I'm looking for a real assesment about the company. I know upgrade is long, I don't need to be reminded of that. I would like to know how the company morale is, quality of the trips, overall quality of the pilot group, future of the CRJs (your opinion). I don't want this to turn into some bash fest, we all know it tends to happen here occasionally. Any info greatly appreciated. Thxs

 

Here is my two cents (Though as with any subject, there are always differnet opinions). Company morale overall is lower than average. Contract neg. are slow going (Are current contract is not bad,(pay is decent) though some things could be better for the reserves. Many of us are torqued that the company carriered 1,000,000 million more pass. than 06 (which was are record profit year) and we lost millions in 07, though AAG made money overall. The turboprop sched. are pretty tough with lots of legs though the RJs are normal with 3-4 legs a day on average. Are sched. have degraded over the 15 months that I have been here. Before there were 22 day off lines (35 day bid) down to 14 days off and everything you could think of in the middle. All day trip lines, 2 day trip lines etc. etc. Now with some new crew planning software the best line has 17days off and most lines are 4 day trips. Some question if it is a negotiating tool used my mang. to make us ask for normal/good sched. in our new contract. Being on the RJ I am not beat up by the schedule, though rarely do I get a trip that pays block. We have a 4:1 TAFB duty rig so at a minimum you will get 19.5-20.0 hrs for a 4 day trip at a min. We complaine a lot about efficent use of crews. Many of the senior capt. on the R.J get spun around the axle about losing the R.J. I think we may lose some, but not all. That would eliminate the CPA with Alaska and I dont think the AAG wants to give that up. Rising fuel cost is the motivator since the Q4 is more economical, but mx issues, public perception and cruise at 250 are all factors the company is considering. Overall I am happy I chose to come here. Skywest was a close second, but I did not want to communte and I love living in PDX. Its cheap, great airport for non-reving and I am a west coaster and did not want to give that up. Things are not great here, but I think they are not going to be great anywhere in the industry with such high fuel costs. QX has always been a solid place to work and I think it will continue to be, though at the sacrafice of growth and fast upgrade.

 

I agree with everything PeopleMover said. Moral has took a big decline in the past two years. Schedules have also took a dive. To tell you the truth, the Horizon of today isnt the Horizon of 2 years ago for those resons and many more. If you want specifics feel free to PM me. There a good sides and bad sides to going to Horizon and it will be different for each indivual. I personally wouldnt recommend Horizon unless you live in PDX or SEA and dont want to commute.

 

Horizon is a good company a lot better than all other regional’s! That being said I think that every single airline is in for a rough ride this year. Horizon & Alaska however are in a good position with the error group having just under 1Billion Dollars in cash in the bank and the 2nd best fuel hedge in the industry I don't think any Horizon Alaska Pilot has to worry about their job where as a pilot at SkyWest or pinnacle with those inefficient crj 200s really should be quite concerned.

 

I also agree with peoplemover.

 

Additionally, ALK has the second best fuel hedge position behind SWA. With $110 bbl oil, they'll MAKE money.

 

Drop me a PM if you'd like specific info. I think it all depends on where you are coming from, where you want to be and what you envision for your future in aviation. Horizon has great pilots, great equiptment and if you like the NW, good bases. That's it.

It succeeds despite it's managers best efforts. That says a lot as to the high quality and experience of the frontline folks. QX has been career suicide the past 10 yrs or so but going forward it's hard to say. If you already know about the upgrade I assume you don't have aspirations to move on to a major? If that's the case then it may be a good fit.

 

QX has been a good place to work. We all get a little frustrated with management on occasion, but I think that's inevitable anywhere.

Compared to my former employers, we are treated well.

 

I enjoyed my time at Horizon, but agree with what others have said in terms of deteriorating schedules and quality of life over the past few years. For those that live in the pacific northwest, it can be tolerable, but as a commuter it's not easy, which was one of the biggest factors in my deciding to leave. I now have the same number of days off sitting reserve at a legacy carrier that I did even as a relatively senior lineholder on the -200.

My other concern with Horizon looking toward the future is whether or not they would survive a post-merger scenario. If another carrier were to merge with or buy Alaska, it wouldn't surprise me to see quite a bit of the flying that Horizon is currently doing go to another regional given Horizon's high cost structure compared to Skywest and others.

My gut feeling is that the CRJ's will be gone in the next couple of years, and they'll be an all Q400 fleet. I don't think it's just a scare tactic by management during the contract negotiations. Horizon's CEO has made it clear that he prefers the 400s, even with the questionable reliability.

All that being said, Horizon is still one of the better regionals out there. Great crews to fly with, decent pay, and some of the funnest flying I've experienced so far. There are a lot of questions for them going forward, but what airline isn't in that position right now?

 

i thought this was only at eagle, but good luck to all at horizon on the rjs