Big Sky Airlines??

[TX_Pilot]

Anybody know anything about Big Sky Airlines? Any info about competitive hiring times, pay, upgrade times, and current domiciles would be appreciated! I've been able to find info about several other regionals, but there is not much gouge info for Big Sky.

 

[CaptBuzzard]

My former instructor flies there. He is a captain. He loves it there. I have been trying to get in touch with him. I am not sure about the pay there, though I have read in the past that it is not very good. I think they'll hire someone with close to 1000, 100.
He told me they have taken lower (Much lower). I have 1000, 120. He told me he could walk in my resume. My goal is to get on with Skywest, but in today's world, anywhere would suit me just fine. Big Sky's domiciles are Dallas-Fort Worth, and Billings, MT. They fly Metro 23's and Metro III's. He said it is the hardest plane to fly. I assume they don't have auto-pilot. Think of your flying skills after flying there. He told me they are probably going to start hiring around the first of the year. I think they are accepting resumes right now, but just not interviewing. They get funding from the gov't so apparently they were affected little by the 9/11 attacks. I don't know much about that, but that is what they told me. Hope this helps. I did notice you are from Texas. That might not be a bad deal if you could fly out of DFW. I lived in Austin when I was young.

 

[skybwnd]

Hey guys....

I'm a pilot for Big Sky. As far as hiring goes....I hear rumors about a new hire class after the first of the year, but keep in mind that's just the rumor. I'll keep you informed of new info, if you like.
The pay isn't that great. Starting FO's make $17.02/hour, guaranteed 72 hours/schedule, a schedule is 28 days. You fly closer to 80 hours/mth....more if you want to pick up extra trips.
Upgrade time was 6-10 months before Sept. 11......will take longer now until things start opening up again.
Most of our destinations are EAS cities.....that's Essential Air Service. Which means the gov't pays us to land there.
We have 2 hubs.....Billings and DFW. DFW has the smaller amount of cities served of the two. You can pick up more info on Big Sky's web site www.bigskyair.com

If you have more questions you can ask here or email me.

 

[Geigo]

Do you send a resume to the Aviation Place address in Billings?

Thanks

 

[TX_Pilot]

Thanks CaptBuzzard and skybwnd for the info! Since I started looking at regionals a few months ago, Big Sky had made it's way to the top of my list. I like the type of flying they do as well as their hubs. Until recently though, I had not been able to find out any comprehensive info for them. Also, do they domicile pilots out of Billings and DFW and which tends to go more senior? Some of my friends who went to Mesa were domiciled in some pretty small areas such as Roswell and Carlsbad. I was just wondering if Big Sky does something similar, or is that standard throughout most regionals? Just wondering what to expect when I finally make it! Thanks in advance for all the help! Take Care!

 

[seattle]

The BigSky web page indicates that they will begin (have begun) service between Moses Lake and Seattle. Would that be SEA or BFI?

Do you think commuting from Seattle is realistic?

I know I have a lot of time yet to build - just wondering. Thanks.

Seattle

 

[Green Banana]

I fly for Horizon. We did serve Moses lake from seattle. It is a Gov. assisted city. We no longer wanted the contract so it was given to BS. So they go from SEA to Moses Hole. I have no idea of the commuting q. though!!

ALOHA