Aero1900

You can definitely get an interview with internal recs and without attending a job fair.

The junior domicile is Orlando. However, I believe you can get Denver or Orlando straight out of training. You might have to wait a month or two to get into Chicago. Junior captain is definitely Orlando.

F9/NK merger talks have picked up again, but I really don't think it's happening within 5 years. Frontier will go through an IPO, which is probably a year away, and then they will probably see how the stock does for a couple years before they even look into a merger. With both F9 and NK growing and making lots of money, there is no reason to merger. Wait until there is a big recession, or a big hiccup in the industry, then merger talks will get serious.

NoCoairbus

Just to give a more accurate idea of upgrading at Frontier. From the end of 2007 till the end of 2013 we hired around 25 pilots. Since then we have hired about 350 or so. That's why those hired at the end of 2013 are already able to upgrade. At 70 upgrades a year, give or take, it's going to be at least 4 years for the Dec 2015 new hires to upgrade. There are lots of variables of course but that's what I'm currently looking at. About 100 or so pilots hired before 2013 are currently bypassing. Keep that in mind.

ULLI

You got to remember all these 2 year upgrades are with virtually zero airframe gain. We are scheduled to get net of 9 airplanes this year. Upgrades will float around 2 year mark for time to come.

sulkair

Right now we're running ~8 crews per plane. Assuming that's proper staffing at peak utilization, with 9 more planes, we would need 72 more Captains is all.

To do a proper analysis we would need to know:

*How many crews per plane they want at ideal utilization.
*Accurate fleet size projections.
*Good handle on attrition numbers which will of course vary at different levels of seniority.

I tend to agree with the 4 year projection for people hired today. These brand-new-hires are ~1000 on the seniority list. Adjust for 100 by-passers, and they are effectively ~900 with respect to an upgrade. Now this would take a global seniority list 1800 strong in order for them to hold Jr CA. Which will require ~112 airframes at current utilization. It'll take 4 years to get there.

And all of this only if the music doesn't stop! Like it seems is happening at Spirit, for reasons I can't get my head around.

NoCoairbus

I hate to keep beating this issue up but I just looked at the last upgrade award, the latest hiring update and the seniority list. The most junior pilot in next month's upgrade class was hired 11/13. So that's a 26 month upgrade and he was in the 3rd class after no hiring for basically 5 years.
His seniority # is around 620 so with another 80 upgrades for the year you're looking at #700 who was hired in April of 2014 as the most possible junior captain.
We hired 160 in 2014 and another 170 in 2015. Simple math tells you those guys will not upgrade in 2 years.
Having said that. We have grown 50% over the last 2 years. From 630 to about 950 pilots. The Neos will start showing up later this year and I'd imagine 100 upgrades a year for the foreseeable future so it's a good time to come to Frontier. Just don't expect to be a captain in 3 years.

Hou757

What are typical schedules like? 4 on 3 off? How many days off a month?

Bolo

Day 1: Turn followed by Redye(East coast) Day 2: Reverse Redeye (West coast) Day 3: Redeye Midwest(STL,CLE,CVG) Day: 4 Return to DEN
Please come join the Frontier Team. We would love to have you!

sled14

They vary, but for February the average line credit is 77-78 hours depending on base, average 15-17 days off. Mix between 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 day (except MCO so far). Normal short call (2 hour) reserve but also medium and long call (10 and 12 hour). Line bidding so once you hold a line you can swap/drop etc pretty easily.

crflyer

Depends on the base, but average is around 15-16 days off a month for line-holders. Ranges from 12 on reserve up to about 21 for some lines.

1-5 day trip mix, depends on the base also. There's quite a fair amount of 5 day trips. Blocks of days off aren't really spread too evenly all the time. Some lines have it set up like 1 off, 4 on 3 off, 5 on 2 off, 4 on 11 off...

Sometimes what Bolo said is true. You're likely to have a redeye or two somewhere during the month, and could be a whole trip's worth. But there are certainly better trips and you can go all month without a redeye.

Hou757

Thanks! How long to hold a line in MCO or Den? I realize its probably fluid right now.