MedSledDriver

I’m getting close to being upgrade eligible in the Q and wondering what CA reserve times are looking like. I’m PDX based but don’t mind moving to another base for better movement and more flying. I don’t want to sit around on reserve as a captain like I did as an FO.

Also, most of the pathways chatter on the forum has mostly died. A lot of people on the line are saying that the pathways program has slowed attrition at QX thus slowing movement in the seniority list. Is there any truth to that?

Excargodog

Generally speaking, the reason that flow programs exist is to staff THE REGIONAL. Few majors would have any serious problems meeting their recruiting needs with off the street hires, at least presently.

And historically, QX has never been known for fast movement.

Squeakygreaser

I'd say we are very short on Q captains in PDX. Very short.

DashAviator

This is a true statement. During the last "Pilot Chat", our chief pilot indicated that we were overstaffed on all positions EXCEPT Q400 captains. There's a couple of upgrade classes going through in October, but this is only 8-10 pilots, which may not make much of a dent in the shortage.

I suspect we're short of Q400 captains in most of the bases. A quick look at our crew scheduling software shows about 50 open trips on the Q400 side. About 90% are coded as premium pay (150%). If you want the Portland base, then ask for it. As a reserve, you can expect to spend plenty of time deadheading to other bases to cover trips.

I'm a line holder, so I don't know how long people are spending on reserve in Portland. Best guess? One to two years, with a fair amount of flying.

Jetlikespeed

Q most junior line holder is 8/17 abs dropping due to captains PDX Q for the 175.
The pathways is moving but slows due to no one having the 1000 TPIC. Due to jet going senior again my guess (and total speculation) is Q line holder captains will flow to AS before people holding out for the 175 then having to sit reserve and building time slower. Believe it or not the Q seems the fastest way to Alaska if you can hold a line within a month or two.

MedSledDriver

The last email I read about October vacancy bidding mentioned being short Q captains in Spokane. Idk if that’s just one of those “company propaganda” things but I thought it was contrary to the axiom of Spokane being hella senior.

Also, if we’re so short on Q captains, why do reserve times for new captains seem so much longer than reserve times for FOs?

MedSledDriver

I wouldn’t mind reserve if there was actually flying to be had on it. When I was a reserve FO I logged about 5 hours in February. It wasn’t a good time.

The speculation from some pilots is that the company is still stockpiling pilots to overcompensate for the pilot staffing shortfall the company had a few years ago. In short, the pilots we do have aren’t being utilized efficiently in either seat.

It’s been said on here that these things have a pendulum effect at QX. I’m just trying to gauge where the staffing/pathways/reserve time pendulum is going to be swinging when I hit 1000 SIC.

DashAviator

Reserve staffing at Horizon has always been... strange. For the first fifteen years that I worked here, company management tried to keep staffing as lean as possible. In many cases, reserve pilots worked as much or more than line holders. You'd think that the company would just build more regular lines, but there wasn't much motivation on the part of management or the union to fix the reserve situation.

Fast forward to 2017. The pilot shortage finally caused Horizon management to hit the panic button and hire as many pilots as they could get their hands on. This is why we now have so many people on reserve (with a reduction in the number of hours that the reserves are flying). The priority has shifted from minimizing staffing costs to maximizing flight completion (i.e., schedule reliability).

I think we're short on the Q400 captain side for a few reasons: People are holding out for the jet, or don't have enough time to upgrade. The Dash also has a reputation for eating its children - there's still a lot of pilots not making it through upgrade training. The jet FO's transitioning to the Q400 seem to be having an especially bad time of it. I totally agree with the FO that tells me that they want more experience in the airplane before they put in for an upgrade. There's no shame in waiting for the base or schedule that you want.

BigfatQ

I would look at the pbs results and the last person to get a line in your base. Then look at the last 2-3 upgrade bid result and see where you would be. Also consider E jet transitions, which benefit all junior q captains. You can approximately estimate your future status. I'm pretty sure you'd get Portland. But if you don't want to commute, just don't bid for CPT in another base

MedSledDriver

Is there any common trends regarding upgrade failures on the Q? I know it’s a pretty rough experience going from jet FO to Q captain, but if you’re already a Q FO it shouldn’t be too difficult. I’ve flown with some captains on the Q that make it look a little too easy, if you know what I mean.