higherclimb

In the 90s this was a true statement but it's not now .... I don't agree with this. Before the bonus no one was going to Horizon and after the bonus you're just getting a handful of pilots. Yes pilots want to live in the pnw but currently everyone goes to Skywest for that. Unless Horizon does something impressive like being a leader in pay for FOs, this airline will continue to be a bottom feeder for attracting new pilots. Just my 2 cents....

boboseatlle

I wouldn't count on that anymore. I currently live in the Seattle area and I'm will be interviewing for regionals shortly. Myself and many other prospective pilots that live in the area are not going to interview with Horizon at the moment due to many other better options currently being available.

Right now it seems like Horizon has low morale, low pay, and bad upgrade times. Having crew bases in the PNW doesn't make up for the rest.

snackysmores

Totally understandable, but keep in mind today's darling regional will be tomorrows turd. When doing your research make sure you are looking at each airlines trend and where you think they might be a couple years down the road (which is difficult for new people in this industry), not just where they are right now.

Regionals have upswings and downswings all the time. The LOA will make you one of the highest paid regional FOs if it passes, and if we grow 13 planes the upgrade times are going to drop as well. I'm no Horizon cheerleader, believe me, I'm just sayin'.

The biggest morale buster for this TA is the Q400 captains who will pretty much just be getting a 4.2 daily rig and a bonus, when really we're going after contract improvements and QOL issues.

But as I've said before, Air Group is a reactive company and they are not capable of forward thinking or planning ahead. Their short term solution is to just throw money at the problem. When that doesn't work as well as they want it to they will be coming right back to us. Next round they will be paying us again on top of giving us more stuff to make this place attractive.

boboseatlle

I hope the airline is on an uptick and becomes one of the best regionals to work for. I would hope that all new job seekers would keep their options open and continually evaluate which company will work best for the near and long term. I haven't closed the door on Horizon, but things will definitely need to change (at least for myself) to make the airline competitive with the rest of the competition. You can't rely solely on the location of crew bases.

amcnd

I will be. The biggest problem i see as a potential newhire is the fact of never being a jet Captain at Horizon... thats the biggest problem... when you can got to anywhere else and get Jet PIC in a 1-2 years..

snackysmores

TPIC is TPIC...

WesternSkies

Truth. And in the past few years the PSAs become the darlings.

Jet Jockey 00

TPIC is the same it doesn't matter where you get it. The problem I see is guys going to an easy, automated jet (E-175) for only a year or two and then upgrading onto a Q400 in which they have never flown and then doing 6 legs a day. That would be tough with no turboprop experience.

N19906

Err, watch out for that "Shiney Jet Syndrome". TPIC is TPIC.
FWIW, I think flying the Q400 makes a better pilot, because it's work.

Whatever other concerns and opinions you may have about QX, I will say it's a great group of people to work with.

amcnd

Maybe some people want to stay at the regional level... Horizon wouldn't be the best pick for that..