I'm not at NK, but we are having a similar issue at K4. I had interview dates lined up with 2 of the big 4 before I even finished OE. My check airman told me that I was the first person that he's had finish OE in 6 months. If things go well I'll have 2-3 months on the line before leaving.

My times:
4000TT
2000 Turbine
1250 TPIC
And a newly minted heavy type

Delta said the lowest time person they've hired had just over 1000 turbine and zero PIC.

Yeah, you're right, it's way better to just not even have the OPTION to upgrade for 4+ years... Can't give people options or choices... Just make your concerns theirs and tell them they are better off at a ULCC with a 4+ year upgrade vs going to Delta and have the option of an upgrade in less than a year. I see what you mean.

Some were waiting for class dates…it’s kinda crazy.

anecdotal and preaching to the choir but perhaps informative:

I had absolutely no plans to leave, even after the big 3 started hiring like crazy.

But then spirit made it clear my base wasn't long for this world and the reason I came here, to spend more time with my family, went away. If I'm going to have to commute, I'm not doing it for spirit. Sorry.

Preach if you don’t or can’t live in base you may as well make some money.

Which base is that?

My guess would be ORD/DFW. While I dont think they are going away completely, maybe DFW, they are shrinking and it will be harder to hold a good qol in them for awhile.

I would take this advice with a grain of salt. Once the F9 is complete, base plans will be different.

The ONLY consistency between F9 and NK is a dislike for ORD, at the moment. DFW has rumored to be a F9 base for a while so the long term plans for ORD, DFW and DTW are on ice until the merger is complete

Not many guys sitting at home in the Northeast or the bid would go senior. But either way who cares, if we open up a CA bid for ACY I'm sure we'd have a 6th month upgrade also.

We don’t even know if the F9 merger will go through, assuming JetBlue doesn’t buy us. The only given is that we will have Florida bases, regardless of what happens.