cactusflyer

That's essentially what was said in the email and on the employee website, but the fact that the current plan for Horizon has zero details past "park 32 airplanes, get 12 replacements eventually" is going to both increase attrition and reduce the ability to attract new pilots makes me very skeptical it'll end well.

PetRock

I think the other big problem with how this company is set up is that all the management folks at QX want to be at AS, so they will say/agree to anything in the hope that they put in their 1 or 2 years, then get a "promotion" to AS, where it will then be someone else's problem. No one will speak truth to power, as we are now witnessing with the ANC base slow train-wreck... (how could we have foreseen not hiring all those out of work RavN pilots with enough time to train them up to staff ANC?! Leopards ate my face again!)

I don't see how this is going to do anything but accelerate attrition since no one wants to invest in "the sick animal" in the herd, and anyone with the means is going to jump ship ASAP, which is only going to accelerate this into a death spiral.

Only realistic way out is to start a real flow, staple QX seniority onto bottom of AS, and start process for integrating both into a single airline. The longer they wait, the worse this will get.

WYSIWYG

It probably is a sell off since most merger partners have strong scope language. AAG knows it can’t compete in the long run , F9/NK will have over 500 frames in a few years, SW will be at 800+ and then there is the rest. Alaska has 220 or so right now and wants to increase to 300 in a few years… good luck attracting pilots with the worst legacy contract.

TyWebb

Very off topic but need some help. What hotel in SEA offers the best Crew Rate? I'm a commuter about to eat a few hotels for training.

toolowgoaround

Calling direct to coast gateway gets you around $100/nt

I booked at Aloft and it was great for $113/nt

PetRock

FYI there was some quality issues (carpet beetles) at Coast just reported, so I would spend the extra 13 dollars to not be at Coast.

runakatuna

The garden inn on 188th still has a $80 crew rate and they give points. By far the best option.

toolowgoaround

Unless I also spoke to you, I hear this as well from someone. Get this deal!

cactusflyer

Applying here right now is probably a very bad idea, unless you're some kind of compulsive gambler who hates certainty.

From what we've been told so far, Horizon will park just under 50% of our total fleet no later than the end of 2023 (and an email today made it clear that timeline may move up significantly), and only about half of those losses are scheduled to be replaced, but that won't be completed until 2025. No one in management seems to have any idea how many airplanes or pilots we're supposed to have when this is all done, what bases we'll have, or even if Horizon will still be around by 2025.

If you come here now, the best case is that your seniority remains absolutely stagnant as the first 9 Q400's are parked (if they're replaced 1:1 with 175's), but it'll likely move backwards as more senior Q pilots move to the jet, and that backslide will speed up as the remaining Q's get parked without replacement. If your plan is to use the Pathways program to go to Alaska, keep in mind that Alaska can and will change the Pathways requirements whenever they feel like it, and if this decision increases attrition at Horizon beyond what's already happening, there's a very good chance Alaska will effectively shut the program down to try and stem the losses at Horizon.

Since the current plan ends with Horizon only having about 2/3 as many airplanes as it does now, there's a distinct possibility that you'd get displaced at least once as the airline shrinks, and there's a very strong possibility of Horizon closing one or more bases in the process too, so I can't think of any reasons to come to Horizon unless/until management comes up with some kind of coherent plan to address the obvious questions they've so far failed to provide any answers for.

Flyguy255

Consider looking into Airbnb. I’ve had to find a place a few times and Airbnb always offered better prices for pretty decent places. Hotels in SEA are overpriced IMO.