05Duramax

From what I have heard new ERJ FO's are not flying very much. I'm curious what the current realistic time to upgrade in the ERJ is and how long you're on reserve once you upgrade?

Thanks!

Vanilla

Things are picking up in the ERJ side. We have taken 5 ERJs in the last 30ish days. Due another 6 or so by January. Though, Alaska has been consistently changing their fleet plans as of late. Flights out of PAE begin in January.

ERJ upgrade when you get 1000 hours and your seniority can hold it. Around the 1.5 year mark. Earlier this year we had quite a few 'street captain' upgrades (in both the Q and 175) with previous 121 time. That was mainly due to the lack of FOs with the required time. Now that the early 2017 newhires are getting the required time, they're taking the upgrade. Reserve? currently around 4/5 years. There are many variables that will affect this. PDX could be an official base in 2019. If that is the case, PDX ERJ upgrade would be too senior for any newhire to think about. The company could grow PDX and slow/stop in SEA. Or grow both. Or neither. Flip a coin. Maybe a California base according to the rumors.... Alaska's fleet plan seems to be fluid. Make some popcorn and enjoy the show.

snackysmores

The Q400 is going backwards...A lot of lineholders are back on reserve again with the latest line reductions in PDX/SEA. Sad.

05Duramax

Thanks for the reply. 4-5 years? Why would Horizon be upgrading all these guys if reserve is that long? What is the point?

From what I have heard the guys on the Q400 are flying the most and upgrading the fastest. Obviously as they draw down the Q's at some point that will not be the case.

I'm just trying to decide if I go to Horizon is it worth waiting the 3 months for an ERJ class or get seniority and the extra 5k bonus and go to the Q. I'm Seattle based, why I'm looking at Horizon.

Fixnem2Flyinem

If you have a job and/or ways to make ends meet until the jet class I would wait. The Q seems to be losing lines at a fast pace in Seattle.

Once you upgrade no matter the airframe, reserve is just part of the game. it’s 2 up to 4 years as of now but keep in mind a lot of retirements industry wide start to happen next year and the real hose turns on in 2021

Vanilla

After the 2017 staffing debacle, the company began a hiring frenzy in late 2017. We were anticipating another 23 ERJs, but deliveries stopped. So for the first half of 2018, we were very heavy on ERJ Captains and FOs to the point any ERJ reserve pilot was barely flying. At that particular point in time, the most junior lineholder was around 5 years. We didn't resume ERJ deliveries til April/May, but we only took 5 during that time period- then there was a break over the summer. Then another 5 recently showed up.
As more ERJs show up the number of lineholders will increase and reserve should go down slightly. Throw in some attrition as well. I know some ERJ captains that have barely been here a year and surprisingly got some trips awarded for December instead of straight reserve. Perhaps some of the senior folk bid reserve in hopes of more time at home during the holidays?

You will be guaranteed SEA on the ERJ since it is our only base. If you go the Q route, you're going to need to wait at least 6 months before holding SEA.

Huskypilot

Not sure where this info came from, but I've been on property for 14 months and have flown an E175 line for five months. A friend of mine just got his first line in December after a summer hire date. Bottom line, Horizon is hiring at a sustained rate, and now is a great time to get into our expanding Embraer fleet. Everyone has to decide what's important to them, but flying a CAT III qualified state of the art airplane with a wet Airworthiness cert is an exceptional experience. Good luck!

AkAv8er

Thanks for the comment Husky. I’ve heard 6-9 mo reserve out of training recently for Erj FOs which you seem to also have experienced. Would you agree that folks are only flying 10-20 hrs a month on reserve in that situation?

4-5 years on reserve as a new Erj captain sounds like a long time. How much flying a month are these guys getting on reserve?

Anyone have an update or guesstimate on an Erj training date if I can get an offer by the end of the year?

Thanks

WhiteH2O

HP, I'm going to guess you are an FO, not a Captain. He was asking how long reserve would be once you upgrade. Since any new hire that is able to upgrade is going to have years of people upgrade in front of them into the CA seat, any CA that upgrades from the lower part of the seniority, is just going to watch their seniority drop as the 2017 and then the 2018 hires get their 121 hours to upgrade, putting them in perpetual reserve.

05Duramax

Thanks for the replies; though I don't know if the picture is much clearer, but such is the regional industry!

ERJ is obviously where the growth is going to be.

Captain reserve in Seattle is still better than holding a line in LGA I would guess.....