Originally Posted by Taylor814ce (Post 2529128)

No more deferral of the Jets is my understanding BUT things can always change.

In Jet, we are over staffed at the moment, especially FO. I spoke to few FO’s who flew less than 2 hours in the past 30 days.


Now, I have a question for you. What’s so attractive about PNW? I live here and don’t know why people are soo drawn to this area. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice...but I wouldn’t sacrifice “better” things for sake of coming to region.

Originally Posted by FlyingOliver (Post 2529142)

Thanks for the response Dash...

I certainly don't plan on being a Horizon lifer (does anybody?). I just want to make the a good informed decision. Right now its a toss between Horizon and Envoy. To be honest I want to end up at either AA, DL, or AS... From what I hear, upgrades at Envoy happen quickly but the flow thru program is like 6 years to AA. I want to do this for as you say 2 to 3 years.


Cheers

Originally Posted by DashAviator (Post 2529265)

I don't think Flying Oliver has the time to be a street captain, but could probably meet the requirements to upgrade in about 2 years. The Q400 FO's tend to fly a fair amount. I'm a mid-junior captain and fly about 650-700 hours a year. My best year as a FO was 840 hours.

I'm currently based in Portland. Were I a new hire, I'd take a hard look at Boise. Great town, less expensive than Portland and Seattle, and fantastic outdoor activities.

Originally Posted by FlyingOliver (Post 2529290)

Boise... I've done a little research on rents in Medford, Portland, and Seattle. Havn't looked at Boise yet. I'll check into it though. I figured even with higher rents, sometimes a roomate situation can be affordable (SEA in case I get the e175). I have family and friends in Vancouver.. might be able to get away with very cheap rent if I work something out. Any stories of people living in Vancouver and commuting?? I have PR status in Canada still.

I'm game for whatever. As long as I can jump or stdby to a place on my days off it doesn't matter to much. I imagine living on base is the best though. Thoughts??

Also wondering - How do they decide who gets what at interview.. Does prior jet experience play into it? I'm looking at some gouges now on airlineinterviews.com and most e175 new hires had some jet time prior.

Originally Posted by DashAviator (Post 2528995)

First, get some sleep. For a brief answer to your questions:

(1) Horizon status: Not much change, still motoring along. You indicated that you'd like to return to the Pacific Northwest. Horizon would be a good place to work for two or three years. I wouldn't plan on staying here permanently.

(2) Jet deliveries: To be perfectly honest, no one knows. Most of us suspect that Air Group management has been transferring some of our jet deliveries to SkyWest. The pilot union sued the company and the Air Group has been ordered to turn over the documents, but I haven't heard anything more on this issue. We currently have ten jets on the property.

(3) The jet appears to be overstaffed. The training pipeline is also "plugged" at this time, with people waiting weeks for IOE trips (not enough airplanes? Not enough trips?). The Q400 is still short-staffed. The training department seems to be catching up, but most of the new hires are still experiencing delays in training. Most of the new-hires in the Q400 are taking three months (or more) to get out on the line. Horizon is also "close to" hiring street captains for the Q400, due to the lack of upgrade-qualified FO's. At the present time, we do NOT have an FAA-approved program for this, so new hires with previous Part 121 experience have to do both the FO and upgrade training programs.

(4) Other: The jet base is Seattle. Q400 bases are Portland, Medford, Boise, Seattle, and Spokane. A lot of guys/gals are getting Portland right out of training.

You will most likely be offered the Q400. The trips are hard, but we do some interesting flying. If you want the jet (and are offered a job), you may have to wait a few months for a class.

Originally Posted by Stinger6 (Post 2531089)

MedSled Driver: I am also starting ATP/CTP on 3/5 in MCO. PM me if you want...I don't know how this forum works, really, my few previous posts have been pretty specific and ignored, but I'm not hurt, not really. I'm looking forward to it, and trying to believe that staring at my Sheppard study questions will get me through the written.

All: I'm pretty stoked if you guys are halfway honest...I have the 121 minimums to upgrade directly after IOE, but it sounds like IOE may take a while. I requested the Q in MFR.

Snacky: Man you got a lotta time on your hands to post, which is not a bad thing. I lurk out here on the web reading your typing.

Guy who said who wants to be a QX Lifer?: Umm, me, I think. I'm too old to care about sexy jets. I remember when hiring on at Northwest or Continental seemed like a good idea. On a Compass forum page someone was all "Captains at that OTHER West Coast airline are like your Dad." Yup. That sold me on QX. I'm like your Dad. He's a good man, that dad o' yours.