Horizon hiring/interviews
 

I've got myself an interview this week with Horizon and was wondering if anyone has the lowdown on how things are going with them? Are they hurting for guys like RAH or the others? What jr bases? And so...

I wouldn't say we're "hurting for pilots," but we're certainly not over staffed. I can pick up extra flying for premium pay pretty much whenever I want to, and if the operation runs into weather or mechanical issues, there is certainly not a lot of wiggle room in the staffing. I spoke with a reliable source somewhat recently, and he said things were "getting a little thin" on the hiring front.

Junior bases are likely Anchorage, Medford, Spokane, Boise, Portland, Seattle. In that order. The bottom of the list is moving pretty quick right now, so we have people in Seattle that were hired under 6 months ago. Once you get to where you want, don't expect a lot of movement. In Seattle, you could expect reserve for 2+ years. With such little movement, and so little hiring in the last few years, things at the bottom can change quickly. Just a couple of seniority numbers can make a significant difference.

What else do you want to know?

Not having the hiring issues as Republic is; hiring in full swing, applicants want to come to Horizon, and new hire classes and upgrades from here on out.

New hires (within the last five months) are being placed throughout the system, with the exception of SEA and PDX right off the bat. I think a new hire can hold SEA within a year; PDX within two. ANC seems to be, with few exception, staffed with people who want to be there. New hires may go there, but if one desires to move to the Lower 48, I think that will happen rather quick. New hires seem to be holding lines within three to four bids from what I'm seeing out there. YMMV.

Our seniority list has people with September 2013 hiring date in PDX and August 2013 for SEA. There are going to be some upgrades coming and 95% of them will come from PDX/SEA so holding those bases will not be difficult; Just don't expect to hold a line anytime soon.

So one would be able to hold ANC if wanted then? Does horizon allow flying on the side like a part 135 or would it interrupt with the rest rules and such.

Thanks for the info. I'll be interviewing this week and have been out of the job since January. Living in Phoenix, I was only concerned about commuting. Not wanting to do the 2 leg hop to work.

Just to give you a heads up commuting isn't going to be very easy to the out stations ie. MFR BOI GEG. I commuted to MFR & BOI out of Chicago. Then I was able to hold PDX for my last bid that was much easier. Commuting to reserve though was rough because of the times you'll start. Looking at flights you'll more than likely need to commute in the day before and possibly commute out the day after. That can get quite old for some people when you only have a few days off between reserve shifts. Also the only commuter clause you get is on AS/QX I've heard that isn't heavily enforced but you don't want to always use that option. With that said Horizon was a blast nothing can top flying the Q the way they do IMO.

Cruz nailed the commuter thing. None of the schedules at QX are built around commuting. Even an easy commute sucks pretty bad. I would suggest moving, or being prepared to spend very few days at home.

The schedules are probably the biggest weak spot of this company, aside from the upgrade time. If you live in base, your life will be pretty good.

Ok probably a dumb question, but how can you be on reserve for 2+ years with a slimming pilot pool. Correct me if im wrong but being on reserve is basically "standby" you get called when someone else cant fly or changes to schedule etc. Why though would you have to do this for 2 + years? When is the transition then to "holding a line" Also in the regionals how often would it be that your bases switch. It seems to me that it would then make more sense just to go to a regional that only has a handful of bases available?

Reserve is a function of seniority. Horizon has a large number of very senior pilots who aren't going anywhere. This means we're pretty stagnant anywhere except for the bottom of the seniority list. Like I said, just a few seniority numbers means a lot at this company. The guy just above me has been able to hold a line for a year now. I have not.

Your base changes only under special circumstances.

1) You voluntarily bid to a different base. Moves are awarded in seniority order, and only when there is a vacancy to fill. You can be the most senior guy in the world, but if there's no vacancy, you're not going anywhere.

2) The company opens a new base, and no one wants to go there. This would result in a displacement for some junior people.

3) The company closes a base, which would displace all of those people to the other places, in seniority order.