Glut of Q400 FO’s (no flying)
 

So when is the log jam of FO’s going to break free? A lot of FO’s are going 6-7 weeks between trips!
A lot of us coming off of OE need that flying to stay proficient and competent.

Don’t expect it to change in the near or long term. Since the staffing meltdown in 2017 AAG will do anything to not have that happen again. To include being significantly over staffed to preclude that scenario. This staffing comes at great expense. This is why we see incredible pressure on quality of hotels, schedules and QOL. AAG is not going to absorb that cost. It will be born by pilots.

I just tried to drop four legs in a couple of weeks, l got the not enough reserves message. [emoji848]

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It’s getting pretty old. Some FOs I talk to are talking about leaving, but few actually have. I’m not interested in making any lateral moves so I’m holding out, but I’m also actively looking for part time flying gigs that mesh well with a reserve schedule so I actually have some motivation to get up in the morning.

The intersting thing is that QX is on the cusp of a pretty major Q400 captain shortage, evidently. They have an incredibly hard time filling vacancies, for obvious reasons. Will be interesting to see how that plays out. Will they offer retention bonuses for Q captains? Guaranteed upgrades in base? Reintroduce some California flying? Can they even offer rentention bonuses per the CBA?

No, and the union is so fed up with Management's BS they will just take it to section 6.

I’m curious about the future of the Q vs Ejet bases. Any truth to MFR going away?

Medfords been rumored to go away for the last 5 years.

According to CPO newsletter based on current 5 year plan.
"Q Bases: There are no plans to make any changes any time soon. The basing structure on the Q is functioning very well. I know that there are frequent questions about MFR. MFR is operating very well, any changes would not only negatively impact the quality of life for some of you, but it would also have a negative impact on our system performance and in turn on our financial performance."

Also from CPO office:
"Pathways: Alaska recently closed out a bid that, as expected, has created a number of positions for the Airbus. That is likely to be the case for a while at Alaska. For our pilots at the top of the Pathway list, please be prepared for a call in the next few weeks offering you an Airbus spot likely to SFO. Please remember that it will likely be a while before Boeings are available and, as you know, every seniority number matters. For pilots looking to accumulate PIC time, the Q at this time is the quickest route to the left seat."

Don't be surprise if top Pathways people to start deferring.

Where are you hearing about a Q400 captain shortage? All of the reserve captains I've talked to aren't being used much (4-5 days a month) and there doesn't seem to be a lot of stuff in open time, but from seeing how many FO's are deferring the upgrade or going to the jet, I'd totally believe there's one on the horizon.

Aside from "add more good flying", the only solution you proposed that doesn't involve management ignoring the CBA (which they'll probably do anyway) is to add more captain slots in Q bases to encourage people to upgrade. Of course that runs into the issue of the new slots making reserve even longer, but it's probably the easiest and cheapest solution for Air Group if there's a staffing issue.

Like snackysmores said, "Medford is closing!" has been the rumor pretty much since the day Medford opened, and the last time QX closed a base (ANC) it was without much previous discussion in the rumor mill, and IIRC, the rumor just before it closed was that ANC was going to get jets, so no one has any clue what's happening with the bases more than maybe a 6-12 months out.

Just ride the waves...