What I've heard about FOs replacement hasn't impressed so far. Mainly he has no opinion on anything. We'll see how this goes. Hope springs eternal.

A little advice needed:


I did a successful skype interview yesterday and waiting to hear back from recruitment. The captain and I talked about class dates and I am considering TSA and Horizon.

With that said, Horizon has me in a pool awaiting a 2019 class date that seems like April will be the best bet for the Q400. I am looking at having to do reserve in PDX or SEA but once I hold a line the commute to my home in central Oregon will be much easier working for Horizon than TSA.

TSA, if I understand the current climate correctly, will have minimal reserve time, holding down Denver would be obtainable, and can pretty much choose when you want to start training. The negative is Denver to the small airport I live is only 2 flights each way(departing/arriving) operated by Skywest. So potentially would have to do a two-leg commute. *Also, will junior manning be the same as last summer for you guys?

Any other considerations, advice appreciated.

I'll try and be objective. Your understanding is correct, DEN is definitely obtainable, and reserve time should be minimal (assuming no major changes to flying allotted).

As much as I would like to see you here, junior assignments are always a possibility, and commuting (especially a 2-leg) is one of the worst possible known states of existence. A commute can certainly be bearable, but should never be a long-term plan.

If you aren't itching to get going ASAP, and flying the Q doesn't put you off, you are probably better off waiting for an opportunity that doesn't require a commute. That said, if you are planning on commuting anyway from your home to PDX or SEA, the time/distance may be negligible. Like you also said though, flight frequency should be considered, and 2/day is really tough to count on long-term.

Go with shorter commute. Denver guys seem to be on reserve longest of the bases. 2-5 months. Not sure exactly but know guys still on reserve that have been there between that time frame. Though TSA is suppose to pick up flying to Medford so you’d get priority jumpseat on those legs. Don’t know how far you are from there. Know of guys that commute from Pullman though.

I was just offered a CQFO spot- should I run away or is it a decent deal?

I would be worried about TSA holdings. Will Gojet be loosing 700’d and offered spots at TSA with some type of seniority.. Compass??? Same thing?? Better deals out there right now then TSA CQFO spot..

Depends what you are looking to get out of it and what you're leaving behind.

I wouldn't leave seniority at a good job, but if you're trying to get PIC time and want Denver or possibly STL or ORD then it could be worthwhile. The standing bid list is really short atm. Some people who jump on this quickly will probably get a fast upgrade, but I wouldn't want to be on the back side of this wave.

Living in base or the easiest commute should be your #1 concern IMO. Regardless of what regional it is or what equipment they fly

If any Gojet planes are parked and pilots get displaced to TSA they will not get any seniority. Longevity maybe, but no seniority. No way TSA ALPA will allow displaced Blowjet pilots over here with any seniority. Now a merger is a different story as that would be negotiated, but TSA pilots would not lose relative seniority in that deal either. No one is talking about Compass going away, if anything they will probably be bought by somebody else.

There are many reasons why you might want to avoid TSA, but this isn't one of them.

Besides the junior manning of last summer, what else would you say are those other reasons would be? I am considering TSA very hard, with an offer, as a way to get in quick to training get some 121 experience (former MIL rotor) and go to a homebase 135 operation.