Horizon Air
 

Alaska just posted that they will throw out any application from a Horizon pilot unless they have at least 2000 hrs at Horizon. No flow to Alaska anymore, no upgrade for 13 years, no pay, and no jets. ***? Why would anyone go there if they could get a signing bonus, and a two year upgrade in a jet everywhere else? No wonder they can't fill a class and are canceling flights. They Q400 is a complete POS and turboprop FO time is worthless. :confused:

Where did Alaska post this?


Just for the record, there was never any "flow" to Alaska from QX.

Always figured people went there because the pay was good and they wanted to live in a particular base. Never heard of any flow to Alaska, please explain.

just a quick fact check....there was never any flow to AS from QX and a QX FO has ALWAYS needed 2000 hrs at QX to be able to apply at AS.

Classes are being filled and flights may have been cancelled because there was a logjam as trainees were waiting several weeks to be put through IOE.

There are plenty of reasons that applicants are still applying at QX. Part of it may be the opportunity to apply at AS as an FO (admittedly, many have not been called yet to interview, but that seems to be changing) but it may also be that many desire to live or stay in the Pac NW and quality of life issues are important.

The jet debate is an age old, tireless one. QX has had plenty of FO's leave with worthless POS turboprop SIC FO time to fly big fancy jets like 747's (that is a really big one) and a variety of fancy non-worthless narrowbody "mainline" JETS that even have fancy, awesome first class seats and engines under the wings!

The Q400 isn't the end all and has it's challenges. From personal experience, it has been mostly reliable, has cool technology (HUD, RNP, coupled VNAV) and is a less claustrophobic experience for the peeps in the back while they sip complimentary local mircobrew and wine.

This site is plagued with constant visceral swill loaded with inaccurate information that makes it frustrating for those looking to make a good judgement on their career choice.

You beat me to it. Nicely done sir.

One thing I'd add: the best airplane to fly is an airplane that makes money: job security. SkyWest, one of the darlings of the industry, just posted a 14 million and change loss for 2Q2014. Horizons 2Q results weren't stellar, but the airline turned a profit. Playing the "Chase the Upgrade" game works great until your airline folds when you're in upgrade class...

Upgrade currently eight years, eleven months from hire to upgrade class. Not sure where the thirteen year figure came from.

Because that is what it was a year ago. 7 years ago it 4.5. So yea, it has gone down, but not compared to what it was before most of you worked here. Most of the new QX posters only know what it is like now, not how it was before this CPA bull. CPA's exist to control and outsource! Once the name on the side of your plane says something other then your airline's, your days are numbered. Although, you could just be a management lackey posting for recruiting purposes?

That's only if they don't otherwise have the requisite PIC Multi Turbine time, correct?

Correct. Alaska's requirements frequently change each time they open their application window. The turbine-PIC requirement is one of those that seems to fluctuate quite a bit.

The window is open right now, and the only thing they ask for is 3000 total time, or a reduced total time for military applicants.

Skywest airlines posted a profit and Expressjet posted a huge loss which amounted to a 14 mil loss for Skywest Inc, not Skywest Airlines.

I've never heard anyone (recently) bring up Skywest in a chase the upgrade comment. The most junior captain is over 7 years.

I should have separated the financial with the philosophical. ExpressJet is a mess, but if SkyWest can't work that kink out, and SkyWest is a good shop, then I'd be worried about places like PSA, Republic, and Mesa and others being viable when the regional model becomes more and more expensive. Which leads me to the second part of the post...

People are looking for a fast upgrade, and chasing that upgrade to a company that partakes in the five-year, cost cut, airplane shuffle model could get burned hard when those jets go away to the new lowest bidder. SkyWest isn't a good example of that, so my apologies on putting the two together.

Look y'all, Horizon by no means is the perfect place to be. But given the fact the airline isn't battling a contract with concessions, turns a profit, and is Pac NW centric, then I'd say its not bad either. QOL can be pretty good, pay and benefits are good, and FOs are going to other airlines, Alaska, Hawaiian, Spirit, Virgin to name a few. Upgrade is still long, but coming down. I don't have skin in the game to promote, but I at least want to give people a fair representation of the joint.

Sounds like your mad at the world because Alaska hasn't called?

Alaska never promised any Horizon guy anything.

Simple answer. People from the northwest love the northwest and want to be based there. Horizon is a great company who treats their employees well especially in comparison to many of the airlines now days.

It's not always a race to the first legacy airline who will take you for everybody. If you're looking for a comfortable living while you're in the area you love then it's worth a shot.

With that said I fly cargo for a UPS feeder so I guess I don't have much experience for input. But I do love my home and would love to work at QX for those reasons.

Horizon Air
 

Thoughts on MFR closure and parking airplanes rumors? Any substantiated evidence of either?

Haha... that's a new one. I haven't heard that rumor yet...

I'd heard that there were plans to pull one of the RON aircraft out of MFR (can't remember where it was being shifted to), but there were no plans to downsize or close the base for the forseeable future.

Haven't heard anything about parking airplanes, but the fact that QX bought a new airplane a few weeks ago (along with the constant texts for premium trips) makes that rumor seem less credible.

MFR was a mistake from the get go.

Unlikely that MFR is closing.

As for parking planes? No way.

Great job by the OP. Two absurd posts, then never to be heard from again.

Copy shot, VNAV. Drive by style.

Drive by trolling...

Speaking of MFR, is anyone based out of there that wants to compare it to bases like PDX or SEA (as far as a new hire)? I love Medford, and would love to live there.

The schedules down there are pretty good. High credit trips, many California overnights.

Portland has some good stuff too. Boise seems to have most of the SLC/LAS flying. Spokane trips are to Montana and Canada most of the time.

Seattle is the reserve base. In the last bid, there were 53 FO's in Seattle. Portland had 84. Seattle had 19 reserve lines, Portland had 9.

I do wish the reserves would be balanced better. Most reserve assignments out of Seattle started with a dead-head to PDX...

I think all of the SLC/LAS flying is out of Boise for now, but those trips aren't as nice as they sound due to the ATC issues in SLC, the Vegas hotel being a dump, and the temperature in Vegas adding even more fun to the mix.

Most of the Boise trips seem to be pretty good though, and even AM reserve isn't too bad, since I managed to get 4-5 days on each of the last two bids where I didn't get called.

Gotcha. That's the advantage of the smaller bases... if you're on reserve in SEA/PDX you can pretty much pack your bags the night before. It's just inevitable.

It's what?

I guess we had two more captains pass away this week?

Retired or active? Ether way sucks

One active and one on medical. Heart attack and suicide, I'm told.