any Western base would take flying away from Denver for sure.

 

Just to clarify, pilots or crews?

 

What's the latest on upgrades? Did it get as junior as some were predicting (Fall 2013 hires by the end of this year)...?

 

Yes, a few people hired in late 2013 have been awarded upgrade and start training in October. Exactly 2 year upgrade, junior captains are going to Orlando. The October upgrade class will be the last one for the year. 2016 will see 8 upgrades a month.

Orlando will grow to 200 pilots, 100 crews

 

Jug... CA upgrades reached into the 10/14/2013 class with the last award which came out about a month ago (mid August)

Yes, you would be a CA now

 

Wonder how long the by passing will continue?

 

I think the upgrade bypassing FOs in Denver will keep on bypassing. They are dedicated to Denver and won't leave or sacrifice their quality of life to be a commuter. I believe junior captain spots will be junior for a long time to come.

Denver isn't and most likely won't grow, so all the future captain vacancies will be in Chicago and Orlando, and thus will go junior

 

Wow! Thanks for the info, and congrats to those new captains!

Unlikely, since as a commuter I need higher seniority than hourly rate--I'd've rather continued to commute to DEN as an FO (particularly as a relatively senior one) than to MCO as a CA (especially as a very junior one). Your point is well taken, though--it's amazing to learn of two-year upgrades at a major airline, in a position I myself occupied...!!

Seriously, congrats to all the upgrades, and continued good luck to all F9 bubbas!!

 

By the way Jughead - I hope you know I'm only kidding around. I absolutely know you're working with markedly better benefits and pay commensurate with your responsibilities. In all sincerity congrats on your move, and it's good to see you drop in from time to time.