I asked this question in the interview.
5-6 years according to the upper echelons. To get onto the F100 that is, the Boeings are a different kettle if fish.
They explained:
Dash Classic or Q400 FO
Dash Classic Command
Q400 Command
F100 Command
They explained it would be unlikely that you would fly the F100 as a first officer, as new hires bounce around the Dash fleets for the first few years.
Another management pilot explained to me that progression is quite slow when wanting off the Dash, and almost unheard of onto the Boeings as it is cheaper for the airline to hire a direct entry onto each fleet. For example, if someone leaves the 737 fleet, they replace them with a Fokker 100 pilot, who in turn is replaced by a Q400 pilot, who is replaced by a Classic pilot, who is replaced by a new hire. That is 5 type ratings if upgrading from within. If they direct hire onto a specific fleet it is cheaper as they only have to pay for one.
That's what I was told last week anyway, and appears to be backed up by the advertisements online for crew to fly specific fleets and not just for the Dash classic.
Cheers
DB
