Are companies warehousing pilots?
#11
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: May 2017
Posts: 281
I’m not sure if Brickyard has a “warehouse” full of pilots, although we are getting on the fat side. However reserve times are still low and upgrade times are 2 years and still decreasing along with a lot of the more senior guys finally moving on. As far as I know there is no issues of people not flying.
#12
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jul 2008
Posts: 606
Could be when the peak of the retirement wave hits in 3-4 years that having 3000 TT with maybe 500 TPIC will be enough to be competitive, I don’t know, but unless utilization rates change it seems unlikely some of the new hires will have much more than that, especially the RATP guys.
And this has to be costing management some money. I just don’t get it.
And this has to be costing management some money. I just don’t get it.
#13
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jan 2016
Posts: 268
The whole situation is very strange. I've worked at Horizon for nearly 20 years, and we've never been fat on pilots... until now.
In the past, management's standard policy was to keep staffing levels extremely low. Reserve pilots were used to cover "known" open trips (left over when bidding closed), with no reserve coverage left over for irregular operations or sick calls. It was actually cheaper for the company to offer premium pay for open flying than it was to staff the airline properly.
We complained about the staffing levels for years, but it took a major meltdown in 2016-2017 for the company to do something about it.
As a mid-level line holder, I average around 65 hours per month. This is actually a lot of flying for the Q400, as legs tend to be short. I'm averaging 4 - 5 legs per duty day, with 15 days off per month. It's not a bad schedule, but I'd be perfectly O.K. if they spread the flying around and used the junior guys a little more. Management has complained for years that we cost too much money and were "overpaid", and now they're just paying pilots to sit around. I don't get it.
In the past, management's standard policy was to keep staffing levels extremely low. Reserve pilots were used to cover "known" open trips (left over when bidding closed), with no reserve coverage left over for irregular operations or sick calls. It was actually cheaper for the company to offer premium pay for open flying than it was to staff the airline properly.
We complained about the staffing levels for years, but it took a major meltdown in 2016-2017 for the company to do something about it.
As a mid-level line holder, I average around 65 hours per month. This is actually a lot of flying for the Q400, as legs tend to be short. I'm averaging 4 - 5 legs per duty day, with 15 days off per month. It's not a bad schedule, but I'd be perfectly O.K. if they spread the flying around and used the junior guys a little more. Management has complained for years that we cost too much money and were "overpaid", and now they're just paying pilots to sit around. I don't get it.
#14
It seems pretty obvious that the ones who can afford to are indeed warehousing pilots. It is smart. It reduces likelihood of being caught short, helps attrition (takes longer to get hours needed to move on), and enables them to extend their training out further, lengthening the “pipeline” of pilot supply. It may even be that, once they’re on property and trained, it’s cheaper to pay more pilots minimum pay than pay fewer extra/incentive pay. But regardless the strategic value is worth the incremental cost...what did canceling flights due to no pilots “cost” Horizon?
#15
#16
This is sort of like the coach burning a players redshirt without actually giving them enough playing time to develop them.
#17
Probably very true, but to the RATP with 1250 hours who came aboard in the latter part of the panic hiring who actually NEEDS to get hours to be competitive when the peak of the retirement wave opens the doors wider for hiring at the majors, long reserve times with little actual flying could be a career killer, because unlike a couple other legacies, AS won’t have huge numbers of those mandatory retirements.
This is sort of like the coach burning a players redshirt without actually giving them enough playing time to develop them.
This is sort of like the coach burning a players redshirt without actually giving them enough playing time to develop them.
For some folks QX geography might be worth it, but QX has never been known for fast career progression.
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