Wow.....You've completely missed the point!
I did not miss the point. You have a beef with Southern because of the recent Cargo 360 merger, and you wanted to hijack the thread to continue to badmouth the place.
Was there some other point to your thread, or did you just feel a need to call me dishonest...?
The Chief Pilot tells all applicants that they could be used as a Captain qualified F/O. He does this to fill the classes.
No, he does not.
There is a range of experience in our applicant pool, and only the more capable pilots avail. at any given time get offered this.
In actuality, very few F/Os are used as Captain prior to upgrading in seniority order. Your numbers support this.
No, my numbers make you look like you really don't know what you are talking about.
What you stated as happening "very rarely" happened to around 20% of our newhire pilots, that's one out of every five.
The reality is that the company waits to see what kind of aviator you are, before finally deciding to drop someone into the left seat. Do you have a problem with that...?
Not everyone that Southern interviews is qualified to assume command of a B747 right off, so your claim that
everyone is told that they might be able to do so is suspect.
As far as a fast upgrade, I completely agree. Most intelligent applicants see this and ask themselves why. Growth or attrition? You can't really attribute the hiring for the planes coming from C360 as growth, as these planes all had/have fully qualified crews flying them. The vast majority of these highly experienced professionals chose to move on rather than work for a scumbag outfit like Southern. The current Southern hiring is due to ATTRITION and intelligent applicants must wonder why so many people are leaving.
Ahhh, no (again).
We've had people leave. But it's not that great an exodus towards the door. Not counting the ones that left to recall to a major (or retired), I'd say I'm surprised how many stick around here (in comparison to other operations I have known).
The place has grown from 4 planes (when I hired on 2 yrs ago), to 12 with more on the way. I guess you could blame some of our hiring on replacing attrition, but to discount our growth, once again makes you sound like you
really don't know what you are talking about.
I've never met a pilot who took a job with the intention of quitting after he received training. When companies like Southern ask for a training bond it should set off alarm bells. Why are so many pilots quitting? The answer is easy. The crews are treated poorly (loss of days off for one thing) and they vote with their feet. When you sign away your right to vote with your feet (as is the case when you sign a $24,000 training bond) you become nothing more than an INDENTURED SERVANT!!
It's not like Southern gets you drunk and tricks you into signing the contract... If you don't like the idea of signing one, then don't apply.
It's not like anyone is painting Southern Air to be a "Shangri-la" of aviation to trick you into signing up either. If your feelings get hurt easily, and you miss your Mommy if you are away from home too long, then don't apply.
Make no mistake, Southern is a tough place to work at. But understand that it is that which makes it worthwhile + quality flight experience. I have nothing to be ashamed of working for Southern Air, because our pilots overcome a myriad of unique challenges, in a variety of places... And still get the job done.
If you are the type that would rather sit + bitch, than do the job you were hired for, then for God's sake, don't apply to Southern.
It's as simple as that. Sign on the door 'sez there's a two year commitment. As long as it stays up, no sense in whining about it. (esp. if you have no plans to work there). Just walk past this door, and the many others that also have a training contract.
Awhile back, I did not want to cough up the dough to pay for my own background screening and drug test just to apply to Cargo 360... So I did not apply there.
But you did, right...?
See how "freedom of choice" works...???
Merry Christmas to you. The holiday season must be very special when viewed through rose-colored glasses.
Once again a snide remark to attack me personally.
Sorry you are so bitter about your Cargo 360 going away. I had nothing to do with that.
But hopefully over time, you (and the others that seem so disgruntled) will gain a better perspective that things turned out pretty good for you (as mergers go)...
When finding out (as a surprise) that your company will now ceases to operate (vs. half a year's notice), or you get merged into another pilot group and placed behind all of their pilots (if kept at all), or cannot cash your last paycheck (instead of having a large severance or retention package to choose from)...
Well let's just say that having been through all of those things myself, I tend to look at things differntly than you, but
never through rose colored lenses. And FYI, Koolaid is for kids... I drink Gunniess, thank you.
Good luck to you, wherever you ended up. Please feel free to tell people on here about
that operation (instead of an airline that you don't work for, and really know nothing about).
Blue Skies
But the upgrade is running around just over a year's time regardless. (Except for the handful that are just not capable - like a number of First Officers at every airline I have flown at - incld. a Major). 
