Horizon Information

[FHTEAGLE]

Without going into too many details, my "fatten my resume at Eagle and move on in 12-36 months" plan is looking more like "fatten my resume and move on in 1-3 months". So now I'm looking around for the greenest grass around. Number one on my mind is Horizon... so without further ado, some important questions...

1. Is Horizon hiring currently? If not, when are they likely to resume?
2. What are the stated mins, competitive mins, etc?
3. Is the airlinepilotpay.com table accurate?
4. How is the quality of life as reserve and lineholder?
5. What is the junior base, junior a/c, etc?
6. Future growth / upgrade prognosis?

Thanks in advance for any information you all can provide!

 

[taloft]

1. Yes, but very slowly. Horizon usually doesn't advertise when it's hiring. Best advice is to update every 3 months and have someone on the inside working on your behalf. Even with that, there is no guarantee. It took me two years.
2. As I recall 1000/200 unless you're from a bridge program like UND or Central Wash. Competitive mins are closer to 500 multi.
3. Close enough.
4. Lineholder life: wouldn't know, but I hear it's not bad. Reserve life isnt bad if you live close to your domicile. Expect a very long time on reserve. Anywhere from 9 months to 4+ years depending on domicile and aircraft. That long on reserve can dampen your spirits if you let it. Definitely not fun if you commute.
5. Seattle Dash 8-200.
6. Growth is rumored to be very slow with I believe 2 new aircraft next year. Upgrades right now are running 5+ years. Your mileage may vary.

Other answers: You get paid from your first day of training (64 hours per 35 days). You will share a hotel room with a roommate until passing the sim check. Training is 2-3 months.

If you're looking for a solid company, an ok living, and you must live in the Northwest, Horizon is the place for you. Otherwise, I hear SkyWest is hiring hundreds and is slated for much more aggressive growth with faster upgrades.

Best wishes. You're welcome in advance.

 

[Fallingbrick]

FHTEagle:
Guess you got the ATR in San Juan.

taloft:
4 Years on reserve!!! Are you serious?

Good luck!

 

[Nightmare67]

Some food for thought...I was in company recurrent in CMH last week. (NetJets).

I met a new guy there that came from Horizon...he had been there for over three years I think he said. He said there were no upgrades anytime in the reasonable future. That and some other reasons led him to NJA.

Better watch out for that greener grass...sometimes the green turns brown overnight!

 

[skid]

Info on Horizon... Latest news is some hiring for classes during the first few months of the year. There are a few hired for those slots and they went back to ND last week for more from there. I have not heard of any more interviews here in PDX anytime soon, but I may be wrong. As for right now not a lot of movement projected. AKA expect a long time on reserve if you are just coming in. If you are looking to upgrade soon, Look elsewhere. Latest projections for new hires is realisticly 7+ years. There may be some movement in the bottom ranks as I know of many FO's looking to go elsewhere.

 

[taloft]

FHTEagle:
Guess you got the ATR in San Juan.

taloft:
4 Years on reserve!!! Are you serious?

Good luck!

Yes. Seriously. However, there is a very big difference of 9 mos to 4+ years depending on aircraft and domicile. Note that reserve can either be at home or at the airport, depending on bid and coverage.

 

[ILStoMinimums]

I've got a question for the QX folks. I'm interested in QX, but afraid I'm in disadvantage in two things. One, I'm not 21 years of age and two, I have around 600 hours TT. I don't know if my current position will have any weight to my resume or not. I'm currently flying a DHC-6 as an FO, 121. I have roughly 350ME Turbine time.
Will I have any chance of getting an interview before turning 21 and hitting 1000?

This is my deal, I have a couple of firends at QX and one of them is willing to take me in and introduce me to the CP.......

So, any word of advice on my situation?

 

[rightrudder]

I've got a question for the QX folks. I'm interested in QX, but afraid I'm in disadvantage in two things. One, I'm not 21 years of age and two, I have around 600 hours TT. I don't know if my current position will have any weight to my resume or not. I'm current;y flying a DHC-6 as an FO, 121. I have roughly 350ME Turbine time.
Will I have any chance of getting an interview before turning 21 and hitting 1000?

This is my deal, I have a couple of firends at QX and one of them is willing to take me in and introduce me to the CP.......

So, any word of advice on my situation?

Not unless you graduated from UND.

 

[ILStoMinimums]

Not unless you graduated from UND.

Nope, no UND for me.

 

[jumppilot]

So, any word of advice on my situation?

Well, unless you go home to a world of bondage and sodomy, and only go to work to escape that hell you call life, you got a pretty good life right now.

Not 21, at a 121 carrier flying turbine equipment....wow...How can I score that?

Sorry, but you did not come from a bridge program and even though you are under 21 and may feel like superman, you are in the classification of "off the street hires"..So, suck it up, get your competitive mins and stop trying to leave your outfit after working there for 20 minutes.

Unless of course your CP likes bondage...then get out of there fast!

Do you have a degree? That could be what puts you over the edge with lower time.

 

[DashTrash400]

Sloww times at QX

Yeah taloft wasn't kidding about the 9mos-4 yrs on reserve. I've been here since April and still most junior on the Q400. To expound a bit, you'll get off reserve quicker as a SEA Q200 FO...Q400 and PDX CRJ have been much slower. Reason is, recent upgrades have been all 1999 hires...mostly out of the Q200. Upgrade time will probably go up before it comes down...the vast majority of FOs are mid-99 thru mid-01 hires.

I'm not bitchin, I like it here and plan to stick around. They pay during training, pay is quite good, good group of pilots (although much older group than typical regional), nice equipment, and some goodies to play around with that most regionals don't have (ie HUD, CatIII, etc).

That said...at QX you'll be making your "good FO pay" 5 years down the road while your buddies at Skywest/Pinnacle/ETC will be making far more on "crappy captain pay."

 

[qxpilot]

Makes you wonder why we are hiring people with 1000 hrs from UND and such schools when there are thousands of laid off pilots out there. Maybe it's because these people won't complain about how crappy it is here because they are newbies and are just happy to have a job. Have fun for the next 6+ yrs sitting in the right seat!

 

[DashTrash400]

Makes you wonder why we are hiring people with 1000 hrs from UND and such schools when there are thousands of laid off pilots out there. Maybe it's because these people won't complain about how crappy it is here because they are newbies and are just happy to have a job. Have fun for the next 6+ yrs sitting in the right seat!

Heh...I agree that there are certainly enough qualified & experienced pilots out there to choose from. On the other hand, those 600-hour wonders are looking at this as a stepping-stone job, and many will leave after no more than a couple years as captain. In the long run, that'll save the company money and keep things moving (as opposed to the current situation where the top 1/2 of the captains are lifers).

I guess if I have to be in the right seat for the next 6 years, I'm glad it's Horizon instead of, say, AE. But, maybe I'm just too new to see "how crappy it is here" yet.

 

[ILStoMinimums]

Well, unless you go home to a world of bondage and sodomy, and only go to work to escape that hell you call life, you got a pretty good life right now.

Not 21, at a 121 carrier flying turbine equipment....wow...How can I score that?

Sorry, but you did not come from a bridge program and even though you are under 21 and may feel like superman, you are in the classification of "off the street hires"..So, suck it up, get your competitive mins and stop trying to leave your outfit after working there for 20 minutes.

Unless of course your CP likes bondage...then get out of there fast!

Do you have a degree? That could be what puts you over the edge with lower time.

I'm happy to be flying, don't get me wrong. My company is going through some major issues and I'd like to know what my options are if things go south.

I'm not done with my degree, I've got about 1/3 to go before I'm done.

 

[BORAT]

ILStoMins...Do you scratch backs in return??? A buddy of mine is looking at Era...I got friends in low places at QX...Skywest is the way to go...Drink Beer...