Life at horizon..

[tomdav]

I would say If your aspiring to move on to bigger and better things than stay away from Horizon. Horizon is like a major in terms of movement. The top 250 on the seniority list are staying until they retire.

We have a large number of FO's jumping ship because they simply do not want to wait for upgrade. The most junior Capt. going thru class was hired 4/9/2001. About 50 fo's senior passed up the upgrade.

 

[Southbound]

I appreciate the input folks! That helps alot. Currently, I have a cushy job with decent pay and excellent schedule. The only real downside is that it's a CFI job. I enjoy teaching and have been a CFI for several years, but it has never been my life's aspiration. I just want to make sure I "trade up" when I move into another job. So far, Horizon seems close. Thanks for the help.

Captainover,
I may have seemed a bit harsh....well, I was a bit harsh. Here's the deal. I don't want you to make a mistake, esp if you already have a nice cushy job that suits your needs. Do your homework before you make any jump and part of your homework is getting to know a few QX pilots and reading all the stuff you can on the internet.
What are your goals?
Where are you in life?
What do you require in your "trade up"?
Do you live in Portland and would you be satisfied with sitting right seat in a Dash8 for 6 years before upgrade making, at most, $40,000?
If this sounds like you then QX is the place for you.

If you think you may even consider a major then QX is a mistake. You will not upgrade for a LONG TIME. Might not seem like a big deal but it is career suicide if a Major is your goal.
PM me if you'd like to talk further as I'd like to help.
S

 

[JetSpeed219]

I don't know if I would call it career suicide. I know someone who has been at QX for almost ten years, is 35, and just got hired at Southwest. Why is everyone so bitter about QX?

 

[Fratboy]

If you think you may even consider a major then QX is a mistake.

Unless you consider Alaska a major- and its your first choice for your career. If you have no PIC turbine, there is probably no faster way to get to Alaska than going to Horizon first to meet the 2000 Horizon SIC requirement. It waives the Turbine PIC requirement. Yes, that was Horizon SIC. Its different there.

2000 hours SIC at Horizon = about two and a half years.

1000 hours PIC turbine at another regional = 12 months (hopefully) to upgrade, another training cycle, then reserve for however long, then another year building that PIC... Quick upgrade would pretty much have to be guaranteed for this route to be faster- and we have all seen how that can go.

Of course, with this route you don't get that 1000 turbine pic "parachute" that a lot of guys want.

Yeah, I made a lot of assumptions here...

 

[turbodriver]

WWKD???

Did the company actually upgrade him??

 

[DashTrash400]

Haha. I never realized WWKD refered to that K. I always assumed it was Captain Chaos - "WWKD? He'd fly with the wipers in stealth mode!"

I shudder to think of the poor FOs that have to fly with KG as a Captain. I think I'd be filing an ASAP report after every flight just to be on the safe side - never know when he's gonna "self disclose" every goof up you made.

 

[FlyinScotsman]

KG is an Idiot

 

[OverTorque]

I would say If your aspiring to move on to bigger and better things than stay away from Horizon. Horizon is like a major in terms of movement. The top 250 on the seniority list are staying until they retire.

We have a large number of FO's jumping ship because they simply do not want to wait for upgrade. The most junior Capt. going thru class was hired 4/9/2001. About 50 fo's senior passed up the upgrade.

I'm one of the ship jumpers. I was at Horizon for a little over a year on the Dash 200. I did enjoy my limited time there and met some great people. However; the reality of a six year upgrade became, well, a reality. I took a serious look at my long term goals and realized a career at a regional wasn't one of them. Yes, I could have got my 2000 hours of Horizon time and taken a chance at Alaska, but that would have limited my major options to just one. Yes, QX is a pretty good airline as far as regionals go, but before going there you really need to comprehend the reality of a 6 YEAR UPGRADE. If you're on the Dash, that's six years of flying to Yakima, Pullman, North Bend and Klamath Falls. Six years of 7 leg days, no APU, and, did I mention Klamath Falls?(Oh wait, the 400's are replacing them so at least you get and APU) I recently made the jump to Skywest and my seniority is going crazy. Just to give you some perspective - had I gone to Skywest instead of QX, I would most likely be an RJ captain now instead of making first year regional pay. I'm not "hating" on QX here by any means, but rather I'm trying to shed some light on the Horizon myth. Yes it's a good company but remember: It's still only JUST A REGIONAL and you will most likely be sitting in the right seat of a Turboprop for six years. Just my two cents.

 

[Q400 Gear Bitch]

WWKD???

Did the company actually upgrade him??

He's in class now.

 

[NWaviator]

What is he upgrading in?