Those sound like the reasons I left a few months ago. I guess my username should be "Barbie Jet Pilot" now.

If anyone does happen to get an interview at QX, make sure to remember the Bible and model rocket kit when you are packing your briefcase. LaMar will probably hire you on the spot.

P.S. I second the comments about Ali

 

I was going to avoid that but ok... Third.

 

...it's just pure luck of the draw...or bad luck of the draw...either way, luck is in there somewhere...

 

I think that they like people with ties to the Northwest. They want to hire people that want to be in the area and want to stay a long time. If you are an East Coast guy, you will be at the bottom of the stack, and if you do get an interview, you had better say that you want to move to SEA/PDX for the rest of your life. It seemed that the part of the interview when they asked "Why Horizon?" was the most important question to answer correctly during the whole day.

 

Have prior 121 and 135 experience, have a four year degree, have worked at Ameriflight, about the only thing is I do not live in the Pacific northwest.

 

Where do you live? And When did you interview? How long did it take for them to get back to you after you applied?

 

I'm leaving to be a bus driver as well. Flying a red tail logo, but not Northwest. It's a huge gamble for me. I'm not leaving because I don't like where I'm at. I love it. But the mood at QX has been dark. I've been here for 8+ years and it is darker now than before we signed our first contract! I think part of it is our schedules are crap, and of course the unknown. Don't get me wrong, I love QX. I've enjoyed being here. But it aint everything. If you commute, you can do better. If you live in Seattle, or Portland. Well, it makes things a lot better. I'm not sure what direction the company is going, so stay tuned for that, but for the most part it's ok. Air Grope growth has always been fairly stagnant compared to other airlines. After almost a decade with the company I see a lot of areas where they could have decimated the competition and did not. All that being said, QX has had the best training program in any 121 program bar nun. That is changing because it costs money. But it is still good. Would I do it all again? Absolutely! If you live close. If you don't mind a long upgrade. This is your airline. Good luck. Good bowling. God bless. I certainly do not begrudge my time served here. It was the best of times.............last call.........

 

I also heard a key ingredient to the interview recipe was some previous dash 8 time. Any truth to that?

 

Prolly not gonna matter now...

April 24, 2008 Alaska Air Group, parent of Alaska Airlines, reported a wider quarterly loss on Thursday as revenue could not keep pace with rising fuel costs.
Fuel costs for the first quarter rose 45 percent, or USD$89 million, to USD$282 million. Fuel is the company's largest expense, and Alaska Air's problems mirror the rest of the industry.
"Given the magnitude of this increase and the softening economy, we're taking aggressive actions now to improve our business and profitability," said Bill Ayer, chairman and chief executive.
The company announced cost cuts and revenue enhancements that it hopes will boost full-year pre-tax income by about USD$150 million.
First, it said it would further reduce the size of the fleet at its regional Horizon Air subsidiary, which will result in "some job losses." It hopes to address those losses through attrition.
Also, within two years, Horizon Air will go from a fleet of 65 aircraft and three aircraft types to a fleet comprised of only larger, 76-seat Bombardier Q400s, the company said.
Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air are evaluating routes to remove frequency in underperforming markets and redeploy in more profitable areas. The airlines anticipate shifting 3 percent to 5 percent of existing network capacity to generate new revenue in the fall schedule.
Alaska Air Group also will raise various fees later this spring and summer, including charging USD$25 for a second checked bag for most passengers.
Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air will fly more direct routes, establish procedures for using only one engine during taxiing, and use more ground-based power systems rather than aircraft auxiliary power while at the gate. Alaska Air Group hopes to save 1 million gallons of jet fuel per month through these procedures.
The company reported a first-quarter net loss of USD$35.9 million, compared with a net loss of $10.3 million a year earlier. Both periods include adjustments resulting from mark-to-market fuel hedge accounting.
Excluding the impact of these adjustments, the company would have reported a loss of USD$36.3 million, compared with a loss of USD$15.8 million a year earlier.
Revenue rose to USD$839 million from USD$759 million a year earlier. Mainline passenger traffic increased 11.3 percent on a capacity increase of 6.8 percent. Load factor increased by 3 percentage points to 74.4 percent.

(Reuters)

 

I heard there are still some classes scheduled for the near term down there in PDX. I think if I was starting class in the next couple of weeks I'd be a little nervous...