when is the hiring projected to slow down?

 

Hopefully a long time from now..........

 

before taxes and benefits... i end up with about 500...

 

so only hiring CAs into the Saab??

 

Affirmative, our contract prevents hiring a jet street captain until all seat locks have been released for anyone currently locked in a lower paying position desiring the higher paying position. As of today, no seat locks have been relaxed nor released.

 

Latest rumor is that they are going to hire until there are 1500 pilots on the seniority list. Currently just under 1000......

 

If we do not get additional aircraft beyond the 36 CR9's and 15 CRJ's, then hiring will slow to backfill attrition probably sometime in the late summer of 2008.

I am not sure what the target number of pilots is going to be for us, but based on years past we have had about 11 pilots per airframe. By the end of 2008 we will have 102 aircraft. Basically that puts us at about 1122 pilots, probably closer to 1200-1250 when we are done. Today our seniority list sits at 952. We have classes scheduled up to January 14 that will bring us to 1002. That boils down to about 8-10 more months of "strong" hiring.

The top half of the seniority list has not moved more than 3-4 in the last 3 months. So, already there is a significant slow in attrition in the top half. There should be some more movement up there as the flow to NWA goes into action in January and people again start to look for other opportunities post holiday season.

 

If you are hearing rumors that we are going to 1500, then we must also be getting an additional 30-36 aircraft. Maybe some of those CR9 options will turn into orders in 2009 and 2010

 

What about the -200s?

Why invest in a -200 sim for only 17 a/c? But no sim for the 36 -900s???

 

Because the other ones are so filled up with the amount of hiring going on by all the regionals. They are getting a CRJ-900 sim in MSP, last I heard should be running by late 2008.