Any word on Horizon hiring?

[Southbound]

To answer your questions, upgrade is slow because few pilots leave because they like living in the NW and as a 400 or CRJ captain the pay is as high as they come for a regional (sad state of affairs). Also, there is NO growth of the seniority list. There are around 700 pilots,the same number we had 7 years ago. No hiring of street captains.

 

[Hpilot]

Best of luck

Unless you're living at mom and dad's be prepared to find a second job. I know two guys that left Horizon to fly corporate, because living in the Seattle area on Horizon pay is tough. For what it's worth though, if you can tough it out the pay gets better after 6-7yrs as a captain and you won't have to commute. By then you'll probably never leave.....which isn't a bad thing.

 

[FlyinScotsman]

I don't understand why it would be a "career killer". What better experience could you gain outside of a CAT III single engine qualified regional carrier!?

Let's see.....a 5.5yr FO and he has no end in sight! W/O Capt time you are stuck or you change your profession! That's a "career killer" for anyone who might want out of Horizon for a major or for that matter a life. Try living on FO pay for that long, it might just be a "marriage killer" too!

 

[Paul R. Smith]

Let me give you a bit of advice. Don't come to work at Horizon unless the sole reason is to live in the Seattle/Portland area. Trust me, you'll thank me in 3 years when all of your colleagues that came here are barely holding a line in the Q200 as an FO while you are finishing upgrade class on an RJ at some other regional. Don't get me wrong, QX is a good company, but in todays regional airline environment the lack of advancement supercedes any benefits/pay that may exist here.

Sincerely,

A Q200 FO sweating his a$$ off doing 6-8 leg days for the past 5 1/2 years while new hire CRJ FOs with 1500 hrs get more days off.

I beg to differ...I'm still pondering jumpin ship and moving to Horizon, but only if I get hired into the Q200. I will concede that going back to FO pay (even though Horizon is competitive) would royally suck especially since SEA is an expensive area. But it took me 5 years to upgrade and I still miss the pac NW. I would make horizon my home if I made the move. Just different strokes for different folks. Not everybody is a Turbine PIC seeking missle.

 

[flying4food]

I beg to differ... Not everybody is a Turbine PIC seeking missle.

Me, I'm a heat seeking moisture missle!!!!

 

[turbodriver]

Maybe if you guys tell them that we need more A/C then they'll get it through their thick skulls and we can all have a better life here.

They sure as hell don't listen to us.